Ask Lemmy

Tonic water and lime is probably my favorite combo. Sometimes, I'll even add gin.

Not sure about availability or price in AU, but I like "hoplark" non alcoholic beer. Their IPAs are awesome.

Tonic and Angustura on ice, with a splash of lemon. I put a dab of sugar sometimes.

Tonic water is your friend. Works for both low-alcohol options (bitters, preferably citrus bitters but you can experiment) and boozy ones (G&Ts are obviously a classic, whiskey tonics are pretty nice sometimes, herbal liqueurs work very well, etc.)

Often when I'm out and want another drink, but don't want to keep drinking, plain tonic water is the preferred choice recently. I got 99 problems, but malaria ain't one 😎.

Beyond that, you can look into the wild world of drinking shrubs.. Haven't been arsed to try it yet but I like the concept.

Kombucha

Ginger soda. You can use a ginger bug to ferment soda. You can add flavors to make different varieties or you can just do the ginger base.

Its refreshing and good for you. Does have like up to a half percent alcohol... But nothing that will be inebriating.

Aperol Spritz?

Sekanjabin is an Iranian vinegar-based drink that's easy to make and stays good in the fridge as a concentrate for a long time.

My favorite kind is made with strawberries, honey, and apple cider vinegar.

Refreshing, sweet, and sour. Water it down to taste when serving.

Guinness Zero is the "closest tasting to the original" non-alcoholic beer I've found so far. Don't know if its available in Oz but its worth a try.

Club soda

I’m a huge iced tea fan.

I don’t know if you can get it in Australia but I like Spindrift seltzer/sparkling water when I want a beer substitute. Obviously it doesn’t taste like beer. I was someone who hated seltzer for a long time, none of it tasted right and too fruity but also somehow not enough since its just sparkling water. Someone recommended Spindrift since they use real fruit so it has some real flavor but it’s still low in calories. I’m partial to the grapefruit flavor because it’s the most tart/crisp.

Schwepes bitter lemon?

Have you tried a Shandy? It's beer mixed with lemonade or orange juice. It's delicious.

Non alcoholic radler? (Beer diluted with soda lemon - it is said that a brewery in munchen had too many cyclists one day and not enough beer to serve everyone, so in order to maximize profits and avoid leaving money on the table he decided to scam them by diluting the beer with lemon juice and saying "it's less alcoholic so it's perfect for you cyclists 😉" - and somehow they liked it instead of getting pissed)

Subcontinental:

• gin
• Cointreau
• cucumber juice
• lime juice
• simple syrup

For a non-alcoholic drink, suerta:

• 3 limes (preferably Mexican or Key limes)
• Coarse kosher salt
• Chilled sparkling water
• Ice

Apple Beer soft drink by Sodabeer Brewing Co.

Hang on, do you want it to be alcoholic or no?

Have a shrub. It's flavor infused apple cider vinegar and sparkling water. You can buy or make the vinegar and just use other flavors and sweetened for the bubbles

I don't understand what you mean by "not beer".

Hits the spot especially with fatty foods https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayran

The classic margarita. Tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and just a little bit of sweetener to take the edge off the acidity, or omit it altogether. Serve over ice.

Guinness. It’s actual beer. Everything else is just barley soda.