Yeah. I wonder if the "non" in the phrase "non-alcoholic beer" was added by the journalist.
Wouldn't be prudent to be seen drinking a beer first thing in the morning.
Come to think of it, it wouldn't seem prudent to be seen drinking a non-alcoholic beer first thing in the morning either...
She was an alcoholic, and obsessive-compulsive to boot. Sometimes people like this adopt some strange coping behaviors.