A Drinking Life

ultraclyde said:

I enjoy alcoholic drinks a great deal, but if they tasted the same with no intoxicating properties I'd enjoy them just as well. I like savoring different hard liquors, I enjoy good wine, and I love a good craft beer. But If I never got a buzz from any of them that would be fine with me. As it is, I've been working on decreasing my intake purely for caloric reasons. Enjoying a double bourbon most evenings might as well be sitting down with a bowl of candy bars.

 

I do a fair amount of business traveling and schmoozing with vendors and customers, and alcohol still figures prominently in those outings. There are plenty of people in the industry that DON'T drink for a number of reasons, though, and they are never given grief for it. They're usually right there hanging out at teh bar or restaurant with the rest of us.

There is some shade for people that get sloppy from drinking, doesn't matter if it's from one drink or 20. Lack of control and irresponsibility is an issue no matter what you're doing. The attitude is - look, if you want to drink, fine, but getting E36 M3faced is bad form and will reflect badly on you.

You may be familiar with this technique when drinking in business settings becomes almost a requirement.  
In those situations always drink something you hate.  
Order a cup of coffee,  and if you have a drink you want to dispose of rather than drinking  just pour it into the coffee. 
report the coffee as cold and ask if you could be get it replaced. 

I never drank much until I discovered Guinness in my mid 20's. And even then, not very often. Then the craft brewing craze hit and various types of stouts became a thing. Then my ex- and I got into wine from the Finger Lakes region thanks to going to the Vintage Festival every year. Now I have a somewhat stupid collection of beer and wine in my basement.

However, I really dislike being drunk, so I tend to buy way more than I drink during a given period. This has gotten worse as I've gotten older as it seems like alcohol keeps me awake now, so if I do decide to have a beer, I need to do it fairly early in the evening so I can drink enough water to flush out my liver as much as possible before I try to go to sleep.  

Datsun310Guy said:

Also serving the Lord is key for me.  

I just want to requote this. I enjoy a drink or two sometimes. This is key, though. Thanks.

I enjoy craft beer.  I like to sample different styles and different breweries, and I espeicially like to go to the source and try them on draught.  There is nothing as delicious as a good beer after an epic bike ride, run or hike.  It gives me the warm fuzzies just thinking about it.

However, there is a dark side to alcohol.  Some people seem to be wired such that their brain just NEEDS it after a point.  I am thankful I am not one of those people, but there are some in my family.  Their struggles with dependency have soured my opinion of all alcohol quite a bit and I don't personally drink often anymore.   I used to have beer in the house and would drink some most days.  Right now, I might have a drink or two per month.  As I'm typing this, I can't even remember when I had my last beer.  It's been a while.  

I drink in moderation.... "moderation" is a magical place where I drink more than I should.

I have fallen into the pattern of having a few beers before bed to shut my brain off and put me to sleep.  I gotta stop doing that.  Work is amazingly rewarding and I love every second of it, but the pressure and stress is incomprehensible.  Doesn't matter how much I love it, it is still stress.

I got a wake up call in July in the form of a DUI.  I did everything right; went out for dinner and ate a dump truck worth of steak, pasta, salad, soup, etc.  Over the next three hours I had four drinks and played some 8-ball with some friends.  When I left, I assesed my condition as A-OK and decided to make the 5-block drive home.... on a holiday weekend at 1:30 AM.  I got pulled over for "high beams" in my own driveway.

I don't feel like I did anything wrong or immoral, but the law said otherwise.  I would never endanger my fellow humans by driving if I felt like I was putting anyone at risk.  Ended up 0.015% over the limit, which normally would be a slap on the wrist, but not in my township and county.  Zero tolerance.  Ended up paying good money for a top notch lawyer only to basically have him say, "sorry... Lower Paxton twp... you're screwed."

So, lesson learned.  I now use Uber a lot more than before.

My wife and I tend to have an average of somewhere between 1 drink/day and 1 drink every other day.  Sometimes it's one per evening here and there, sometimes it's nothing for a week or two and then a party night.  We both really like trying new wines/ciders/beers, along with cheeses.  The biggest issue here is sitting down at 10pm to have 400+ calories of booze and snacks, several days a week, is really hurting my ability to lose weight.  Duh.

I enjoy the taste of many different types of alcohol, but I don't enjoy generally being intoxicated, so I don't drink much at once very often. I'll have a beer with food or drink one or two if I'm hanging out with my buddies, but that's about it.

Like somebody else said, if I could get the taste of alcoholic drinks without the alcohol in them, I'd not mind one bit. In fact, I'l probably like it more.

I've been making my own cider for a year or so now, so there's usually some in the fridge or aging in the spare bedroom. Funny thing is, I find myself not drinking it too often so it doesn't run out. 

I do like drinking but generally avoid any alcohol on weekdays. I've got alcoholism on both sides so that's been on my mind since I started drinking at "21." My friend group here was pretty heavily into hard seltzer this spring and summer. It's more dark beers for me now that the weather turned. 

I enjoyed it a little too much, which is part of why I don't do it anymore. I was somewhere betweein Otis and functional alcoholic for a lot of years. Not hiding booze around the house or anything, but lunch was usually 2 or 3 pints and a burger, get off work and shut the bar down, go home, and do it again the next day. Every day for the better part of a decade. 

Frankly it's amazing I never hurt myself or anyone else, although I've ruined several friendships, 2 marriages (other peoples), wrecked two cars, and been kicked out of more places than I'd care to think about. 

I wish i could still enjoy a beer or glass of whiskey or scotch every now and then, but alcohol messes with my body now. If I have a beer at lunch time, I won't be able to sleep at night. Shots will make me sick as a dog, and I'll wear a hangover for a freaking week. I do really enjoy the taste of a strong beer or a properly aged whiskey, it just doesn't work for me anymore. Combined with increased patrols and a DUI limit lower than 1 beer per hour for someone of my size, and it's just a losing game. 

SkinnyG said:

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one left who does not drink. I've never actually been drunk.

One reason is I cannot "portion-size" comfort foods.  If liquor will bring pleasure, I know I won't be able to stop.

This is pretty much my story.  That and the fact that I was working for the prosecutor's office at 17 and knew an MIP would be the end of a career I very much wanted.  By the time I was 21, I had seen enough other people screw up their lives with alcohol to say "no thanks" permanently.  I don't have anything against those that choose to drink in moderation, I just only saw those that choose to drink in excess and all the terrible things they did to themselves and others around them.  

thatsnowinnebago said:

I've been making my own cider for a year or so now, so there's usually some in the fridge or aging in the spare bedroom. Funny thing is, I find myself not drinking it too often so it doesn't run out. 

I do like drinking but generally avoid any alcohol on weekdays. I've got alcoholism on both sides so that's been on my mind since I started drinking at "21." My friend group here was pretty heavily into hard seltzer this spring and summer. It's more dark beers for me now that the weather turned. 

Please explain how to make cider.  I have about 4 bushels of apples left on the tree and she refuses to make any more apple sauce. Or sliced apples to freeze for pies, etc.  

these are nice big Honey Golds. That are just about ripe. 

Booze is expensive, especially when you go out. This is more so with quality drink, like cider. Can't get 20oz cider for under $5 anymore. That $5 would buy me most of lunch or chinese takeout, which I'd rather have. I rarely will get beer when I'm out, especially if its just me, the wife and kiddo. If I'm with others who are drinking, I may have a beer. For me to buy 3 beers for myself is like a once a year thing. I'm more likely to order a gin martini than 3 beers. 

At home, I'll only drink beer that's leftover from having guests. I rarely say "I'm craving some beer or cider." 

Usually my cravings are food related. Sushi. Chinese. Chocolate Chip cookies. 

Unlike most mountain bikers, I don't like drinking before or after a ride. Just makes me feel like hell. 

Occasionally I drink specifically to, or knowing full well that'll I'll get drunk. Usually in celebration of some sort of big event, like getting together with long time friends I haven't seen in ages. When everyone is loose it just makes for a good time, so I do my part. That happens maybe once a year, tops. 

I remember him being interviewed on NPR a few (many?) years back.  The man (Pete Hamill) has a wonderful voice.  And some good insights.

I used to drink a bit too much and too often.  Got married.  Had kids.  Priorities, you know.  I almost never drink nowadays.

I used to be a binge drinker. Never around my kids or often but once I started that bottle of Jack Daniels I didn't quit drinking until I was empty or blacked out. Havnt had a drink in 3 years because i have gout but I occasionally miss the taste. I've never been an addiction type person but my mother was an alcoholic so maybe stopping young saved me from that.

Brett_Murphy said:

Like somebody else said, if I could get the taste of alcoholic drinks without the alcohol in them, I'd not mind one bit. In fact, I'l probably like it more.

That would be great, right up there with sugar-free soda that tastes normal.  We can dream right?

I love dry red wine.  Cabernet Franc, Chateauneuf du Pape, St. Emilion Bordeaus, Grenache/Syrah blends, really just any as long as they're good.  Whites I generally like, though not as much.  A good oaked chardonnay is tasty, and I do really enjoy an New York state dry reisling.  When it comes to beer, the stronger and darker the better pretty much.  10% abv stouts, I love 'em.  The only problem with beers like that is two and you're hammered so gotta be careful.  If I'm out I do my best to limit myself to 2 drinks total.  Beer on it's own at a bar is great but I really prefer my wine with food.  Especially good French food.  Mmmmmmm.  I have a few bottles saved from my honeymoon, just waiting on a few special occasions to pop them open (a Chateauneuf due Pape for when we sell our house, a Cab Franc for when we arrive in Florida, a nice bottle of champagne for our 5th and 10th anniversary).  I've tried brewing beer but I always screw it up.

Considering I tend to like the heavier stuff, you know what's surprisingly great?  21st Amendment Brewery's "Hell or High Watermelon."  A lighter beer with a dash of watermelon in it that makes it incredibly refreshing.  Perfect for hot weather.  And only 4.9% so you can enjoy a few before really feeling it.  I'll make sure to bring some to the 2020 challenge!

tuna55 said:

Datsun310Guy said:

Also serving the Lord is key for me.  

 

I just want to requote this. I enjoy a drink or two sometimes. This is key, though. Thanks.

 

Serious question from someone who is unfamiliar with this (i.e. Athiest).  How are those two things related?

When I was younger, I was actually more prone to a nasty headache the next day if I had even a tiny amount of beer. But I enjoyed drinking, and it was very much a social thing. So I tended toward not at all on "school nights" (I was of age, but meaning if I had school/work/anything important to be useful for the next day, I'd skip it. I'd drink a fair bit on the "party" nights of the week.)

I no longer have that roulette of a nasty headache for one beer, but I have much less patience for being fully hung over, and tend to have one or two drinks many nights, peaking at 2-5 on Friday, and sometimes none. I figure I'm doing "not ideal but not bad enough to be the first place to look for better health." I'm more concerned about maintaining consistency in exercise.

With reduced intensity and improved income, each beer is a nicer thing. I tend toward ESBs and bitters, when I can find them. Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale just surfaced for the season, as well as Ninkasi's Sleigh'r. I brought one bottle of Brakspear Bitter back from London and am devastated that it appears to be totally unavailable in the US. Manhattans are the household cocktail of choice, and after locating our favorite at a now-defunct restaurant, made with Buffalo Trace and Cocchi Vermouth di Torino. I'm late to wine, but trying to figure out what I like; I've had too many wines I didn't care for to guess blindly, but I've enjoyed a few enough to want to sort out how to choose carefully with better odds of enjoying something.

A funny thing I've noticed as we and our friends have gotten older and pickier: We try really hard to send extra beers home with the folks who brought them, and random not-our-choice beers will often sit for months or years and get poured out because they're just not what we'd choose to drink. I'm now trying to think what to do with the two cans of Fosters a friend thought would be a funny addition to the Philip Island MotoGP viewing... I quite enjoyed the equally thematic Yellowtail Shiraz he brought.

In reply to ProDarwin :

That username makes sense now, but that's an odd statement and a legit question.

Mrs. f1y and I used to drink a fair bit. My Dad was an alcohol enthusiast with undying dedication. Well, until it killed him, so that was always in my mind.

Though we drank a fair bit, and we may have looked like heavy drinkers to the causal observer,  neither of us met any of the criteria for alcoholism and we just plain enjoyed it.   In a night we'd drink a half dozen beers each and half the time a 26'er of some vodka/gin/schnapps doing shots, get up early the next morning and carry on like we didn't have a drop, then rinse/repeat. It was a weekend only thing, or when I worked 12's only on my days off. I never drank on a work night because It made getting up early too difficult, and neither of us have ever drank during the day. But now that we're getting older  we find that it really affects the way we feel the next day so we've cut way back to 2-3 beers a night max every other weekend (my weekends off) and a small bottle every once in a while for a special occasion or treat. We will let loose once in a while, go to a party, and kill a few dozen beers between us but that's pretty rare these days . And I still do love the taste of a shot of slivovitz, gin or white rum.

frenchyd said:

thatsnowinnebago said:

I've been making my own cider for a year or so now, so there's usually some in the fridge or aging in the spare bedroom. Funny thing is, I find myself not drinking it too often so it doesn't run out. 

I do like drinking but generally avoid any alcohol on weekdays. I've got alcoholism on both sides so that's been on my mind since I started drinking at "21." My friend group here was pretty heavily into hard seltzer this spring and summer. It's more dark beers for me now that the weather turned. 

Please explain how to make cider.  I have about 4 bushels of apples left on the tree and she refuses to make any more apple sauce. Or sliced apples to freeze for pies, etc.  

these are nice big Honey Golds. That are just about ripe. 

I make mine from juice, not whole apples. It can be as simple as take 5 gallons juice, add one pack brewing yeast, monitor until it stops bubbling, then bottle or keg. There's a lot of nuance, of course, but that's the basics. I can send you some links to more in-depth stuff if you're that curious. 

ProDarwin said:

tuna55 said:

Datsun310Guy said:

Also serving the Lord is key for me.  

 

I just want to requote this. I enjoy a drink or two sometimes. This is key, though. Thanks.

 

Serious question from someone who is unfamiliar with this (i.e. Athiest).  How are those two things related?

I don't want to speak on behalf of the two posters that brought it up, but the Bible mentions wine pretty frequently under acceptable scenarios, but it also specifically calls out "drunkenness" as a sin something like 70 times.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_in_the_Bible#Drunkenness

Seems like consuming alcohol isn't expressly forbidden for most Judeo Christian faiths, but over doing it is basically gluttony, one of the 7 mortal sins. It's also probably more likely to result in altered decision making and additional poor or sinful choices.

ProDarwin said:

tuna55 said:

Datsun310Guy said:

Also serving the Lord is key for me.  

 

I just want to requote this. I enjoy a drink or two sometimes. This is key, though. Thanks.

 

Serious question from someone who is unfamiliar with this (i.e. Athiest).  How are those two things related?

There are two reasons often cited for this from followers:  The first is honoring the body as it is a temple of the Lord.  Alcohol has little or no health benefits and is linked with bad health things, so not drinking honors this covenant.  The main reason usually cited is that in the rite of Communion, some translations can be interpreted as meaning that you only drink for communion.  "Do this in rememberance of me" (that is to say, when you drink, only do it in a sacred reverence to the Almighty)

I don't specifically practice Christianity anymore, but I did for 25 years, and I did a lot of religious studies in college... therefore, not an expert, but at least Biblically knowledgeable.

tuna55 said:

Datsun310Guy said:

Also serving the Lord is key for me.  

 

I just want to requote this. I enjoy a drink or two sometimes. This is key, though. Thanks.

 

I wish I had your faith!  I might need to hit you up outside of this thread to talk about how your science brain stays out of the faith discussion...

In reply to infinitenexus :

I like your taste in wine! I really appreciate that you said that you like a "dry red." Yes! For me, that is the key. And that's why I like French red wine. It's dry. We did a Viking river cruise to the Bordeaux region a year ago, and visited many vineyards there and tasted everything available. I already had a great appreciation for the region's wine from a couple previous trips to France. But that last trip to Bordeaux just confirmed it! So we continue to drink it heartily. We have found that there is an importer on the East Coast here in the US that has an uncanny ability to import great French wines at superb prices (under $15). If you're on the East Coast, look for the "Monsieur Touton" logo on the back label. If it's there, just buy it. It'll be excellent French wine. However, you really need to decant it for an hour or so before drinking.

I used to be a strong proponent of CA reds. I still like CA reds when French isn't available. But these days I prefer red wines from the Bordeaux region of France.

I enjoy "A" drink, whether at home or in a social setting.

I've learned my limit is just one and that's a firm limit. I really, really can't stand the guy I turn into when I get drunk. 

That said, in certain settings, sitting around listening to other people when they're drunk can provide a world of insight and knowledge.