Poll - Alcohol: Consumption and Conversation

[treibeis]

Plenty of people. The trouble is that all non alcoholic drinks in pubs are rubbish - either too sweet or too boring. You can drink for an hour like that but a whole evening?

I can't speak for the UK, as I haven't been there for ten years. But I've not drunk alcohol in pubs for two years, and, well, I've done sparkling water, and I was as rubbish and as boring as I'd always been. It's not the drinks that are rubbish (or not), it's the drinker.

[Moonlight Shadow]

I was a fairly heavy weekend drinker 1996 - 2010 and towards the end that was starting to spill in to the rest of the week as well. "Just" beer but I could see the effect it was having on my health, my body and every aspect of my life

What I realised was that I couldn't hold on to all the other aspects of my life (West Ham, England, cricket, gigs, travel, friends, curry...) and just give up the beer - it all had to go

So pretty much overnight I stopped drinking, football, country hopping, ground hopping, socialising and basically seeing any of my friends, ever..

It was hard at first, I don't think my friends really understood my motives (I didn't explain myself which probably wasn't the best approach) but it's a decision I've never regretted for a moment.

I haven't set foot inside a pub in Colchester since 2012 and have probably consumed less alcohol in the whole of the last 9 years than I would have previously done in an average weekend in 2010

Respect...

I took a similar decision in 2007, to leave behind a life centred around pubs, football and utter lazyness to one of solitary hiking (at first) but with a year long transition. I took the best decision of my life. I left behind a lot of good people but it had to be done, for my own sake.

[San Bernardhinault]

The non-alcoholic drink thing is always a big problem for me. If I can get the bar to make me a rock shandy (half soda, half lemonade/sprite, a massive dash of angostura), I'll be fine. But I don't want to drink diet coke all night, nor water.

[Logan Mountstuart]

I walk for miles, MS. It's a great thing to do when you're solitary, and it's free. A bit like Paul, I suppose. Whereas bars are too depressing on your own and way too expensive given my necessary volumes.

The problem is, the benefits of a good 30km walk with a good audiobook or podcasts are somewhat diminished by the several cans I'll take with me. Walking, slightly pissed, with a good book is my highlight of the week, to be honest.

I must admit, when I stop, which I tend to do at least once a year for a month or two, the real hurdles are the very rare social events that I face. The last couple of times I've stopped I've found alcohol free beer to be a real crutch. There are some really nice ones about and you just feel like slightly less of a conspicuous tit in the pub.

But it's only a half way house, like nicotine replacements. The problems of addiction again. But the end of my last sober episode I was drinking 5 or 6 bottles of alcohol free a day.

[Me Old Flower]

2 small bottles of beer on a Friday, half a bottle of red on Saturday. The only time when I break from that routine is Christmas/New Year, then I probably have a drink most days.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Does anyone in the UK go to a pub and not drink alcohol?

Yeah, if I have to go to a pub I will. And tbh I'll happily drink coffee and water all night - it's what I'd do if I were at a friend's place. But there are still loads of pubs where you can't get half-decent coffee. And in those where you can, it can take bloody ages. And I don't like pubs much, really. And tbh I'm very happy being sober, but it's not the best way to enjoy the company of people who are drinking, beyond their first couple or so.

So I'll do it, now and again, if that's the only way I get to see people (my dad, for example, will whine like hell if I make him go to a coffee shop). But it's not fun.

[WOM]

I love beer, but finding a decent non-alcoholic one is hit and miss. I recently lucked into a non-alcholic stout that I could drink every night of the week. I mean, yeah, there's loads of decent lagers and IPAs and such, but a good non-alcoholic stout is a bit of a unicorn.

[WOM]

it's not the best way to enjoy the company of people who are drinking, beyond their first couple or so.

The golden window; these people are good fun >> these people are fucking idiots.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Don't drink spirits anymore and I don't drink much in the week.

On Friday and Saturday evening though, I sink 2–3 litres of German-strength beer, which is probably not recommended.

[E10 Rifle]

I'll level with you: I bloody loves a pint, me, and I love a good pub. These days I sometimes go a bit over the limit in a week, other times I'm a bit under it. Parenthood has reduced drinking, though I never drank in the house at all before becoming a Dad. At the moment, it's kind of the only show in town. Massive respect to those who've tackled their drinking head on and cut it down or out. The uses to which drinking is put seem key - when I was clinically depressed two years ago (off work, off OTF, off everything) I stopped drinking entirely, not just because all the health advice pointed in that direction but because I just didn't fancy it and certainly couldn't face the pub. I associate a pint with conviviality and good humour, even if sharing a bottle of wine after a stressful day at work is something we sometimes turn to.

Like I suspect many, I've probably slightly upped my drinking under lockdown, out of boredom as much as anything. But I'm also running and exercising more, for sort of the same reason.

[S. aureus]

One of my favourite things to do when in the UK visiting my parents is to take a walk to one of the nearby pubs (a couple of miles away) and have a nice pint, preferably while sat outside. The experience isn't readily reproducible over here, and I think that my drinking would be higher if I lived there simply because I find the pubs there more convivial than American bars.

[ursus arctos]

Absolutely agree

[Third rate Leszno]

If I find myself in a strange town for work (pre-Covid) that's what I love doing too. Bit of research, plot a route, take a book or WSC and go for a wander. London is obviously brilliant for that but Newcastle, Glasgow, Leicester, Birmingham, Bristol were all good too.

[treibeis]

On Friday and Saturday evening though, I sink 2–3 litres of German-strength beer, which is probably not recommended.

About a decade ago, Guenther Beckstein recommended not only drinking two litres of beer, but also driving home afterwards. I can't remember whether he was head of the Bavarian government when he said it, but he definitely was at some point.

(To be fair, I think he was taking one for the team. At the same time, either Merkel or one of her cronies had said or done something (even more) outrageous - I can't remember what -, so he was commissioned to deflect attention.

Although, seeing as Beckstein was an elderly Bavarian male talking about beer, he was probably being serious.)

[Sporting]

One of my favourite things to do when in the UK visiting my parents is to take a walk to one of the nearby pubs (a couple of miles away) and have a nice pint, preferably while sat outside.

The same for me except that I prefer to stand at the bar where all the best conversations take place.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

One of my favourite things to do when in the UK visiting my parents is to take a walk to one of the nearby pubs (a couple of miles away) and have a nice pint, preferably while sat outside. The experience isn't readily reproducible over here, and I think that my drinking would be higher if I lived there simply because I find the pubs there more convivial than American bars.

There's a lot to be said for the single, solo pint. It's a great way to hit the pause button on life, and (for me at least) doing it with a coffee or soft drink doesn't have quite the same appeal. The unexpected bonus pint is always a winner as well, like when you have time to kill because a train is late, or you arrive somewhere earlier than expected.

My own consumption is probably the same overall during lockdown as it was before - I have only had two sessions of any description, and each of them only went to early evening anyway. I am drinking more in the house than I used to, largely because there are no organised running events to do, so I'm having a few on a Friday and Saturday where previously I'd have none or one. We also have an online poker group so it's usually a case of having a few while playing. However I'm running and walking more than ever before so I'm balancing things ok. I was probably drinking a fair bit more than usual in the first couple of months of lockdown when a Thursday night online quiz counted as an excuse to have a couple, and weekend online poker regularly went on to 2am, but things calmed down.

[Antepli Ejderha]

I've greatly reduced my alcohol intake, the first step was changing jobs in 2007. Working in a boarding school and living in campus meant being pissed wasn't a good look.

Then moving back to the UK in 2012 saw finances being tight and me taking advantage of 3 for ?5 offers and rarely finishing the third bottle.

Since my daughter was born I've rarely drunk, I don't feel it's responsible to do and I really value my sleep.

I think most of my drinking in the UK has been done with OTFers which would suggest how little I've consumed in 8 years.

As a university student and after I drank a lot, stupid amounts, but for the year I lived in Ankara I drank a handful of times. Moving to Istanbul saw me pissed most nights for a year or so. After getting married I reduced my intake but would binge drink, saying no to another one was always an issue, having the first one much less so. My drinking has caused me a few issues, a few times I've woken up in my own vomit as a student, got lucky there, and once I blacked out and somehow missed smashing my face on the bath by inches. That's the last time I've got stupidly drunk and that must be 15 years ago.

I'd say I've gone between either drinking a lot or drinking virtually nothing for prolonged periods but now I've not had a drink in months, I cannot remember exactly.

I will probably drink again but my limit and tolerance is much lower now and I really dislike the hangovers I get.

Thanks for starting this thread, thanks for the honesty on it, that's why I value this place so much.

[Paul S]

I saw my physio this morning, the first time I've been to see him for about 18 months. We were discussing lockdown and how we had coped and I admitted I'd drunk far more than usual and he admitted the same. It would appear I'm not the only one struggling at the moment, but I have plans to tackle it. Normally I play rugby but that isn't coming back until September of next year at the earliest, but a number of friends play hockey which I haven't played since school. This will mean training nights which is another night off the booze. Ever little helps.

[ursus arctos]

As I was saying

https://twitter.com/moorehn/status/1319685480242434052

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Ha ha, that is hilarious. What a waste of money. I really don't have a particularly discerning palate, but I'm pretty sure that I could distinguish a pinot noir from a cab sauv/merlot blend such as claret 10 times out of 10. They're about as different in flavour as you can get with common red wine grapes.