5 July 2005
Submitted by eve on Sun, 07/03/2005 - 2:52pm. Funny
"The thing is, drinking beer is just like anything else in life. You have to practice, practice, practice to stay good."
--A guy outside the Cheeseboard
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...
Posted by Saint on Sat, 08/20/2005 - 10:25pm.
Just because I'm feeling odd, and because I can: a link between the beer and meat topics.

-Can't stop, the weasels are closing in!
 
Yay! aLp
Posted by Jon on Wed, 08/24/2005 - 9:08am.
LOve that strip. So surreal... who else would make Jesus their roommate?

- My mind is in the gutter, but it keeps out the bad weather.
Beer Question for the Bay Area folks
Posted by ParU on Sun, 07/24/2005 - 6:33pm.
OK - just for the heck of it, I'll ask y'all. I'm having a party where we're serving wine, but I need some beer too. So I need two 'types' - one light (not low cal, but 'pale') and one for the more 'dark' afficianados. Eve'll be there so here's your chance to impress. It's got to be something available locally (SF Bay Area) - most likely at BevMo (local discount booze chain).
So suggestions requested - CITYbagel folks email me directly if you'd like.
Thanks for your help.
It's Amino world without Chemists
 
Posted by copperhead on Mon, 08/15/2005 - 9:30am.
way too late, of course, but i highly recommend breckinridge oatmeal stout. tastes like coffee! better on-tap, though, because they use nitrogen, and it's just smooth.

i went to war for my country and all i got was this lousy stump.
 
Posted by Matt on Mon, 08/15/2005 - 6:33pm.
Heretic! Nitro has it's place in the beer world, same as the firkin and cask do, but an oatmeal stout? Oatmeal stouts are already diluted in texture, flavor, and body (compared to straight stouts) as it is. Sounds like you're just talking about a step up from Guinness, which itself is barely drinkable.

Bay Area folks who want a taste sensation need to belly up to Triple Rock brewpub on Shattuck and order a pint of Stonehenge Stout. It will challenge all preconceived notions about what a stout can achieve.
 
Beer!
Posted by hypoxic on Mon, 07/25/2005 - 6:07pm.
For the heavier beers I really like the Stone Brewery stuff. Arrogant Bastard is awesome, so is Ruination IPA, but my favorite so far is their 8th Anniversary. You can get this stuff at your local Whole Foods. I'm not sure if they've made it to BevMo yet. For lighter stuff I like Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale.
 
Posted by Matt on Mon, 07/25/2005 - 9:19pm.
8th Anniversary is long gone. The entire stock Berkeley Bowl ordered went in less than two weeks, and that was over six months ago. Yeah, it was great stuff, and I wish I'd bought more than one bottle. But if you can find it now, you're a better man than I.

I love Arrogant Bastard, but remember, this is a barbecue-type party, not a drinking seminar. Really, The Bastard is only a step or two down from Rogue Brewing's Old Crustacean barleywine, in terms of degrees Plato, Lavibond, IBUs, and ABV. And Old Crustacean is a very heady beer (no, I don't mean how foamy it gets).

Thing is, what's needed in this situation is something that can, at least in somebody's mind, be called a "session beer."

I've got a list of The 10 Beers Every Man Should Drink Before He Dies, and not one of them is a session beer. A few of the 10 runners-up are, but that's more coincidence than anything. And just because I would consider them session beers doesn't mean a guy who grew up on Coors and Corona would.

But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.
 
Posted by Matt on Mon, 07/25/2005 - 6:39am.
If you don't mind spending a little extra, Anchor Brewing's porter is the best of its genre I've ever had, but it is pretty dark and heavy. Black Butte porter (Deschutes Brewing) has more mass appeal. Anchor steam is an excellent lighter beer, but it probably won't be light enough for most people. Scrimshaw pilsner by North Coast Brewing is easily the best example of its type available on the West Coast. Scrimshaw has a lighter, softer taste profile than Anchor steam, which could be important when you have people who are used to macrobrewed crap.

Gah. I can taste the adjuncts right now just thinking about Coors and Bud and the like.
 
Anchor Steam...
Posted by Somnambulist on Mon, 07/25/2005 - 11:13pm.
I suppose that I'm not really a light beer drinker... Anchor Steam, Shiner Bock, and Boddingtons are the only ones that spring to mind that I'd actually spend money on... and maybe IPA.. and Bass Ale.. and Spaten Pils!

That being said, I'll drink just about anything given freely... I just had a PBR tonight with a friend, and I've been known to accept a Natty Ice... I've also been known to bring (and drink) Thunderbird and/or Boone County Sangiria to an upper class-type wine party for the shock value (good fun!), so take any alcohol advice from me with a grain of salt (keeps the head!).

Other good dark types are Negro Modelo, Guinness (of course!), and Spaten Dark.
 
Posted by Matt on Tue, 07/26/2005 - 7:02pm.
Really? I can't staaaand Shiner. Maybe it's because they've autolyzed (killed) all the yeast and dead beer doesn't travel well, or something. But even cold, it still has a taste halfway between Acme Brown (a very good beer) and Budweiser.

Or more like a bad Pete's Wicked Ale.

I have a big problem with dead beer (which includes a lot of German and British stuff), because the second it dies, it starts to decay (big surprise) and the waste product of dead yeast is ammonia. Which, while we're on the subject, is why people put limes in Corona. The beer has so much ammonia in it, it's almost undrinkable. The citric acid neutralizes a lot of the ammonia and brings the pH back down.

I've learned there is a wide variety of tastes out there (I eschew IPAs, for one), but on quality I will not budge.

Okay, okay, I swear I'm done geeking out about beer.
Until the next time I feel provoked, anyway.
 
Qualifier
Posted by Somnambulist on Wed, 07/27/2005 - 6:23am.
True enough on dead beer... I like Shiner, but that's only because I'm within driving distance of Shiner, TX, and it's a good cheap brew here... I picked up a sixer in California once, and it sucked.. I got carried away and forgot that that was where the party would be.. and how did that go, by the way, ParU?

I've found that Coors and Keystone are both much more palatible in Colorado than elsewhere in the nation, and probably for the same reason.
 
Well...
Posted by Somnambulist on Mon, 07/25/2005 - 6:28am.
I like Anchor Steam, which is brewed in your area, and Smithwicks is one of my favorites, but I don't know if it's avalible there.. Boddingtons Ale is tasty...
What kind of wine is being served?
Errrrrrrrr
Posted by tim on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 2:32pm.
forgot to log in.
the Guinness/shooting thing was me

oy gevault




~Between placenta and the Big surprise~
 
Hey, Tim.
Posted by Saint on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 2:48pm.
Long time, no see.

You'll have to repost whatever your comments were; anonymous contributions never actually show up.

-Can't stop, the weasels are closing in!
 
Thanks saint
Posted by tim on Fri, 07/22/2005 - 11:04am.
I believe my comment went something along the lines of
does being good at drinking say, Bud lite or Corona ( with f*&%ing lime)carry as much karmic relevance as being good at drinking Guinness or Wachusetts Nut Brown Ale?

there was more but I forget now
alas
more genius lost







~Between placenta and the Big surprise~
Practice beers
Posted by marinerd on Mon, 07/18/2005 - 12:15pm.
Years ago I was going to work as a bartender in a little beer & wine tavern my then in-laws had purchased. I figured I'd have to learn how to drink beer, so I set out practicing. It took a while before I acquired a taste for it, but I eventually succeeded.

I drink very rarely these days, usually just for a special occasion. I don't think it's a very healthy habit, so the now-and-then approach works for me. Plus that way, I'm a pretty cheap drunk.
Heh this should screw up google
Posted by hypoxic on Sun, 07/17/2005 - 6:17pm.
So in college at one point in time I was able to drink a quart of beer in 10 seconds. It doesn't help me at all except I can drink a whole bunch real fast in a desparate attempt at giving myself alcohol poisening. Needless to say I don't drink that fast any more.
 
Posted by Matt on Sun, 07/17/2005 - 10:45pm.
That's not bad. But is it really considered extraordinary or commendable? I saw a guy, barely 20 years old, shotgun three cans of Coors Light (36 fluid ounces in three separate containers, for those of you keeping track) in 9 seconds.

Okay, so he was Australian, but it's still fairly impressive, until you consider that it was only Coors Light. The hardest part is not puking up the bubbles, really.

And he wasn't even a frattie; he was a member of my rowing team at Cal.
 
Shotgunning
Posted by hypoxic on Tue, 07/19/2005 - 11:53pm.
shotgunning is actually faster then drinking it out of a mug believe it or not. It's in effect making it a beer bong which just puts a lot of pressure behind it and also having a small enough stream so that you can control it and aim it down your throat. But you're right puking is because of thebubbles at that point.
 
Gotta ask...
Posted by umrguy on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 8:37am.
I can't say I've heard of "shotgunning" beer before... somebody care to explain?

-There's someone in my head, but it's not me.-
 
Mmmm...alcohol poisoning
Posted by Desert Fox on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 10:20am.
I've never done it myself. Honest! I really can't stand the taste of beer, and they don't sell hard cider in cans. So somebody will need to verify this.

I believe shotgunning involves shaking the hell out of a can of beer and then opening it while clamping your mouth over the hole. The idea, I think, being to suck down the whole can without spilling any. Real bright, hmmm?

Cheers!

*********
"Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit." -- Edward Abbey, Vox Clamantis in Deserto
 
Shotgunning
Posted by peegee on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 10:43am.
As far as I know, shotgunning is poking a hole in the bottom of the can, placing the hole over the mouth and then opening it in the top. Since air can enter the can from the top the liquid shoots out of the can through the bottom hole rather fast for added pleasure.
 
Cider in a can?
Posted by Jon on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 10:22am.
That's one innovation I'd rather not see... hard cider tastes nice enough in a bottle, thankyouverymuch. :)

- My mind is in the gutter, but it keeps out the bad weather.
 
Actually
Posted by Desert Fox on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 10:55am.
For a while, they sold Dry Blackthorn in 18oz (!) cans at the BevMos around here. It did give it a tiny bit of a metallic flavor, but the extra 6+ ounces per container was nice. Haven't seen the cans in quite a while, though. Probably just as well.

*sigh* Day 13. Mustnotthinkaboutcidermustnotthinkaboutcidermustnotthinkaboutcider....

*********
"Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit." -- Edward Abbey, Vox Clamantis in Deserto
 
Temptations various
Posted by Jon on Fri, 07/22/2005 - 8:53am.
Hmm, Dry Blackthorn... I don't believe I had heard of that one before.

Google ads note:
I am amused by the ads on the reply page right now:
Sushi Equipment and Dragon Beard Candy.
The candy is 'An exclusive handmade sweet from Hong Kong with a 2000-year history.' Either it's from a long line of candy-makers, or its some really dried out old candy. ;p
- My mind is in the gutter, but it keeps out the bad weather.
 
Dry Blackthorn
Posted by Desert Fox on Fri, 07/22/2005 - 10:43am.
It's good stuff, but it's not one you can find just anywhere. It's an import from England. The other one I really like, which is even more difficult to find, is Strongbow, also from England. Other than one "microbrew" cider from Sacramento that I found at one pub in the Bay Area, I've never had an American-made cider that I really liked. They're all way too sweet and way too chemically-tasting to me.

Cheers!

*********
"Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit." -- Edward Abbey, Vox Clamantis in Deserto
 
Shot Gunning
Posted by shelley on Wed, 07/20/2005 - 2:27pm.
I find it hard to believe hard core drinkers haven't shotgunned a beer, (exception to those that don't drink beer)... It's way faster than chugging down a pint. And if you aim properly you don't end up throwing up. And the best is that if you are having trouble, you can just stick your tongue over the hole until you're ready to go again.. Yay for beer!!! Unfortunately shotgunning is not allowed during our engg week boat races.. Boo..
 
I agree, I've not been that h
Posted by dave on Mon, 08/01/2005 - 3:30am.
I agree, I've not been that hard core a drinker in my life, but I've shot-gunned a few beers here and there.

Light beer is atrocious, especially because it seems extra-bubbly. And I always found the hardest bit of shotgunning to be the first belch that inevitably followed. If you could expel the air without the contents you'd just added to your stomach with the first one, you're fine.

Three shot guns of anything in succession is bloody mad in my mind.

And back in the day, we used to do 21 gun salutes at 21st birthday parties. It was always bad when there weren't 21 people willing to shotgun a can and you had to double up!


"Million to one chances happen nine times out of ten"
Screw you, Google.
Posted by Saint on Sat, 07/16/2005 - 8:05pm.
Don't judge us, man.

The current ads are: Is Your Teen Drinking?, Drug & Alcohol Treatment, Executive Recovery Help, and College Binge Drinking. I feel like they're hinting at something...but I can't put my finger on what...maybe I'll mix up some more mango rum and Sprite, and see if anything comes to me.

-Can't stop, the weasels are closing in!
 
Exactly!
Posted by Somnambulist on Sun, 07/17/2005 - 5:08pm.
I was going to make the same point earlier, but I was too drunk to type properly...

Hmm...
Scrimmage
Posted by slugbuggy on Sat, 07/16/2005 - 7:57pm.
I don't think I've ever had a practice beer. To paraphrase whatsisname, every beer I've dranken counted.

I've known a lot of bad drunks anyway, and it wasn't because they were slacking off either.
High Altitude
Posted by ParU on Wed, 07/13/2005 - 7:40pm.
So I knew a guy who went to college in Denver (5000 ft) and when he got back to sea level, could basically drink a six pack with no effect. But he said that once he got acclimated to sea level when he went back, 2 beers would do him in.
What say y'all?
It's Amino world without Chemists
 
Try it from Kathmandu
Posted by gareth on Thu, 08/04/2005 - 8:15pm.
Absolutely true. It takes but a couple of bottles to lager to send me squiffy whilst in Kathmandu (and roughly half a sip of shandy when I went trekking once at 4000m), but this summer, on holiday at home by the seaside, I got through roughly 9 or 10 large cans of Guinness and was only moderately rat-arsed.

G
 
Posted by Matt on Wed, 07/13/2005 - 11:57pm.
Not surprised. As Saint pointed out in a long-forgotten thread, drunkenness has a lot to do with the volume of oxygen getting to the brain.

Why? Because alcohol is a sedative and, as it slows heart rate, it also slows respiration. So, assuming one's level of hydration is a constant, someone who lives at, say, 5000 feet will have a higher hematocrit than a comparable person living at sea level, which will obviously greatly improve their ability to respirate.

And I have an English Lit degree.
...
Posted by Saint on Fri, 07/08/2005 - 7:45pm.
That's true of drinking in general, actually. Since college I rarely drink, so when I do, my tolerance is well below what I expect it to be. *sigh* This isn't much of a problem, but it does lead to many mostly-full bottles of alcohol that sounded good months ago cluttering up the fridge.

-Can't stop, the weasels are closing in!
 
Or worse, you go out drinking
Posted by dave on Tue, 07/12/2005 - 4:12am.
Or worse, you go out drinking knowing what you used to be able to imbibe only to discover that your body just isn't going to stand for that anymore

"Million to one chances happen nine times out of ten"
...
Posted by daen on Fri, 07/08/2005 - 6:00pm.
That must be my problem. I wait too long between beers, so I never get the cumulative "practice" effect.
 
---
Posted by Somnambulist on Sat, 07/09/2005 - 12:29pm.
I thought the practice effect only worked on the other side of the zievatron..?
 
The interesting question ther
Posted by TheEileen on Thu, 07/14/2005 - 8:16am.
The interesting question there is... what will the practice effect do? Will the more you drink the beer, the more intoxicating it becomes? The more drunk you become? The less drunk? The less intoxicating? Upon what or whom is the practice effect taking effect?

Sidenote: So I'm working at this hopspital in San Francisco, in a conversation with one of the docs about books, we drift to the fact that I read a lot of SF, and he says, "Oh, then maybe you know my old college roommate. I think he wrote some books. David Brin?" After my heart started again, I said, "whattya mean, some books? The guy rocks and rolls with the SF and has written some classics!" "Really, when I knew him he was working on this thing, something about practicing stuff? I didn't get it and he would always be talking about it." I just stared at him across the divide of "clued in and cool" and "stupid doctor with no clue". Grin. I was raving and he kept shaking his head saying, "He's really famous? I didn't think he'd do that well. He was always scribbling or telling stories rather than doing going to classes or writing what he was supposed to."

Sigh.

Take the road not taken - the leaves crunch that much louder!
 
I was raving and he kept shak
Posted by Alyssa on Tue, 08/09/2005 - 4:00am.
I was raving and he kept shaking his head saying, "He's really famous? I didn't think he'd do that well. He was always scribbling or telling stories rather than doing going to classes or writing what he was supposed to."

Does this mean that as soon as I can get past the procrastination thing, I can be famous too? *g* 'Cause if you look at any notebook of mine, ever, you'll find lots of doodles where there are supposed to be lecture notes...
 
Famous for...
Posted by Jon on Tue, 08/09/2005 - 7:03am.
If you take it to the extreme, perhaps you could be famous for your procrastination? Hmm, maybe the Guinness Book of World Records has a section for that! *g*

- My mind is in the gutter, but it keeps out the bad weather.
 
Procrastination
Posted by Somnambulist on Wed, 08/10/2005 - 10:52am.
Actually, they're going to add that section... sometime later... maybe.
 
Posted by Matt on Thu, 07/14/2005 - 11:42pm.
Yeah, well, I consider myself fairly well-read and I'd never heard of David Brin either.

Then again, I did my senior thesis on the Quentin section of "The Sound And The Fury" by William Faulkner, so the grain-of-salt rule definitely applies.
 
Hunting the snark
Posted by Jon on Fri, 07/15/2005 - 7:38am.
Well, if I were really snarky (at best, I am a pretender to that title, I bow to the skill of steff in that matter) I would say I'd never heard of William Faulkner.

Still, I confess I'd have been more impressed if he had known Larry Niven or Spider Robinson. :)
- My mind is in the gutter, but it keeps out the bad weather.
 
Brinning over
Posted by Jon on Thu, 07/14/2005 - 9:00am.
Great story, TheEileen! It's always interesting to communicate across the divide like that.
- My mind is in the gutter, but it keeps out the bad weather.
 
Posted by Matt on Fri, 07/08/2005 - 10:42pm.
It's rather interesting, actually, what happens to one's physiology when drinking (beer, for me) becomes part of one's lifestyle.

I knew it was time to cut back when I tried not drinking one night and I developed insomnia. My body had gotten so attenuated to it, my energy level would ramp up every night between, say, 7:00 and midnight, to compensate for all the sedative I was taking.

On the plus side, though, I could (and still can) go to parties, have five or six beers in the course of a couple of hours, and still keep my head about me. One time I even maintained an hour-long conversation, mostly in French I could barely remember.

Bar tabs can get expensive, though.
 
Tell me about it...
Posted by Desert Fox on Sat, 07/16/2005 - 10:04am.
I'm on day 9 of my first ever attempt at 30 days of abstinence. The first three days, the cravings weren't bad at all, but the insomnia was killing me. Then I went and worked for four days in 110+ weather, and that took care of the insomnia. :) Now I just have to deal with the cravings for another 21 days. Ah well. I shall overcome, and all that.

Cheers!

*********
"Life is too short for grief. Or regret. Or bullshit." -- Edward Abbey, Vox Clamantis in Deserto
 
Join the club.
Posted by paul on Sat, 07/16/2005 - 7:26pm.
I've decided that when my current stash of beer is gone, I'm not going to buy any more unless I have company over.

I don't think I've gone more than a week or two without a drink of some sort since I was 18. Interesting how it can become a fixture in your life, even if it's not a major one...
 
*sigh*
Posted by paul on Wed, 07/13/2005 - 9:36pm.
My body is attuned to drinking more than I should as well... fortunately when I go without, though, I don't get insomnia or any other real side effect. So maybe I'm not as bad off as I thought I was...
 
Not drinking lots..
Posted by shelley on Mon, 07/11/2005 - 2:30pm.
I found that when I was on my work terms I wold drink less( I realize this makes no sense at all, cuz when I have money I don't drink but when I don't I do drink.. hmmm.. I see a thesis..) Anywho, so then for the first little while after school starts again I can't drink nearly enough as I used.. not a bad thing cuz then I'm a cheap drunk and don't spend as much money.. (that's probably the reason..) So yea.. going on hiatus' is a good thing!
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