Poll: Drinking alone at public drinking establishments

There are two main times when I am drinking alone in public. I went out for a quick lunch that included a beer. Or, I'm stopping by a brewpub/tasting room to pick something up and will have a beer or two. I am friendly with bartenders at most of the places and there is a cadre of regulars that you can usually strike up a conversation with. Between the two of these, it's maybe two or three times a week for reference.

 

I used to travel a lot for work and I would often go to a brewpub (or something similar) alone to drink a beer or two and eat dinner.

FWIW I never felt 'stigmatized' and often/frequently when sitting at the bar I struck up nice conversations with other folks. I especially liked when the conversation was with a local(s) so I could learn more about the area.

Cheers!

 

Pretty rarely. It's only in the situation where my wife is unable to come along.

 

I enjoy the random assortment of people you encounter seated at a bar.

To me, going to a bar alone and going to one with a group are two quite different activities. I like them both in their own way but I think I prefer going out to a brewery or similar venue alone. I prefer gathering with friends at one of our houses or somewhere else where we can more freely occupy the whole space (my friend group is generally somewhat loud and we mostly have multiple children so even if it's just us and another family our numbers swell quickly).

I work in a small company with no public facing component and my hobbies are generally pursued outdoors in relative isolation, so sitting down at a bar alone is one of the few times in my life that I encounter strangers socially

 

Very often alone. I travel more than half the year for work, that alone accounts for a lot where I am working after hours and don't want to just sit in my hotel room. Sometimes I got out with co-workers, but I'm usually socially exhausted at that point and need some time to myself. When I'm home, I rarely go out. When I do, I'm usually already out doing something else and it's a stop-in to check out a new place or an old classic. I moved to San Diego from the Bay Area so the majority of people I'd go grab a beer with are a 7 hour drive away. 95% of the time when I'm out with someone else, it's when I'm back in the Bay Area and I'm out with friends.

 

I thought drinking alone at a bar *was* old-fashioned. Read "The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler -- some great prose about enjoying a private moment at a quiet bar.

I've done it in the past (if not necessarily as a continuous practice), and never felt guilty or uncomfortable.

But yeah, I'm pretty old-fashioned myself.

 

The survey question could use some further clarification— how often do you drink alone when you go out for a beer, or something similar to direct our (oftentimes meandering) focus. Of course, the philosophers and those more philosophical amongst us will argue that if you are drinking at a bar or in public you’re never really alone!

 

I like both. Going alone is a great way to get out of the house when you're fed up with being stuck at home, the weather is crap, and your friends are busy (as you get older, your friends are busy way more often than they were when you were young). Often a way to make new friends. Rarely do it on the weekends, with or without friends, usually too busy.

You have to choose the location wisely, though.

 

Infrequently, but primarily because, at my stage in life, time to casually swing by a brewery is extremely limited. Not because I have any fundamental issue with having a beer by myself; I don't. And have done so several times.
These days, if I'm at a brewery, it's a treat to get out and I'm typically with a friend(s).

 

I used to go to places by my self a lot, mostly to try a new or hard to find beer. Not so much anymore since I drink less and do feel a need to try new or different beers.

 

This is a great point. The couple of places that I'll typically go drinking alone I'm friendly with the bartenders and since i don't really have any in person friends that are beer needs that's where I get my fix of nerding out about beer in real time

 

As for the social stigma - I think "drinking alone" and "getting drunk alone" are often conflated to be the same thing. They're not. Not even close. That said, this doesn't really bother me.

If I'm at a brewery by myself, I'm typically there with a book, a movie to watch, or some horribly mindless (work related) task to tend.

 

I often go out for beers by myself. Sometimes, I actually get annoyed with someone trying to strike up a conversation, or the bartender/server trying to chat me up. I'm comfortable in my own skin, and enjoy my own company.

 

I'm 73 and normally a "one'n done" guy. I usually go to my neighborhood dive bar on Thursday afternoon for a beer, I go alone, say hi to everyone, it's a local place.

 

This is me exactly. Sitting at a pub far away from home was a great way to meet locals and share the love of a good beer.