Alcoholic vs. Enthusiast

I think the line is crossed through intent and frequency/amount of beers drank, not volume of consumption alone. When you're drinking every night to get drunk instead of to experience and appreciate the beer, that's alcoholism.

The trick is to realize when you've crossed that line and when you're deluding yourself into thinking you're the former when in reality you're the latter.

 

When I find myself asking that question, I take a week off alcohol.
If I can't go a week without a drink (or at least withdrawal symptoms) I'll admit I have a problem!

 

why cant we just be?

 

Apart from the jaded nature of the topic itself, I can't imagine enjoying 4 DIPA's in row without some severe palate fatigue. But that's just me.

 

If you can't not drink, despite knowing that you shouldn't or resolving not to, that's alcoholism.

 

Zzzzzzzzz....

 

If you can't function normally without a drink you have a problem. 4 DIPAs a night is excessive but you're not an alcoholic

 

So existential.

 

I can quit anytime I want to, I just have too much beer on hand to stop...

 

Does the 4 pack of DIPA have to be all the same kind? Cause that sounds like every friday, saturday and sunday night.

 

is 5 the line? I like lines because they are meant to be crossed

 

It all comes down to dependency. If you have a physical and psychological dependency on alcohol (as in, you feel like you NEED beer rather than just WANT beer, and your brain has actually been "programmed" to depend on alcohol so you have withdrawal symptoms if you try to go without), then you're an alcoholic. If you just really like beer and drink a lot but could go without if it was absolutely necessary (like if you really couldn't afford anything you liked, or had to avoid it due to alcoholic interacting with medication, or something along those lines)... then you're not an alcoholic.

I've known an actual alcoholic once. He drank tons of the cheapest crappy beer he could buy, straight vodka, Jack Daniel's, the cheapest wine he could find, and once even freaking rubbing alcohol (which isn't even the right kind of alcohol to drink!) because there wasn't anything else available. What it tasted like or smelled like or looked like was irrelevant--if it contained alcohol that was good enough.

Anyone who would refuse to buy a beer they didn't really like, or who would dump a beer down the drain because it tasted bad, or would choose a soda or water over a beer because a restaurant doesn't have the kind of beer they like... that person probably isn't an alcoholic. With all the talk of drainpouring beer if you hate the taste of it, avoiding Bud/Miller/Coors, and even avoiding beer that's not even bad but happens to be "less good" than one in the same category you really like... I'm guessing most of you are not alcoholics!

 

The lines pretty damn thick. I don't drink 4 DIPAs in a setting. I rarely have more than 1, almost never more than 2.

 

I try to view beer advocacy as marathon, not a sprint. I find pacing yourself is important. With that in mind I place limits on what drink. Roughly, no more than 2 beers per day and no more than 10 beers per week. That's what works for me. But I will say I'vs seen many sprinters fall by the wayside over the years.

 

The question is not "are you an alcoholic?"

The question is do you have a drinking problem?

 

I do! I'm almost out and it's Christmas.

 

I'm no substance abuse expert, but I think alcoholism is often defined by consequences of your drinking. If you're someone who can have a beer or three a day, and you never miss work, and never get an OWI, and never cause any relationship strain based on your beer intake, then you're not really in the "problem" area. If you check any of those or other self imposed boxes, might be time to pump the breaks some.