Alcoholic vs. Enthusiast

I tend to have 3 beers max a week nowadays unless I'm going to a Craft Beer Festival or on a Beer Day! Health reasons mainly, but it means I enjoy the beer more.

 

There is an easy simplistic answer- It is not a measure of the frequency or quantity, but what it does to your life.

 

for me it's a true story. 10 cases of beer in the spare bedroom, 5 cases in the living room, 6ish cases in the dining area, two full 7 cubic foot chest freezers and one full fridge. My family keeps joking that they're going to have me casted on Hoarders...

 

Alcoholic = anyone who drinks more than I do.

 

What if you're an enthusiastic enthusiast?

 

If you have to ask you may need to step back a minute. I actually drink less beer since drinking craft beer. Found more enjoyment in the taste and sharing of the experience with others.

 

I drink on average 5-7 beers a week (usually closer to 5). I never seem to want more than that, and it also seems to have helped that i've started watching my weight and really don't want to have to spend an extra hour working out to burn off the calories from the brews i've just consumed...

I've never really had an addictive personality, having dabbled in various substances during my teenage years and never really being sold on any of them except beer. I don't think having 4 DIPA's in a night makes you an alcoholic though as I have certainly consumed more than that on many a night.

Really doesn't help that I left England 4 years ago, and find it very hard to find "sessionable" cask ales.

 

Not true.

 

I will say that I cross this line, but if they made more table beers I would never touch it again.

 

So sick of posts like this. Go to an AA meeting if you have to ask these questions. I come to this sight for fun.

 

This is really something everyone must decide for themselves. For some, three beers a week is enough and not overdoing it. For others, three beers a night is the same (possibly more, I won't judge as it depends on the person). I think most people do know when it gets out of hand - for them - they just do and if they don't, there likely will be people around them to tell them. There aren't hard and fast rules.

 

Actually, what warrenglo03 said is accurate..... if it does not have a negative impact on your health or the relationships you have with people, or your job, etc.... it's not a problem. Why would you say otherwise? Is God mad or something?

 

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/features/high-functioning-alcoholic

 

Yeah, but everything described in that article is that of a textbook alcoholic in denial.... Someone on a slippery slope, where the consumption will eventually 'catch up to them'.... in which case it will have a negative impact on the person. So, IMO, that person described DOES have a problem.

I guess I don't understand your point sir.

 

When it really comes down to it... the term 'alcoholic' is about as well-defined as the term 'crazy'.

 

I'll chime in here as a scientist. I got my information from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

I think the key here is to recognize the importance of percent alcohol by volume (ABV). I suggest you guys calculate how many "standard drinks" are in one bottle of popular craft brews. If you are like me, you hate doing math. Here is a NIH sponsored link to calculate what our crafts beers are equivalent to in "standard drinks". "Standard drink" definition varies, but here in the US it is 12 fl. oz. of a 5% ABV beer, which is the exact equivalent of a regular can of Budweiser. I'll do a couple of the top rated beers/common crafts brews using the website.

Heady Topper - Tall Boy Can (16 fl. oz.) - 8.0% ABV = 2.1 Drinks
Bourbon County Barrel Aged Stout - Bottle (12 fl. oz.) - 13.8% ABV = 2.8 Drinks
60 minute IPA - Bottle (12 fl. oz.) - 6.0% ABV = 1.2 Drinks
Odell IPA - Bottle (12 fl. oz.) - 7.0% ABV = 1.4 Drinks

Definition of problem drinking is two-fold according to the NIH
1) Binge drinking - having a BAC rise about 0.08 (the legal limit). Approx. 5 drinks for men, 4 drinks for women.
2) Heavy drinking - 5 or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days.

So what is low-risk drinking? As defined by NIAAA, for women, low-risk drinking is no more than 3 drinks on any single day and no more than 7 drinks per week. For men, it is defined as no more than 4 drinks on any single day and no more than 14 drinks per week. NIAAA research shows that only about 2 in 100 people who drink within these limits have an Alcohol Use Disorder. Even within these limits, you can have problems if you drink too quickly or have other health issues.

Hope it helps you guys some. See this Washington Post article on alcohol consumption patterns if you are interested. It breaks down weekly consumption of the US population so you can see how your drinking stacks up against everybody else's. Spoiler: 1/3rd of the US population over 18 does not drink.

 

I am a drunk, whatever you want to call it. I drink way too much, and once I start I don't tend to stop. I work though, and have since I was 17. "Work" as in "Constantly and always working", never have been unemployed, ever, and often I'm working very long hours. Also love being with my family - and friends, ************s mean the world to me.

In the meantime I enjoy myself, unashamed. Not all of us are lepers.

And after reading some of these posts I think "enormous blathering-on vagina with a lot to say and nothing to add" should be added to the categories, since we're all being pegged.

 

It is said that alcoholics make those around them angry (because they are slacking intheir duties). So just ask yourself that question.