Binge Drinking

I have to admit i thought about it as I gained some weight last year. I am firmly of the mind that putting that beer before lunch or dinner ( even if you do it to ensure a little buzz) is not binge drinking. I thinkof it like the fellows I used to know in college who would go out and get a case of beer just to slam one after the other until they were passed out. Now us beer advocates . . .we go out hunting for this beer or that beer, we go out looking for what is fresh, what is "hot", what is highly rated . . . but we don't go out looking for a case of beer so we can slam them all in one night. We stage our pours, we choose our glassware and we photograph the beer, the meal and then go ahead and give our tasting notes on our ceremonious one or two beers each day. Thtat's love drinking not binge drinking.

 

For me, a normal day would consist of 1 or 2 12oz bottles and sometimes 1 22oz bomber. Drunkenness, to me, is not a goal but rather a pleasant side-effect

 

Binge drinking was fun with my high school friends when we first started drinking and were idiots and just drinking cheap beer.

Now that I'm into craft beer, its a max of 3 beers and that's in a long sitting and only special bar occasions. Normally it's just 1 beer casually if I'm home. I really like when bars have the 5 oz sampler size because I'll get either 3 beers at 5 oz or 1 normal sized beer and a wild card beer I want to really try in the 5 oz serving.

 

How else will they justify the price of admittance?

 

Moderation seems to come naturally to me. I rarely have more than 1 or 2 beers (12 ounce bottle or draft) at a time, and once I've had that much I usually feel like I'm done (there have been times where I debated having a third, but always decided against it.)

There was one time when I first started drinking, before I got into beer at all, when I had three Johnny Appleseed hard ciders in a row (I think 5.7% ABV?) and the result was not at all pleasant (I got really dizzy and really sleepy, went to bed at 10 PM and could actually fall asleep when usually I don't go to bed until 2 AM or so... thankfully didn't get sick or anything at all, but I still wouldn't want to drink this much all at once again.) Having that mostly-bad experience (it was kinda nice to be awake at 7 AM the next day to go for a walk in the cool morning weather for once, so there's one upside... XD) as my first experience with any more-than-usual drinking probably makes the decision to not have a third beer (or second of a higher-abv beer) a lot easier.

I think the most (in terms of alcohol content) that I've had in one sitting since then has been a bomber of 6.9% abv beer, which brought me firmly into "warm and fuzzy" territory but thankfully not quite far enough to reach that unpleasant "dizzy and sleepy" stage.

I can't really see the appeal of drinking beyond the point of "strong buzz/tipsy/warm and fuzzy drunkish." It's just not a good feeling after that point, for me at least... and I've never even gone so far as to get sick or black out or anything crazy like that, so I can't imagine how bad it must be if you do go that far.

Maybe some Mormons? I've known some who thought that looking at **** ever was pretty much the same thing as a full-blown **** addiction, so it's not too much of a stretch to picture somebody having the same attitude toward alcohol.

 

This is kind of a "Buzz Killington" of posts...huh?

 

From Friday night through Saturday night, anything goes. The rest of the time I am sober as a judge.

 

I'm sort of the opposite... from Saturday night through Friday night, anything goes. No kids, and I don't drive when drinking.

 

It's an interesting question, and it's nice that the conversation has been civilized. I've seen this come up at bottle shares where everyone is pulling out the big guns with over-the-top ABV levels. Then, once everyone's had their little tastes, someone will pull out something else, then another something else, and after a while all those small servings add up. Personally, my days of overindulging are behind me. Even when we're hosting, I limit myself to 4 drinks. It's not worth the calories or the potential headaches or just the feeling of not being in control.

To be fair, though, it's not just a craft beer thing. I've seen the same thing happen with wine and bourbon enthusiasts. I went to a dinner once where 6 of us consumed 9 bottles. Granted, it was a long and drawn out dinner, but that's still a LOT of consumption going on. And that level of drinking isn't necessarily unusual. Some guys I know do it every couple of weeks.

I feel like there's always some degree of rationalization involved in these types of hobbies, but I've seen how it can get ugly and become an excuse that justifies a host of unhealthy behaviors. Luckily, my beer friends are better about sticking to limits and making sure that things don't get out of hand.

 

Never thought of that... Good point!

 

Addictive personality here. I never met a substance I didn't like, which caused some problems in my younger days. Now I'm a beer-only guy, but the only way I could keep that in check was to make it my Friday night ritual. I gave my wife free reign to bust my balls if she sees me drinking any other time. Works for me. Downside is obvious--I only drink once a week. Upside is simple economics..I feel no guilt about buying delicious yet overpriced $20-$30 bombers on a regular basis since that will likely be my entire weekly intake

 

I think 4 or more in a sitting / 15+ in a week has been deemed "a lot". Which I think is baloney.

I agree with some of the above posters that say to mix water into your drinking session to stay hydrated. Definitely helps in the long run.

Glutens.

 

Boy ain't that the truth. Former Navy here.

 

Eh, nothing wrong with tying one on every now and again. There's a time and a place for everything, regardless of what my wife says.

 

Take all you can drink, but drink all you can take but seriously if you got your shit in order who cares.

 

I think everyone on BA has been around long enough to know how much they can and cannot drink before going over the edge. You have to know where your zone is. I try not to drink more than 2 (12 oz) beers in an hour. I stay out of trouble by sticking to that rule. If I am not driving, I will go to 3 per hour, but not every hour i drink.

 

What a way to spend an evening, drinking water!
If one is going to drink over a long time then there are beers designed for this without having to drink water in between.
The overall enjoyment is almost certainly better.