Do certain styles of beer make you "buzz" differently?

Alcohol has the same effect as alcohol to my body.

If your drink rate is constant but a different ABV, you might feel more effect early on. That could be what you are experiencing.

 

Barleywines seem to hit me harder than other styles with similar ABV.

 

A Higher level of Hops and their compounds might add to the impact felt on mood etc. with an IPA vs another style

 

Could all be in my head but to me lagers give me an energetic buzz (similar to tequila) while ales give me a beaten about the head/sleepy buzz (like vodka). But beers fermented with sugar like some Belgian styles give me a happy/energetic/uplifting buzz.

 

Hop oils have a sedative/calming effect.

 

There are so many different variables that affect intoxication. Setting, perception of the drink, what you've had to eat, how long you have been awake, how quickly you are drinking. There are minor things which will vary from drink to drink and even batch to batch of the same drink, like what percentage of the alcohol in your drink is ethanol versus some other fusel/solvent alcohol like butanol, isopropanol or methanol, but these are usually so minor in beer it shouldn't matter. Hops are sometimes said to induce lethargy but I think that's more folk wisdom than science.


I've never personally noticed much difference in intoxication between beers of the same strength. I will say that having a drink or two at home makes me considerably more tired than having a drink or two when I go out with friends. Considerably. And I rarely get drunk on wine but when I do, I typically won't notice it in my head, more of a body coordination drunkenness.

 

is all a function of food and how much you weight and how fast you drink it. you know? so if I slam that quad down at 8am on a empty stomach, weeeeee party time.

 

tequila (good tequila) seems to make me more awake and happy. Irish whiskey makes me do things I regret in the morning.

guess this doesn't answer your question but I do feel like different types of alcoholic drinks have different effects. maybe it is simply the other ingredients / what it's made from. like, maybe agave has some sort of stimulant in it? maybe I don't know what the hell I'm talking about?

 

Every year I attend the DIPA festival in Hayward during SF Beer week in California. Each year the festival has about 1000 guys in attendance and something like 20 women. Typically a recipe for disaster. At this event, its easy for people to drink WAY too much beer given the high ABV of each taste... yet oddly enough, I've never seen a single fight break out. Everyone is cool and mellow.

Last year someone mentioned a botanical parallel between HOPS and Marijuana as perhaps one reason why people get along so well at the event.

 

I would imagine you're drinking the IPA faster than the stout.

 

Then perhaps you ate more in the time previous to enjoying the stout than you did the IPA.

 

If you are consuming the two beers at the same speed, with equal amounts of food in your stomach each time, then there is no reason why the IPA should have a larger/quicker impact than the stout.

 

All I can think is to seriously keep redoing the experiment till you get it right. Use the scientific method.

You have to ask a expert I am afraid. could it be that some beers break down slower?

 

Yes, but don't ask me to explain it.

 

Quads get right up on me, even compared to beers with a similar ABV. I tend to quaff at a constant rate (pretty damn slow, even amongst beer geek peers/friends). Big ass-DIPA's tend to sneak up on me, for comparison, whereas quads are like a big, tingly, rush of blood to the head (ie Coldplay music).

I really don't like coldplay. This has become a sort of weird post.

 

can you elaborate?