Older People Quitting Beer

Thats why you buy middle to top shelf Scotch or Irish Whiskey. Most drink real nice just neat ( my preference) thus zero carbs.

 

28, but old in spirit. I've cut back a lot recently due to crazy weight gain in the latter half of 2021. Once I get that under control I can go back, but with more limitations in place. I like drinking, sometimes too much, but I enjoy sobriety a lot too. When I'm on my diet or cutting back in general, if I want something with flavor I'll go to some Islay Scotches. Great stuff.

 

I wouldn't say that I am getting into the bourbon hobby but I have replaced at least half of my alcohol consumption with bourbon and whiskey. I'm 47 and didn't do it for calorie reduction. I have reduced the number of days that I drink and the amount of alcohol that I drink per day when I do drink (I try to limit to 2 oz/day. For example 4 oz of 100 proof whiskey or 32 oz of 6.25 ABV beer). Most days that I do drink it's closer to 1 oz of alcohol. Whiskey seems much less filling to me. When I do drink beer it is normally a high ABV beer and I limit myself to one.

At this time I simply enjoy bourbon/whiskey more than beer. Maybe it is just because it is still winter-ish here in Michigan.

Like @Mugman8 I enjoy the social aspects of drinking. I hope that when I am retired I'll be able to enjoy a drink with friends/family when I would like. I guess I have slowed down now so that I can continue longer.

Everything in moderation. I (and everyone here, I would hope) understand that alcohol is not healthy. I guess it's one of those things where I am able to accept the risks in order to enjoy the benefits. I decided to cut back before my doctor told me I needed to too. I'm sure at some point he will.

The only time my wife complains about my snoring is on the nights that I drink.

@Celtics76 - Great thread topic. You will always have us to discuss beer with.

 

FTFY.

 

I do enjoy work and getting dirty and sweating but if I could retire it would change my life for the better in that more time with the kids and can focus on other important aspects more

 

I am also 45 and have noticed this amongst my group. I have cut back some and usually only drink on the weekends. I have almost entirely cut out non-alcoholic beer due to noticing the very high carb counts on a lot of those beers. I also don't frequent beer stores as often...I used to get lost in them seeing new releases from every brewery.

That said, Tree House moved to Cape Cod right down the road and I really enjoy the taste of their beer. I will frequently go on the weekend, see what is available in two packs and grab a draft or two. I figure beer is my vice and as long as I am losing/maintaining weight, dropped 40 since Thanksgiving, then I can still have my Tree House runs. So if you are ever Cape way @Celtics76 message me and we can talk all afternoon over a couple of pints.

 

I'm a frequent bicycle rider and the extra pounds I gained over Covid have slowed me down (that and sciatica). I'm 70, have for years had a beer a day. I'll be cutting beer to weekends (and I'll cut daily overall calories as well) only in order to drop some pounds. I respect beer, but I also respect the bike.

 

Add me into the camp of getting older and decided to cut back, and many family members and friends have done the same. The reasons:

• Too many calories/carbs, especially with the bigger beers.
• The bloating and heavy feeling and acid reflux (from some styles more than others) got to be uncomfortable and annoying.
• Sleep disruption.
• Increase in prices for what you get and in too many cases I wasn't finding myself enjoying the $4 beer over the $1.50 beer all that much.

When I am in the mood for alcohol I usually do one beer and if I want another drink after that I do a low calorie mix like Vodka + seltzer or a small glass of Bourbon, Whiskey, Rum, etc.

 

51 here. I agree what many of you are saying. I used to collect/drink scotch, but a stomach problem put an end to that.
I then rediscovered craft beer right when it started booming here (When Stone, Ballast Point and Cigar City ruled...). I try to limit myself to 3 days per week/two beers per session. This is more for weight gain than general health. I had a DIPA last night and it felt quite heavy. I guess I'll pull my pants up to my nipples and shout at neighborhood kids real soon.

 

I just quit my bourbon habit to devote more of my liver to beer. Also I have good homebrew on hand again, and bourbon has become stupidly expensive. It's been over 2 months since I've had a drop of any whiskey and I feel better for it.

 

I giggled when I saw "older people" and your age, I'll be 65 in 3 weeks. I had to quit drinking beer for almost 3 years because of prostate issues. Scotch and bourbon were much easier on my systems and I really started to get into them, especially single malt Scotch. But now that my prostate is fixed I realize I was drinking waaaaay too much whisky and I've gone back to beer.

 

Aged 70+ and now I am drinking no more than 2 bottles of beer per week. In two months I've lost 10# in weight and feel all the better. That and reduced snacking, modest meal portions, and LOTS of water each day.

Belgian ales put me over the top to be on the path I'm on now.

 

38 years old now. Medical circumstances have me cutting back compared to a year ago. But really it was a blessing in disguise in a strange way. The pandemic had me getting way too loose with my drinking. Solo-doming BCBS variants or BA stout bombers or 3-4 IPAs back to back every single night is not sustainable in the long term regardless of any "individual variance" argument anyone tries to throw at me.

For a period of time about a year ago I thought I may have to throw in the towel all together and that day may still come for me due to a rare and unusual diagnosis. Once I got back some results and was cleared to consume (within reason!) again I came back at it fresh from a new angle and set hard weekend-only boundaries with limited exceptions for holidays and such. I have a new found appreciation for a light buzz versus pushing on to the bitter end of the night. I have an art studio in my home and my drinking and art making have been intertwined since the beginning. Getting "loose" will always be part of my process. There were nights when I was younger that I would wake up to finished pieces of art and zero recollection of making them. These days I work and live very differently as I'm ultimately just happy I get to still be here doing what I love even if I only get to sneak away a few hours a week.

The amazing wealth of lagers coming out of Chicago that have been available to me seemed to have arrived on the scene just in time for me to really get into them. 2-3 quality lagers is all I need these days to get into the sweet spot. I like wild ales but they tend to cause some strange inflammatory flareups for me. Most of the big boy stouts I never got around to cracking are just continuing to get dusty but I do still occasionally get myself into trouble with barleywines and will probably never quit them. Everyone needs an indulgence now and again...

 

I know people 25 years old and they are ancient..I have known people 75 who have a young outlook.
Age is important but I refuse to go e and n a s be a boring old person waiting for death

 

I'm 67. Twenty years ago I drank 2-3 beers a night. Now I'm down to 3-4 beers a week. My latest reduction, from 6 beers a week, was caused by my absolute need to lose weight for my health.

I think I may enjoy beer more now than before. Now I really notice and savor that first sip. Beer has become a treat.

My biggest frustration, if you can call it that, is being limited in the variety of beer I can have each week. But that's not that big a deal. In addition I have a self-inflicted bias towards > 7 abv beer that crowds out more modest yet enjoyable brews.

 

I'm 67 and I'm going to quit beer when you pry it from my cold dead hands.
Everything in moderation, except for moderation.
Many more people are making themselves sick from the food they are eating than beer.
Cheers!

 

I can relate to this scene. My choice would be Hamm’s. I favor beers < 7 abv almost all the time and < 5 abv most of the time. I dropped 20 lbs two years ago and have managed to keep it off.

 

I'm in my early 60's but only got into craft seven years ago. I limit myself to one (and rarely two) a day, 5-6 days a week. I have several conditions where my doctors have hinted that I may need to cut down further, but they're OK with my current limit for now. I've been drinking down my cellar so I'm not left with a lot of good beers in case I have to completely stop.

 

Preach it.

 

I'm 53, and not drinking less. Nor are any of my friends. Aging makes you more aware of the toll drinking has on your health, but it also gives you the resources for better health care. Hell, if you have the money and a loose enough relation with your morals, you can buy new organs.Why not drink more, honestly?

 

Yes, I've had friends and acquaintances recently dying for a variety of reasons; straight up alcohol abuse for years, a weird fall in the woods on ice looking for a friend's errant shot, the incredibly fit 78 year old having a heart attack after a bad bout with Covid. All just weeks apart and everyone in their seventies somewhere. My doctor brother chalks it up to just getting older and I know he's right. But I want to live as long as I'm lucid, enjoy beer, and really love everyday. Drinking less helps, I think.

 

NOBODY .likes a QUITTER!!

 

I'm 66+ and retired. I'm drinking about the same since retiring but can see toning it down somewhat in the future. I don't ever see quitting or unless my health is hurting because of drinking. And I don't want to drink more because I have more free time. I will enjoy it as long as I can.

 

50 here. I don’t think I’ve cut back any (usually 2 beers a day), but I do find that I have better pace and self control at bottle shares lately. I definetly have noticed that I almost always will wake up in middle of my night’s sleep when I’ve had a little more than I’d like (which is at best once a month or even less frequently these days).

 

Not even just older folks. I'm 27 and decided I needed to pull way back. I've found it easier to manage tiki/rum because I can't rationalize drinking over 2-3 cocktails in a week whereas I was crushing high ABV beers like I was still in college in years past.

 

In college I was drinking zero beers 4-5 nights a week and then getting highly intoxicated at least 1or 2 nights a week(for me that = 4+ beers in 2-3hrs). Now I’m a steady 2 beers a day (usually spaced over 3-5 hours) without very much variance at all from that. So ironically, I probably drink more total beers in a week period here at age 50 than I did in college but now I rarely get even slightly buzzed from the effects of alcohol, where in college, I’d be a staggering, slurring mess at least once every weekend.

 

I’m no quitter

 

60's here. Great music back then too.
I look at it now as I always did. Caloric intake.
If you drink it, work it off.

 

While I agree with “lowering the tone” as time goes by (not drinking as much craft as I used to back in the day) I noticed that beer has become a staple of my life as I got older - kind of traded in the good old IPAs for a cold lager at the dinner table, adjuncts, suds, slops, anything goes.
Bourbons have also become a part of my life too, maybe it’s a cross man must carry…

 

45 isn't older, my buddies in their 60's show no sign of slowing down. Cannot relate to this at all.

 

This is really well put.

Some of you may know what I do, but I've pitched many articles that aim to help readers understand the mathematics about consuming "craft" beer. Plainly put, it's not healthy to consume to the level at which many BA's consume; It's not safe to have "only two beers" and drive home, especially when those two beers are 9% stouts.

I'd wholeheartedly support resources to be displayed on this site, and I'd also support a thread that's mainly around exactly that, support.

 

I'd love to hear more about what you do (feel free to PM me, if you've got the time and desire).

A little link at the bottom of the site that reads something like, "Resources if you think you might have a problem with alcohol" which then contained links to support programs, counseling services, and educational literature would be awesome. I've worked a great deal with people struggling with substance use disorder and would be happy to help contribute to the creation of this link.

 

New York Times has an article about a study of health effects of drinking.
Does Moderate Drinking Protect Your Heart? A Genetic Study Offers a New Answer. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
The article is likely behind a paywall. The article suggests that there is likely no benefit from alcohol consumption at the one or two drink per day level, as previously thought. It does say that risk increases at least marginally with any consumption and increases greatly beyond about 3 drinks a day. That three standard drink consumption commonly translates to about three 12 oz servings of 5% abv beer (typical pilsener), or two 12 oz 7.5% beers (IPA), or one 16 oz 12% beer (imperial IPA or Stout). I try to keep my choices fairly close to the 5% level, but most options are higher these days.

 

And I'd bet good money that a completely contrary study will be released next week. Probably even be covered in the Times.

Look up "coffee studies," too.