Spyke

That's gotta be a regional thing, I have never heard the term "strong beer" said stateside and my life is probably more than half over.

Domestic beers are standardized at 4.5-5%, which at 12 oz is the equivalent to one standard unit of alcohol in American Medicine.

Pretty much anything that's popular right now is an IPA and those typically start around 6% and go all the way up to 8% before people decide to start renaming them doubles or barley wines.

Besides when comparing beer drinking of Europeans to Americans in the context of alcohol your comparing apples and oranges. Americans drink less beer and like 50% more hard liquor then y'all do.

2
lemmy.world

It's sad how proud y'all are of your drinking habit.

0
PhoenixDogreply
lemmy.world

Almost in my 40s. Been drinking at least sips of beer since I was 3.

I'm married. Have a small farm. Drive a truck for a living. I don't drink and drive. Alcohol has never had a negative effect on my friends, family, relationships, career, anything.

Almost like people can drink daily, and still be responsible about it. Almost everything is fine in moderation.

1
lemmy.today

If most people are like me, I'm so paranoid about getting a DUI, that I almost never drink outside my house, and even then it's only ONE beer, if I'm splurging on a steak dinner.

Even then, I'm totally paranoid about getting pulled over, and having to say I've only had ONE beer.

"Sure you have, buddy. Wanna step out of the car for me?"

2

We have a keychain sized Breathalyzer we bring with us if we go out anywhere. While obviously not perfectly accurate, it can give at least a good baseline whether you're over or under. So if we're getting close to wanting to go home and I'm driving and I blow around 0.08, I stop drinking. I order some water, maybe another appetizer or something, and hang out with my partner a half hour to an hour longer before heading home.

People think every day drinkers are just binge drinkers unable to handle their alcohol. It's an addiction, not a compulsion.

0
Bizzlereply
lemmy.world

I am clearly not talking about you

Edit b/c yes I am holy shit, if you bring a fucking breathalyzer with you when you go out anywhere you have a problem bro. I hope someday you dry out.

0
PhoenixDogreply
lemmy.world

if you bring a fucking breathalyzer with you when you go out anywhere you have a problem bro. I hope someday you dry out.

So according to you, "If you bring something while you go out for dinner, have a few drinks, and make sure you're safe to drive home in case you asked for a drink and the bartender accidentally added too much booze, or you want to be sure you're not going to kill someone on the way home, you have a problem" is a wild hill to die on.

The last person I'll ever take life advice from is someone who thinks being safe is a problem.

1

I think what I said was that if you get so trashed every time you leave the house to the point where this is even an issue you have a problem. Would it not be "sAfEr" to just not get wasted every time you go to dinner?

"Nah bro the interlock in my car is a safety measure it's not because I'm an alcoholic"

1
stringerereply
sh.itjust.works

Almost like people can drink daily, and still be responsible about it. Almost everything is fine in moderation.

Good for you, but that's a very ableist thing to say.

-1
PhoenixDogreply
lemmy.world

Nobody gets drunk and ruins their life or the lives of others off of a beer or two.

1
stringerereply
sh.itjust.works

I didn't say that. I said you were being ableist. Alcoholism is a disease.

0
stringerereply
sh.itjust.works

Almost like people can drink daily, and still be responsible about it.

Completely ignoring that for an alcohic, no it is not. Ableist.

1

You become an alcoholic by abusing alcohol, not just from drinking it in moderation and being aware of your consumption.

Did you even read my original comment? Or are you just making up your own argument and getting mad at it.

-1
lemmy.zip

Y'all have never encountered Wisconsinites, and it shows.

78

I lived in WI back in 03 when they lowered the bac from .1 to .08. people were pissed, but I don't recall them drinking any less, just getting arrested slightly more.

3
Tehhundreply
lemmy.world

Scotland versus all 50 states: Wisconsin carries the team.

Scotland versus 49 states except Wisconsin: I'm not sure how this would turn out but I suspect Scotland would win.

Scotland plus Wisconsin versus the other 49 states: sort of like a professional sports team playing a high school sports team.

4

Nah, the rest of the Great Lakes states would probably each give Scotland a run. I'm from Michigan and a lot of Yoopers I know could probably out drink a Wisconsinite.

2

Is a Wisconsin Driver's license even valid without at least one DUI on your record?

18

have never encountered Wisconsinites, and it sh

Yeah America has some pockets that just... are not human when it comes to drink. Like i can safely say your avg brit, irsh or scott would, can and does drink 95% of America under the table. But of that last 5%... iv seen things... things even the czechs would claim is unhuman.

6
hansoloreply
lemmy.today

It's not a 1:1 comparison is the thing. A DUI implies you can still get into the car and start it, so it's like you're bragging about only doing half the job. You haven't passed out at the bar and your friends stack empties on your head 15 high. (I've seen the Welsh do this at 10am ahead of a WC qualifier that started 10 hours later)

I've seen both of y'all get sloppy, UK and WI/MN. The Brits, but especially the Scots, do drink more that you statistically, and are just better at it.

3
Holytimesreply
sh.itjust.works

Kentucky hill folk out drink most of the world by quiet a bit. The USA as a whole is kinda shit at drinking. But we have some pockets that i question if they have blood or booze running though em.

2

And they're descended from some pockets of Scotland and Ireland that never slowed down.

But for real, there parts of the world that get slooooooooooppy. Drunks stumbling down the street at 9am in major cities type stuff drinking corn hooch in southern African countries. A lot made at home in Eastern Europe, who already ranks high. But they hold theor booze better, too.

Finland has a term specifically for feeling antisocial and not wanting to go out so you can get drunk at home alone - underwear drunk.

At some point, pissing contests lose the nuance or ick or charm of what makes alcohol-fueled cultures like that.

3
heddersreply
fedia.io

Oh my sweet summer child. Come to Britain. We'll show you what liver-threatening levels of belligerent drinking looks like. The only nations on earth that might - MIGHT - out-drink us are Russia, and maybe rural Finland.

-2
cowfodderreply
lemmy.zip

Wisconsin's beer consumption per capita is almost double that of Britain's.

41

And we drink that beer while we are waiting for our brandy and whisky drinks to show up.

17
cowfodderreply
lemmy.zip

Ha! Ha ha! HAHAHAHAHA!

Average abv of beer overall in the US vs beer in the UK is roughly similar. 4-5% in the US, and 4.5-4.8% in the UK.

Wisconsinites drink ~34-36 gallons (~128-132 liters) of beer per capita. Per capita consumption in the UK is ~18-20 gallons (~68-75 liters).

Additionally, while the UK has a great pub culture, that means the drinks tend to be spread out over the week, whereas Wisconsin (and really America as a whole) has more of a weekend binge drinking culture. This means that not only do Wisconsinites drink almost double what people from the UK do, but they tend to do so when only drinking 2-3 days per week.

And, if you want to include liquor, Wisconsin still has the UK beat. Pure alcohol consumption per capita is 10.6-10.7 liters per capita in the UK, vs 11.7-13.2 liters per capita in Wisconsin.

12
ricecakereply
sh.itjust.works

The Midwest and Great lakes region isn't the south. Our beer is worth drinking on several different metrics.

4.5%-7% for common popular beers, and excluding the fancy craft ones that you're probably having only one or two of that are 10%-15%.

The south has fine liquor, but some states/areas have weird laws around beer that makes it basically tap water with a dream. Their tea will have more effect.

8
tomiantreply
piefed.social

I'm very for 3% alc beers.

They are cheaper, you can drink more of them without getting plastered, they actually taste well, and it's much easier on your liver.

It's more in line how we used to drink beer hundreds of years ago, you drank it throughout the day but didn't get completely fucked up so you could still be productive.

2

To each their own, I'm not in the habit of telling people what to enjoy or not. :)
Personally, I haven't encountered a beer at that strength that tasted palatable. I'd be academically curious if the liver load was more or less with an equivalent amount of alcohol spread over 12 hours or 4 hours. I know above a certain level it can't process it fast enough and you get your hangover effects, but also that the time spent processing has it's own load.

I will, however, tease states that have a reputation for beer that's only about twice the alcohol as you naturally find in fruit juice.

1
teyrnonreply
sh.itjust.works

Montana is highest in the US.

It should be noted that the rubes in both states drink shitty corporate beer for the most part.

4
cowfodderreply
lemmy.zip

The most popular beer in Wisconsin is Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewing Company.

4
ryathalreply
sh.itjust.works

Spotted cow is also one of the top ten craft brewers by volume in the US. They do not distribute outside of Wisconsin to my knowledge.

3
cowfodderreply
lemmy.zip

Not only do they not distribute outside Wisconsin, they will go after anyone they find selling their beer outside of the state.

1

I'm assuming this is based on sales of alcohol. NH has state run liquor stores (they sell all kinds of alcohol, not just liquor, but are the only stores that can sell things stronger than wine/beer). They have no sales tax, and are generally cheaper than liquor stores in all of the surrounding states.

Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts residents regularly cross the state line to buy in NH, and NH makes it convenient with stores close to the borders and near highways.

5

Yeah, and looking at the global stats, the 2019 ones seem equally dubious in some ways, being mostly lower and rounded the same way. But to WI's consumption, they also have lower taxes relative to IL and MN.

Plenty of places like Eastern Europe, people make their own wine at home. That's going to skew them, already high, higher in reality.

Just personally, the UK is just fucking professional at drinking. Despite the fact they aren't even in the top 10 globally. I know that upper-Midwest drinking a touch, but it's just not the same.

1
hansoloreply
lemmy.today

You do know alcohol comes in other forms, right?

Per capita, UK alcohol consumption is actually just slightly ahead of WI. But the UK is also only 22nd globally by rank.

Romania drinks 150% of what WI drinks per capita, and a lot of that is wine and brandy.

2

Right. But hey look, these stats are pretty unreliable the more I look into them. I've seen plenty that put the UK avg and WI avg close enough to be negligible.

I dunno, man. I've seen WI and UK drinking. It's not a pissing contest worth having online from either side.

1
lemmy.world

I've been to Britian many times, you folks get out drunk by the Germans a couple times a year and by the American Midwest consistently

25

A former colleague of mine who enjoys a glass of wine of an evening was reported to HR as an alcoholic by a Midwest American at her new job in London. It was a US-based company so HR took it seriously and she had to explain herself.

All of us at her previous job were astonished. We'd worked with an alcoholic - he had a bottle of water in his desk drawer that turned out to be vodka, and he got so drunk he passed out and fell off his chair. Miss Prim America had been on a work trip with our friend and was scandalised by her drinking wine with dinner every day. Maybe it was a religious thing?

5

The UK isn't even in the top 15 European countries based on liters consumed per capita. You are higher when it comes to alcoholism per capita, but still not in the top ten.

8

Pretty sure Australia and Poland are up there too based on my experiences.

6

They'll never know the joy and sorrow of spending 16 hours in a Wetherspoons and not being on shift.

3

Czechs do pretty well too and they do it on beer. None of the cheating on vodka.

1
vaionkoreply
sopuli.xyz

I'm a university student in Finland, and probably drink an alocolic amount of alcohol some weeks

2

For technical details : I would drink a minimum of 4 pints of Bud (the lightest pints available on tap) on a quiet evening out. Four nights a week on average.
For thirteen years (I was drinking the same when I worked).

And again, I was fit, I wasn't even considered a drinker. Like, this was considered normal, social drinking.

When I went to live in China, this felt like having a superpower :,D

1
piefed.social

After returning from a vacation to America, an English Youtuber was talking about the cultural differences, and said that what they call "going to a pub in the evening," Americans would call "a serious drinking problem."

29

I couldn't deal with the hangover. I can't even imagine.

3

People here really do suck it's true. Not all but many, and those many include the establishment. Even as they drink, they will condemn it.

2
fedinsfw.app

Vacation vs Work Week... I'd be curious how it would go vacation vs vacation

25
fedinsfw.app

When you drop everything to fly halfway around the world to warch grown men in shorts run around and chase a ball for 90 minutes, then drink all the beer in a given area.

16
lemmy.world

In the article I read they compared the drinking in the days around the scottish game to the drinking in the 4th july weekend and the scots massively won.

3
fedinsfw.app

What article? I must've missed that one... but it's still not apples to apples... because a lot of people still work day of 4th of July, don't take that time off to celebrate like people on holiday for the world cup do.

I'm not doubting the answers, mind you, just the validity of the test itself.

6

It was a dutch article where they interviewed some pub owners in Boston. Probably more people have the day off on 4th of july then there are scots in Boston for the world cup..

2
lemmy.zip

UK cant even out drink other Europeans.

You would be dead before you made it past Pennsylvania.

25

tionally, while the UK has a great pub culture, that means the drinks tend to be spread out over the week,

Three men from Kentucky, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania walk into a bar. The owner buys a new car the next day.

3
lemmy.world

To make this simulation a little easier to the compare the Western US is ~80M people and I think the UK takes em down comfortably.

The Great Lakes region would take down the UK, but in a much closer and drunker matchup.

12

The western US has the secret elevation advantage. If were battling at sea level, mountain homies will be 10 drinks deep before they even feel a thing

8

They considered running out of beer, running out of everything but bud light and Coors. So yeah, I am sure it would.

6

Yeah! All those alcoholic children at St John's just need to kick the habit, those worthless fuckin' lushes!

1

Why not cut out the extra steps and just say you'd like to see the UK cease to exist?

3
PhoenixDogreply
lemmy.world

I'm Canadian.

We'd mop the floor with you. The UK would be just as successful. As long as you consider 6% beer "strong beer"....

0
PhoenixDogreply
lemmy.world

Obviously American. Because American's cannot drink for shit.

-2

I didn't know Romania had anything to do with the UK out drinking Americans

-1
lemmy.sdf.org

As much as I hate the USA, this is the first time I'm ready to compete for my country. I'll have a double-shot and a Pilsner, please!

9
lemmy.world

I was curious. The UK drank 12% more per capita than the US in 2022. 10.8 L/person year for the UK and 9.8 L/person year for the US.

7
lemmy.browntown.dev

10.8L is roughly 3gal which roughly 33 12oz bottles

Thats like 1.25 cases of beer, either I'm drinking a lot more than the average person or these stats arent correct

-1
feddit.org

Alcohol statistics are usually talking about pure alcohol. 10.8l of pure alcohol per capita per year are about one 0.5l bottle of beer per capita per day.

3
lemmy.ca

It's not how much they drink, it's how they drink. It's all binge drinking.

-1

An extra 1.25 cases of beer over the course of a year is binge drinking?

Do you even know what binge drinking is?

1
lemmy.world

So now that we know the British don't drink as much as they think are they ready to admit their beer isn't all that good compared to the continent

5
teyrnonreply
sh.itjust.works

India Pale Ale is good ale. I know others make a lot of good beer I don't even know about, like the Czechs especially, belgium went all corporate.

What do you consider good beer? Because heavy hops is non negotiable for many of us, that may prefer the 7.6% ales over the weak ass corporate bullshit they sell to the sheep hereabouts.

4

I've lived on the west coast of North America for three decades now, I am so tired of places with 8 taps where 6 are IPA.

3
lemmy.world

I know this is a joke.

If every person in the US could handle 2 drinks, every person in the UK would have to drink 9 of the same to keep up.

5

Challenge accepted.

I'm in Santa Fe, only a mile and a half above sea level. Wanna go lower in altitude? Guess I'll drink double. And since you invited me, you're paying, yes?

5

I don't think that's actually a thing, I'm at 600 ft above sea level, and I would drink you under the table.

1
lemmy.world

I’ve never been at high altitudes. Do you get drunk faster or just get nauseated/tired more easily?

1

Yup, Santa Fe is at 7000ft. At those altitudes, a single drink is worth about 2, and you sober up slower. 4 beers is considered a long night of drinking, and must be done with water breaks and food.

2

I don't think so, but above 6,000 feet oxygen deprivation shows effects. It won't effect alcohol metabolism. The high plateau folks are just stroking themselves off, they can't outdrink anyone because of their altitude.

2
piefed.zip

There are small towns in my area that could outdrink the entirety of Europe.

1