Who drinks (alcohol)? Why or why not?

[waarmstrong]

Good luke, good lack, and good luck, as well.

 

[Tocean]

I use alcohol sparingly and smoke grass even less these days, but that is not an expression of preference or fear of side effects. Since I quit smoking tobacco 20 years ago, its the delivery system that turns me off. If marijuana is reconstituted as a drink, it will be my drug of choice versus alcohol.

On a recent trip to Colorado, to do some, er research, you no longer need to smoke it - chocolates, gummies, lollipops, hell they have a freaking patch you can slap on your arm!

During the ensuing brewery/bar crawl downtown I was told that they're having a problem with people over doing it with the edibles, people eat a piece then don't feel it for an hour then eat more, next thing you know they're passed out on the side walk pissing themselves.

Awesome city, first time there, just barely got into the mountains this trip, got to see a concert at the famous Red Rocks.

 

[jstar]

Boulder is nice too.

 

[jstar]

First real beer without any sugar

From a Belgian newspaper (sorry for the lousy translation):

Erwin Couck (71) from the town of Ninove and his son Frederic (39) from Asse launch a new beer that contains no sugar. It was named Vibb, which stands for Very Important Belgian Beer. "And it is the first beer in the world without sugar," the duo states.

The production of the new beer took years of research. "A good friend of mine has diabetes, but likes to drink like a beer," says Erwin Couck, who formerly owned a textile factory. "We have worked together to find the right formula. In addition, we also got help from a few specialized laboratories. After a lot of trial and error, we had the right taste in sugar free beer. The brewing itself will be done by brewery Brunehaut from Hainaut. "

Son Frederic jumped on the bandwagon to promote and sell the beer. "This is a unique product. Our Vibb contains no sugar at all. Of the well-known Orval abbey beer it sometimes is claimed that it does not contain sugar, but that's not true at all. In Orval you still find a small amount, about 5 percent. With our beer there is nothing. We also have official certificates confirming this. "

The formula for the sugar-free beer is a big secret. "Like Coca-Cola we only know the recipe," says Erwin. "All the major brewers have been searching for the formula for sugar-free beer for years. We have found it. The beer is brewed with hops from Poperinge, our malt we get from Wallonia. We work only with Belgian products. A Vibb has an alcohol content of 4.5 percent. It is slightly lighter than a regular beer. "

Erwin and Frederic are targeting a commercial hit. Former football club Anderlecht manager Michel Verschueren could taste the first batch of the beer. The Vibb will be as of this weekend also served in the restaurant Saint-Guidon in Anderlecht. "But we also aim at other countries," father and son state. "In the United States there are 2 million diabetics. With Vibb they may soon also enjoy a real beer. We will also focus on a slightly older crowd. The hospitality industry shows a lot of interest but also in the nursing homes we can have our Vibb sold. "

The first brewing batch is now ready.

Erwin and Frederic had eight thousand liters Vibb brewed, enough for 26,000 bottles. "The sales price will be similar to that of Orval so between 3.5 and 4 euro," says Erwin Couck. "Our brand name is priceless. ' Patron, bring us a VIBB'ke ', that sounds really good, does it not? "

 

[waarmstrong]

4 Euros for a bottle of beer? Do the math; it's expensive to get get sick.

 

[jstar]

Or expensive to stay healthy? Order a "spa blauw" (=regular water in a bottle or glas, not much better than tap water) over there; you pay the same as for a soda.

I'm not sure if it is a EU or Belgian rule, but it seems they can put less than 5 grams sugar in the beer and still call it sugarfree. It is a bit similar to alcohol-free; everything below a certain percentage can claim that. (BE: <0.1%, US: <0.5%, UK: <0.05%). For low-alcohol beer there is somewhat more standardization, the general rule is an alcohol percentage of 1.2% max.

It is weird there aren't any EU rules on that (yet). I remember they introduced a method and alcohol measurement standardization but the individual countries don't agree. And they all want to protect their local industry and measuring methods.

 

[Daniel50]

I quit drinking about 30 years ago. I used to drink too much as a young person. Roughly 1 in 10 people develop a problem with alcohol. It is also characterized by a denial process," I am not that bad", "everyone imbibes", " there is no problem just others being too critical/uptight" etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum. It is characterized by a loss of control, related to brain chemistry. Meaning once I start I can not always predict how much I will drink and this is where the rationalising is used. The process is pretty much the same with mental health and trying to come to terms with depression, bipolar etc.. People go on and off their medication, or discontinue treatment as they don't believe they have a problem or can manage it themselves.

 

[kimdub]

My middle management business career took place during the times of the 3 martini lunch, and sadly, 3 martinis was often just the starter. About the time we would sober up, it was time to hit the meat market bars for after work socializing. It was shortly after that period that I almost totally stopped drinking. Now, I probably have not had more than 2 consecutive beers in over 30 years and that happens only a couple times a year. And a bit of scotch happens about 3 times a year.

We still bring in the duty free booze on every trip, but that is for the locals who enjoy a taste in private where they won't be judged by the other neighbors.

 

[fastpitch17]

Most stoners don’t appreciate alcohol and vice versa. Alcohol lovers aren’t too fond of the Bum Bhole either. But this particular product might just bring the two communities together and make people who like both, rejoice.

http://www.storypick.com/weed-wine/

You knew it was going to happen sooner or later.

 

[all4ywh]

Up until the age of 30, I occasionally only drank wine or wine coolers because I had no desire for any other types of alcohol. Since that time 13 years ago, I do not drink alcohol anymore because I decided that there was no benefit on my life to do so. For most of my 43 years on this planet and still at this time, I do enjoy some good swigs of root beer : fortunately there are some decent local brands of root beer which are available in Indonesia.

 

[Jaime C]

What are good local brands of rootbeer?

 

[jstar]

It's weird those A&W restaurants.

 

[Wisnu]

try bir pletok - no alcohol, https://visitingjava.wordpress.com/2013/07/05/bir-pletok-traditional-beer-from-jakarta/

 

[Bad_azz]

I think I am going to buy some beer in and have a couple tonight & just trying to decide what food to make - probably BBQ fish or Opor Ayam.

 

[jstar]

Anything will do as long as it's spicy.