Alcohol and Inebriation

[Goman Fox]

When I was younger, I had always wondered what it would be like to be drunk.  This was when I was a kid, before I had even experienced drinking alcohol.  Of course, I'm one of those slow people that didn't drink alcohol for a long time (not even in high school) and never tried drugs either.  Hell, even to this day, I haven't even had prescription drugs that have altered my state of mind, aside from drugs that put me to sleep while I was sick.

Anyways, I had always heard, from TV and stories and such, that drunk people sometimes do things they regret when sober.  I had this idea that alcohol made you do things that you wouldn't normally do while sober.  While this is true, I had extended this belief to the idea that alcohol made you do things you didn't want to do, so for a time I was afraid that drinking would lead to regrets later on, because if I got drunk, I'd do something "against my own will" or something.

Now I now better though, after my experience drinking over the last few years.  Alcohol doesn't make you do things you don't want to do.  At worst, it allows you to do things you would normally know better than to do while sober, and at the least, it probably gives you "liquid courage" to do things you wouldn't feel entirely comfortable doing sober, even though you wanted to do them.

People seem to enjoy when I drink.  When sober, I'm pretty reserved.  There are a few people I will open up to and talk to, but when groups get to large, I'll shut myself off from most everyone, sometimes even hide.  Though when I drink, I'll open up more, maybe even talk more, but usually end up sitting somewhere and giggling at anything and everything.  I've never done anything that I wouldn't want to do while sober, nor have I even thought about it.  I even know for a fact that no matter how drunk I am, I'm not going to suddenly have a desire to have sex with a woman or something.  So honestly, I believe people that use alcohol as an excuse, "Oh, I would never do that sort of thing, it's all because I was drunk," are retards.  Alcohol doesn't really change how you feel, it just changes how you react with the world around you.  "Straight guys" that end up fooling around with their male buddies when drunk may not be -gay- exactly, but for them to deny there was any desire at all is stupid.

I'm curious how others view alcohol, especially when they're drunk.  I really think that people don't do things they don't -want- to do while drunk, just things they think they shouldn't, but maybe I'm wrong.  Different people might react with alcohol differently, so I can't know.  All I do know is that I am who I am, whether I'm drinking or not, I just seem to be easier to approach and have fun with when I'm drinking, since people usually misread my emotions when I'm sober and think I want to be left alone.

The other thing I'm curious about is how people treat alcohol.  Do you enjoy the taste and have a drink or two every once in a while because of that?  Do you drink sometimes just for the purpose of getting drunk?  Maybe you drink sometimes for that bit of 'liquid courage?'

I've never liked the taste of any alcoholic beverage I've tasted (aside from the occasional sip of nigori sake), so I'm curious if this is different for other people.  Not even TM's homebrew beer do I particularly like.  If given a glass, I'd drink it and enjoy it (depending on the beer, I usually prefer lighter beers), but I'm not a big enough fan of beer to go out of the way to want some either.  But I think my reaction to TM's beer is a step up from my reaction if I were given some cheap beer, since I'd turn that stuff down without a second thought.   Good homebrew or microbrew stuff I can probably drink, even if I don't really like it a whole lot, but cheap beers drive me away from the smell alone, not even mentioning the taste.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Not even TM's homebrew beer do I particularly like.  If given a glass, I'd drink it and enjoy it (depending on the beer, I usually prefer lighter beers), but I'm not a big enough fan of beer to go out of the way to want some either.  But I think my reaction to TM's beer is a step up from my reaction if I were given some cheap beer, since I'd turn that stuff down without a second thought.

Uh...thanks.  I'm flattered.  I think?

ROFL!  Throw me a bone here!  I'm drowning in the apathy!

Fox, in all seriousness, beer is largely an acquired taste.  The more of it that you drink, the more you come to appreciate and enjoy the beverage.  The same can be said for almost all alcoholic beverages - barring those that are so sweet and "girly" that you can't taste anything but sugar and fruit - that many people enjoy, which is why it's generally considered to be an adult beverage (inebriation considerations aside). 

It's like an example of haut cuisine, if you think about it.  If you're out to enjoy a fancy restaurant and order one of the more expensive items on the menu, wouldn't you be disappointed if what you were served was bland and one dimensional?  If the full taste experience isn't there (sour/sweet/bitter/salty), then one can't help but to feel that something's missing from their experience.

The same philosophy applies to beer, wine, mead, sake, spirits, and cocktails: if what you're drinking only has one flavor note, then it's terribly hard to enjoy.  You might taste one of my unhopped starters sometime to get an idea of what beer would taste like without hops to add bitterness ("ale" in the historic sense, rather than the modern meaning of the term).

[Steps down from soapbox]

The other thing I'm curious about is how people treat alcohol.  Do you enjoy the taste and have a drink or two every once in a while because of that?  Do you drink sometimes just for the purpose of getting drunk?  Maybe you drink sometimes for that bit of 'liquid courage?'

Everyone has their own reasons, I think.  I have a couple different reasons, myself.  On the one hand, drink (and brew) because the science and art of zymurgy fascinate me to no end, and there is no greater way to appreciate the art than to consume it, and no greater way to reward the artist than to buy his product.   On the other hand, hops are a sedative and ethanol is a depressant.  This is the reason people will relax with a glass of beer or wine after a long day at work - drinking (especially beer) really will relax you and help you unwind.

As for getting drunk...not so much.  A buzz is nice once in a while, I'll grant you, but I really dislike being drunk to the point of seeing double or being unable to walk without staggering.  Some people, like my in-laws, seem to like that feeling...but it's definitely not for me.  Not to mention I really, really hate puking.  Been there, done that, not going back.  It's for this reason that perceptive observers may have noticed that I consciously pace and limit my alcohol intake while at parties, the notable exception being the Great Alaska Beer and Barleywine Festival.  At that particular event, I really do take it as a challenge to see just how much of my ticket book I can use up and still be able to walk out in a semi-straight line at the end of the night.

[akguy34]

Me personally, I enjoy drinking drinks that taste good, I especially love the flavor of a drink enjoyed in the company of Friends, nothing is sweeter than a drink with loved ones. I enjoy multiple types of drink, Beer, wines, whiskeys, and especially Mead's. I like homebrews, growing up in a tiny town there was always someone working a brew. I love the taste of hard work, love, and satisfaction that can be tasted in a good batch, if that makes any sense.

But back to the question of drinking and behaviors, when I drink I open up and become very talkative I become the person I am inside, when I drink I take full responsibility for my actions. Some, if not many will disagree about what I believe, but I believe alcohol brings out ones true nature and sometimes someone’s true nature and there "sober" nature clash turning into the "Oh, I would never do that sort of thing, it's all because I was drunk." mentality, although there are a few exceptions, small things, thinking through, problems with coordination, I have a Friend that got wasted and did something that he thought would be a funny joke but ended up turning bad. It was a joke he had played sober before with great laughter, but being drunk he hadn't taken all the precautions and it got out of hand, no one hurt though. Also there was that time I woke up on the washer and dryer... another story for another time. Well that’s my two cents, hope I at least made sense.