New to "drinking"

[VKK3450]

Originally Posted by Using Technology

I'm guessing you are a right boring wanker, mate. Stop being such a twat and have a bit more fun on the internet, gov'ner. Ow about ya just freshen yoir tea and let the big boys talk.

(also I don't bartend anymore. The service industry is you young'uns and chumps.)

Oooo, you really got me there with ********* van Dyke mockney accent. Thats how "big boys" like you talk smack, doing a little imitation of other peoples cultures (I'm not even British

)?

Do you walk into your local Chinese restaurant squint your eyes and order the "flied lice"?

K

 

[Using Technology]

No dude, the big boys call people twats, "bust heads" down at "the wife beater" and say "no ****" when they fondle their mate's perniums. You know that!

 

[VKK3450]

Originally Posted by Using Technology

No dude, the big boys call people twats, "bust heads" down at "the wife beater" and say "no ****" when they fondle their mate's perniums. You know that!

You still dont get sarcasm / tongue in cheek do you?

I doubt you will last long here. Might as well save us the time and leave now.

K

 

[Using Technology]

just because something is tongue in cheek doesn't mean it isn't boring, home skillet (see what I mean?)

p.s. We should probably move this elsewhere. I think we might have destroyed a good drinking thread by this point.

 

[VKK3450]

Pbbbbbt, I prob had 3-4 posts in this kerfafle. I'd say someone else has cluttered up more of this thread...

K

 

[itmfl2046]

To be honest if you're just starting out drinking and go for a night of drinking 2 pints/hr of 5% beer for 6 hours you're asking for trouble. 5% doesn't sound like a lot but that's just one pint and you're unfit to drive. 6 and you'll be on the way. 12 ... I don't remember. But it's not a race. Drink at your pace, no one elses. Ordering a premium czech beer or a blend of scottish whiskies will be that last thing you'll worry about - and won't remember the next morning anyway. You'll have good days where you can drink a mix all night and feel oddly fine the next morning, yet start off tired, on an empty stomach and dehydrated and you'll swear you'll never touch the stuff again after just 2 pints some days; really, beer brand is the last thing you'll be thinking of- and I don't think after 5 or 6 many people can distinguish between many. See what others like, and why - everyone's taste is different so don't expect to like everything. In the UK Fosters, the Ozzy beer, is about the cheapest and weakest mainstream beer on tap available in many places; that or Carling/Carlsburg. I don't like any of them as they taste watery - fine if you want to just drink a huge volume but not a great choice for taste imo. There's Amstel, Stella, Kronenburg, Leffe, (Fruli), a few more, and that's what most places will have (in the uk, in pubs/bars, on tap) Try them, see if and why you like/don't like them. Just don't be the arse ordering expensive £7/pint imports when it's someone elses round, do it on yours unless others are spending that much. Becks & Bud- mostly in bottled form and just fine to drink (Bud perhaps a little dated here

) though I usually go for a label I've not tried before at leasts once a night. Tiger, Tsing Tao, Asahi - imports and very crisp, refreshing tastes, not a bad way to start a night off. Just don't underestimate the difference between a 2 and 5 % beer- doesn't sound like a lot but over a night it can dictate a clear morning or a drycleaning bill for your clothes! Also, consider having a pint or half of water (free here) after 4 or 5 pints, then again before your last drink and one before heading home; down it at the bar, get some ice and lemon in it to look like vodka something. You'll not be used to the dehydrating effect of alcohol, especially in warm social situations. For me it makes a huge difference - still get drunk, great nights out, zero hangovers. Personally I wouldn't recommend starting on Guniess (10 years of drinking and I still can't finish a whole pint) as it's an acquired taste to say the least. In the uk unless you're at a beer fest or a country pub their 'special' is usually some niche brewery nearby selling ales- not my thing really, but they do have the funniest names and labels

Anywhere else won't have a special, it's not really done here. Whiskey, G&T etc, fine, just don't expect to last long after 7 or 8 if you're starting out- nomatter how cool they are, being spewing blob on the floor just isn't. Personally I order Becks on tap when I find it as it's delicious, Fruli if it's there too(it's pink. and strawberry flavoured- perhaps not a great starting beer!), a few amstel/kronenburgs then a few bottles and a few g&ts. Or you could just buy the first round, take others' orders and add yours at the end, picking one of theirs. Easy.

 

[unjung]

Originally Posted by Using Technology

just because something is tongue in cheek doesn't mean it isn't boring, home skillet (see what I mean?) p.s. We should probably move this elsewhere. I think we might have destroyed a good drinking thread by this point.
You're a dunce. How many times do you need to refer to "frat" bars? "College" bars make sense in that context. "Frat" bars don't. I've been to bars in Western Canada, Eastern Canada, Alaska, California, Georgia, DC, California and everywhere in between, and while not every single one had a beer on special, many did. You obviously didn't ask often enough. The OP goes out with friends. The OP's friends drink alcohol when the OP is out with them. The OP should drink what his friends are drinking. Gin and tonic is still a good recommendation. Any beer that's not an IPA, stout, porter or PBR/Coors/Bud is a good recommendation, pale and amber ales especially. The house white is good with fish and chicken. The house red is good with red meat. Jag, you can shower in that ****. That is all.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by Using Technology

I'm guessing you are a right boring wanker, mate. Stop being such a twat and have a bit more fun on the internet, gov'ner. Ow about ya just freshen yoir tea and let the big boys talk.

(also I don't bartend anymore. The service industry is you young'uns and chumps.)

Yeah, them service industry workers are such chumps. When are physicians and I-bankers gonna wise up and get real jobs?

OP, drink whatever you want. Asking what the happy hour special is, is a great way to try new things. Why? 1) It's on sale, so save money, 2) it was chosen, because people probably like it. If people probably like it, you probably will too.

 

[Using Technology]

I wouldn't pay too much attention to anyone saying not to try this type of beer or not to try this type fo drink. Everything mentioned here is popular amongst a good amount of the populice. It is all about finding what you like. Experiment and try a stout and an IPA and bourbon and rum and everything else till you know what you like best.

 

[HitMan009]

Stella tastes like piss to me. Order an Amstel Lite. It's a good beer with moderate hops. Amstel is an easy drinking beer. Not sweet like Bud or water like Coors.

 

[otc]

Maybe he is just argueing in this thread to get up to 100 posts so he can argue in current events...

I read "get the special" and tought yeah...thats a pretty good idea. Since you dont have strong preferences, you can try new things and get them cheaper than the non-specials.

I never throught it weird that a bar would have a "special" Sure, I guess sometimes the special may be the tail-end of a seasonal beer or some older stuff they need to get rid of but they still count as a special. Also, a lot of bars will have specials of some sort on off-nights (I see them listed all the time in the local alternative weekly paper type thigns)...

I think the key is to get the american-stigma out of your head and start treating booze as a beverage. Once you acquire a taste for some kinds of beer...you should recognize that you actually like drinking it. It is not meant to be a cringe-fest while you down a shot of cheap vodka on the road to drunkenness. It just happens to be a beverage that is a little more versatile...it can get you drunk. If you drink it like a can of coke (unless you are someone who drinks multiple cokes in a single sitting), its a beverage...if you drink it like a thirsty athelete after a marathon...well...you will probably be vomiting. It seems that in other countries, alcohol (especially beer and wine) is recognized first as a beverage and second as a drug that can be overconsumed.

It's probably due to our high drinking age

 

[Matt]

Places Matt drinks:

Underground - happy hour - dollar Tiger draft between 6 and 7 every night
Black Cat - ladies night Friday, men's night Saturday - 2 for 1 cocktails
Vascos - just put this out on Facebook: FYI: Vasco's has moved ladies night to Wednesday, but because we are just telling you now, this week, we're going to offer ladies Sparkling wine from 8:30 to 9:30. ALSO: Vasco's is starting DRINK SPECIALS ON THURSDAY! These are hard times, and we still want you to come out. So a special list of Cocktails, Beer, and Shots will all be available.
Lush - having Moet night on Thursday
Zanzbar - happy hour - 20% discount on all import beers and cocktails before 7.

...and none of those are "frat bars". Incidentally in my 2 years in the US, I never heard anyone use that phrase...I also never heard any fraternity people refer to their house as a "frat" - they tended to spout the line "dont call my fraternity a frat and I wont call your country a ****"

 

[Huntsman]

I preface this thread by saying that I am a barfly. I love bars. I love restaurants and the finest of cuisine, but I recognize that bars have a magic that a restaurant dining room never can have. If I'm on business and out alone, I eat at the bar. If I'm meeting friends, you'll find us at the bar. I just came back from a vacation (flying was involved) solely to go to my favorite bar. This is what I do.

Originally Posted by why

Don't think too hard about it. Most people don't have a ******* clue what they're ordering let alone if it'll pair well with their meal. I usually order a Dewar's (basic scotch) when the server asks for drinks and might change drinks depending on what I'm having. I don't like beer with meals on dates, business, certain people, etc. because I burp at the table. Most people I know look like pretentious ***** when they stick to memorized hard and fast rules instead of just getting what they want. If you don't like liquor I'd stick to wines. If you can't pronounce them or something just ask for the server's preference or order the same thing as a friend.
OP doesn't know what he wants yet. He's just looking for something he can order with confidence that won't kill him.

Originally Posted by why

Pretty much all of them, dumbass. This is in a bar setting...not at a restaurant (ie. 'going drinking'). And don't ask for specials for food dishes. The server will always say what they are for the night.

Originally Posted by MCsommerreid

Several bars locally have beer specials, but they tend to be beer bars. Usually places that feature local or microbrews will have such a thing. Dives and clubs wont have a beer special, but might have a cocktail special depending on the bartender. Or they'll have the classic PBR+shot.

Originally Posted by Using Technology

McSommerreid: yes, that is true. Beer beer bars will have specials soemtimes. But my point was just that many if not most bars do not and thus why's advice to not try to learn what beers you like but just go into a bar and just say "gimme whatever you have on special" is going to give you a lot of funny looks from bartenders.

Originally Posted by why

Do you go to bars? I don't think I've been to a single bar in the US that didn't have a beer on special. I know it sounds ******* crazy, but you might have to ask the bartender if they do. Shocking.

Originally Posted by why

Every bar has specials. Quit being a twat and get into the real world.

Originally Posted by why

I know every bartender in the world and they all serve beer specials. You washed dishes in a hotel bar.
why, dude, there are many, many bars that don't have beer specials. Chill. Yeah, a lot of them do, and it's usually two types -- 1) the bar that makes a point of their beer selection, be it many bottles or taps, or a place that features (or is) local microbreweries, and 2) frat-boy bars that cater to college kids new to drinking. But not all. So get off your high horse. Neither of you is completely right, and neither completely wrong.

Originally Posted by zjpj83

Indeed, people who look down on you for drinking or not drinking can go ***************. Frankly, sounds like you need new friends rather than purposefully trying to pick up new tastes and habits
Zip is right. I think I mentioned this before -- be you, and if you is not a guy who drinks, then that's who you are.

Originally Posted by unjung

You're a dunce. How many times do you need to refer to "frat" bars? "College" bars make sense in that context. "Frat" bars don't. I've been to bars in Western Canada, Eastern Canada, Alaska, California, Georgia, DC, California and everywhere in between, and while not every single one had a beer on special, many did. You obviously didn't ask often enough. The OP goes out with friends. The OP's friends drink alcohol when the OP is out with them. The OP should drink what his friends are drinking. Gin and tonic is still a good recommendation. Any beer that's not an IPA, stout, porter or PBR/Coors/Bud is a good recommendation, pale and amber ales especially. The house white is good with fish and chicken. The house red is good with red meat. Jag, you can shower in that ****. That is all.
Umm yeah, frat bars do. There were known frat bars in my college town, and they are where I didn't go. There were other 'college bars' that I went to, but they were not known for the frat boys and their sorority girls. It's a subset thing, if you recall your Venn.

Originally Posted by m@T

Places Matt drinks: ...and none of those are "frat bars". Incidentally in my 2 years in the US, I never heard anyone use that phrase...I also never heard any fraternity people refer to their house as a "frat" - they tended to spout the line "dont call my fraternity a frat and I wont call your country a ****"
Weird. It was all about the frats (or, more commonly, the Greek) at my Uni. Fraternity was waaaaay too many syllables. ~ Huntsman

 

[IUtoSLU]

At Indiana University they are "frats". "Are you in a fraternity?" This is used. "Frat houses are nasty." This is also used. "I hate frats." This is also used. "Frat bars" absolutely exist, and they are absolutely disgusting.

 

[lynchpatrickj]

Originally Posted by grimslade

I disagree with this. Guinness is a great starting drink. It's respectable and goes down very easily.

Some people tend to like dark beers a lot, and I'm not one of them. Stella is (on tap, anyways) reliably good, generally available at most bars, and huge leap up from, say, Miller Lite, and really easy to drink all afternoon.

Also, whoever said that most bars don't offer specials is a moron.