New to "drinking"

[Matt]

Originally Posted by 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.
ok fair enough....I went to UCLA myself, and remember the "call your country a ****" line quite vividly...I was a foreign student after all.

 

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

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.
I agree with this in principle, in an ideal world and all that. In practise, it always feels a little odd having a teetotaller in our midst though, plus, as we inevitably degenerate in civility as the night wears on, it must start to look really odd to the sober one. A couple of recent experiences...I took a week off drinking last week. Went out and felt really awkward at a couple of social events as I nursed my non-alcoholic beverage, or as friends gave me that look as they bought me a drink. Also, having watched the boys get drunk without me (highly irregular), I felt really odd as they all laughed their asses off at each other, with me sitting there soberly thinking 'wait...that's not funny at all'. We have also recently befriended a non-drinker. Again, feels really odd when it is my turn to buy, and it is like "Heineken, vodka tonic, gin tonic, Heineken, iced water, whiskey sour"...we kind of inevitably stop and say "are you sure?". Plus we feel guilty when it is his turn to buy. I found myself leaving a lot earlier than usual...

 

[matadorpoeta]

Originally Posted by m@T

I agree with this in principle, in an ideal world and all that. In practise, it always feels a little odd having a teetotaller in our midst though, plus, as we inevitably degenerate in civility as the night wears on, it must start to look really odd to the sober one.

A couple of recent experiences...I took a week off drinking last week. Went out and felt really awkward at a couple of social events as I nursed my non-alcoholic beverage, or as friends gave me that look as they bought me a drink.

Also, having watched the boys get drunk without me (highly irregular), I felt really odd as they all laughed their asses off at each other, with me sitting there soberly thinking 'wait...that's not funny at all'.

I found myself leaving a lot earlier than usual...

i find it very attractive when i meet a woman who doesn't drink. a man who doesn't drink is not to be trusted.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by m@T

I agree with this in principle, in an ideal world and all that. In practise, it always feels a little odd having a teetotaller in our midst though, plus, as we inevitably degenerate in civility as the night wears on, it must start to look really odd to the sober one. A couple of recent experiences...I took a week off drinking last week. Went out and felt really awkward at a couple of social events as I nursed my non-alcoholic beverage, or as friends gave me that look as they bought me a drink. Also, having watched the boys get drunk without me (highly irregular), I felt really odd as they all laughed their asses off at each other, with me sitting there soberly thinking 'wait...that's not funny at all'. I found myself leaving a lot earlier than usual...
Well, I don't know. I don't think it has to be an ideal world -- it is mine as I'm pretty much always the sober one. I don't get drunk. One might say I agree with my position not merely in principle but in practice. Doesn't cause any problems. ~ H

 

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

Well, I don't know. I don't think it has to be an ideal world -- it is mine as I'm pretty much always the sober one. I don't get drunk. One might say I agree with my position not merely in principle but in practice. Doesn't cause any problems. ~ H
oh I am not always out and trashed trashed. I kind of know where it gets messy for me, and generally hold myself just south of that line (while my friends go plummeting to a liquified grave all round me). I did, however, find it odd, uncomfortable, and generally not enjoyable to be The Guy Who Isnt Drinking. It may well just be that the strange looks came from the fact that everyone knows I drink, and also my own discomfort in ordering making a self-fulfilling-prophesy out of it...but still...I felt strange about it, and evidently the OP does too.

 

[Joffrey]

Originally Posted by lynchpatrickj

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.


+1 accross the board. Except that if I'm drinking all afternoon I would want something with "drinkability

" but good so I would go with Amstel. Stella is great too though.

I think Smithwicks is very smooth and light for a dark beer. I tend to go with that if I want dark beer.

 

[Matt]

meh, Ive been largely shot down on this, but I still maintain that the strong tastes of dark beers, very full, bloated stomachs, and evil hangovers do not a rookie-drink make.

Anyhow, as you were....

 

[unjung]

Originally Posted by m@T

ok fair enough....I went to UCLA myself, and remember the "call your country a ****" line quite vividly...I was a foreign student after all.

Yes, this line does get a lot of play in the circles I move in. I don't really pay much heed to it unless I'm around older alumni or at formal events...

I still think the phrase "frat bar" is ridiculous. If there happened to be a bar full of frat boys, it's also going to be full of "independents"; not every frat boy lives life like Animal House.

 

[TowleY]

My personal favorite is long island iced teas. Its pretty much a mix of evry alcohol and a splash of coke. Just be careful if htey put too much sour mix they taste pretty bad. Otherwise they taste just like a iced tea. Mojitos are good but they are girly.

 

[robbie]

I don't really drink.

I have the occasional beer here and there, but if I am with friends I am there to enjoy their company if I feel like drinking I drink, if not I don't. I don't think you should worry whether or not you are annoying your friends, unless you make judgmental statements all the time. **** dude, be the DD if you don't wanna drink or are intimidated by it.

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by itmfl2046

Personally I wouldn't recommend starting on Guniess (10 years of drinking and I still can't finish a whole pint) .


Absurd. You make it sound like some kind of firewater.

 

[nootje]

Originally Posted by grimslade

Absurd. You make it sound like some kind of firewater.

, indeed an odd comment..

Have to agree with matt on the darker beers giving killer hangovers though, the worst ive had were from belgian beer nights and a 3/4 bottle of glenfiddich maoran reserve...

Ontopic, just ask for a beer... I remember heineken is viewed as a premium beer across the pond? That would make a good bread and butter drink

 

[Using Technology]

Originally Posted by unjung

I still think the phrase "frat bar" is ridiculous. If there happened to be a bar full of frat boys, it's also going to be full of "independents"; not every frat boy lives life like Animal House.

I don't think it is a terribly important argument, but I honestly do think there is a difference between simply a college bar and a frat bar. They have different atmospheres and different styles. Of course they will be full of "independents" as well, but you could say the same thing about "biker bars" or "punk rock bars" or "hipster bars" etc.

 

[Alter]

Before I really cared about the kind of alcohol I consumed I usually just asked for a pint of beer. If asked "what kind do ya want?" I would just answer "Just beer...something kinda brown coloured and a little frothy that is cold and delicious. I want one of those."

Then leave a good tip.

 

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by TowleY

My personal favorite is long island iced teas. Its pretty much a mix of evry alcohol and a splash of coke. Just be careful if htey put too much sour mix they taste pretty bad. Otherwise they taste just like a iced tea. Mojitos are good but they are girly.

Joke, right?

I recommend vodka with a splash of tonic & a lime twist, easy starting point for someone with no taste for liquor, but still maintains some "adult cocktail credibility". I recommend Kettle One