How much is too much?

So......


I've seen so much in the way of 2 drinks/day is too much, 4 drinks etc.

There's so much conflicting information out there.


I feel like I drink a lot. But I've talked to others who seem to drink nightly too.

I have a job, it's not like I let beer run my life. But there is such a thing as "functional alcoholics".

When I'm sick, I'll stop drinking and not get the shakes or anything, nor do I have cravings during the day or anything crazy.

I do drink daily. Most of the time it's nightly when I come home from work. 2-4 beers/ night. I don't feel like its all that much. I still exercise, I still feel good. I honestly haven't been drunk in as long as I can remember. (I'm 6'7" and 285lbs so that's difficult) No one is on my case or anything. I just don't want a bad impact on my health.

The funny part is... I'm a critical care RN, and I still don't have a solid answer to this question.

How fast do the rest of you burn through your 5 gallons? Because I feel like I down mine pretty quick...

Like I said, I just don't want a large impact on my health.

In my opinion, you only have a problem if you NEED to drink. I brew beer because I enjoy the craft. I also enjoy a few beers almost every night. To offset it, I eat healthy and run 20-30 miles per week. It's only a problem if it adversely affects your daily life or your health... Just my 2 cents!

I drink 4+ beers a night--every night--after work. I love beer. I love it. That's why I brew it. I don't drink because I *need* it or because it helps me cope--I drink because I love beer.

I get up a 3:57am every morning, work ten hour days, and work out after work. I'm 6'2" and weigh 186lbs. I balance out all the beer I drink with exercise and eating fresh, organic, nutrient-dense real food.

It's about getting what you want. I want to drink the beer I love but not be a fat slob, so I make it work. I make myself work out and eat great food. You cant make any excuses.

That being said, every single person is different. Just because I can do what I do and still feel great, doesn't mean Joe Schmoe can do the same thing. You just have to find your own equilibrium.

I agree with that and I'm in the same boat.

I drink beer because, I like beer. If I started drinking naddy light every night, I would worry. I don't NEED beer. If I had to stop drinking beer today, I would be bummed. Same as if I was unable to drink dr. Pepper, or eat pizza, or watch TV. I wouldn't be devistated.

I don't HAVE to do any of that. I like to do it. The things I NEED to do is (in order if importance)

1: be a good Christian
2: be a good dad
3: be a good husband.
4: be a good son.
5: be a good employee.

Anything other than those 5 things, is just gravy.

I get up a 4:30am every mourning 6 days a week. I work on a farm and horse boarding ranch so i'm doing hard labor outside all day cold hot or rainy. Then i come home a drink anywhere from 4-8 beers a night depending on how sleepy i am. Now on saturday night i will drink much more then i do through out the week. Then get up goto church and relax on sunday having a few more beers. I rarely drink the hard stuff besides for a little white lighting with my brother when he comes down form boone and brings a jar with him. I work hard and i feel like i want to enjoy myself and relax with my favorite beverage when i'm not busting my A$$. If that means i have a problem then so be it.

When you get too fat, when your liver fails, or when you can't live without a drink, that's too much. But loving something and enjoying it in moderation is healthy, not an addiction.

Plus, beer actually is good for you- alcohol prevents clots and heart attacks, beer is full of antioxidants, and lowering stress is very important these days.

I'll have anywhere from 2-5 a night after work. Granted, these are not pints; these are 10-12 oz glasses. I can't remember the last time I had a hangover, and I swear every winter I'm the only person in the office that doesn't get the "crud" that goes around.

"How much is too much" depends on the person, their lifestyle and what they drink. I think most homebrewers respect beer enough that they don't abuse it.

I've always wondered how much alcohol causes liver damage, GI cancer etc.

The only cases I ever see are people that drink astronomical amounts, like 2 liters of vodka a day or bonging a gallon of popov up their ass or something. Or the opposite end of the spectrum who don't drink and don't smoke who exercise and live to be 100.

I rarely have any info on the drinkers like us who get CA or cirosis.

So, I dunno it confuses me.

It's not the living to 100 part that worries me. It's the mouth cancer, tounge removal, radical neck dissection, colonoscopy, radiation therapy etc, that worries me.

I see these patients all the time and some of the **** they go through, I would never do.

What's the question...if "X" number of beers is harmful, or if you have a drink problem? You seem to mention both concerns.

Dunno about the health aspect, but as far as a drinking problem goes it's not so much the quantity or frequency as much as what you do when you've been drinking and or if it's causing problems in your life.

I agree with what Cyclman said. Aside from the obvious benefits of beer, it can be a great stress reliever. I have around 4 beers a night after work in order to wind down. Not just because of the alcohol, but because of the taste, ritual, and overall enjoyment of the product. I think stress causes more damage to health than a couple beers a night ever could. Don't let silly propaganda convince you that a couple beers makes you an alcoholic. I know guys that drink 12+ beers a night, every night and get into all sorts of trouble. That's alcoholism.

When I am not on 24hr call for work and dont have to go anywhere, in other words, drive. I will drink anywhere from 4 to 12 a night. Granted 12 is only once and a while, maybe once a month but it seems to be my limit for 12 oz beer about 4 to 5 %. I would say getting drunk all the time, however much beer that takes is a too much and will affect your life. I would say there is nothing wrong with drinking every day but I would say that drinking till drunkenness all the time will affect you and those around you. imo

I'm all over the place. Anywhere between 0-???. Most nights it's 1-3, but every once in a while I just like to tie one on to where I can barely make it to the bedroom. That's pretty rare, but it does happen. When I go "On-call" for work I either don't drink at all or I'll have 1 or 2 right before bed.

Too much is when it is harming you in some way. If your drinking persists despite consequences, you have a problem, either medical or addictive.

So lemme get this straight... You come on a forum with a bunch of people that love beer so much that we make our own.. and ask if there's a problem with your beer drinking? lol..

As for your answer... who can say. Seems every other week, some report from "Scientists" comes out saying something we love is terrible for us, only to have other "Scientists" contradict that with their own studies. Seems to all come down to what we've always been told: Everything in moderation. We've all heard the stories of the 110 year old that's drank a pint and smoked every day of their life, while others get lung and liver cancer at half that age. How can anyone say "X" number of cigarettes or drink is too much for you when everyone is made up differently?

My suggestion is.. your life and your body will let you know. If it's causing problems in your life, you're probably drinking too much. If there's no problem, then why create one? If you donate blood, you can keep an eye on your ALT levels (Liver enzymes) and if they start creeping up, cut back or quit. The liver is one of the few of our organs that is great about repairing itself to many things. If beer (Alcohol) can possibly cause esophageal cancers, is your body more prone to that, or when it HELPS prevent kidney cancers or others.. how do you know which you were prone to?

Nobody knows what is going to get us.. but that eventually we all get got! lol. Enjoy life and quit worrying, making up problems that aren't there. I'd say it's not too much of a stretch to say that the stress worrying about all that is FAR worse for you than any beers you're drinking. Chill a good beer.. then go chill yourself!

I wouldn't be surprised if the "worrying" over it is more harmful to your health than the "doing" it.

trbig said:

So lemme get this straight... You come on a forum with a bunch of people that love beer so much that we make our own.. and ask if there's a problem with your beer drinking? lol..

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Hehehe...as I read more posts this morning I had that same thought...let's ask of a home brew forum if drinking beer is bad.

I am an RN myself.

When we get an admission on our floor we ask people the following questions

do you think you need to cut down on drinking?
has anyone ever told you that you need to cut down on your drinking?
do you hide your drinking from others?
do you change or has someone told you that you change when you drink?
has your drinking ever caused you to miss work or get hospitalized?

If any of these questions are "yes", the MD will evaluate for CAGE protocol, in laypersons terms, this is where RN's can give frequent doses of IV Ativan on a sliding scale based on a scoring tool that checks vital signs, agitation, etc.

Some people physiologically just cant handle booze. I have had plenty of liver failure patients in their late twenties. That is a death sentence, and many of them claim they only "Drink on weekends".

I am shocked at the number of people with 5-10 year old diagnosis of fatty liver who continue to drink. It's like being told you have lung cancer and you keep smoking. I know it is an addiction, and a sickness, but it just amazes me nonetheless.

Sorry for the downer.

When you start buying Natty light instead of brewing your own because you can't afford enough good beer, thats alcoholism

As far as alcoholism and all that, I'd say more than 3 beers a night, every night, is probably not a good habit. Sure there are functional alcoholics, but all it takes is a mid-life crisis, or the death of a loved one for 2-4 beers a night to spiral into full alcoholism. I've seen it happen. Drinking daily can be a slippery slope into alcoholism. I am especially concerned about how much I drink since both alcoholism and diabetes run in my family.

As far as health, I'd say that more than 2 beers a day, depending on your size is too much. If the ONLY other thing you drink during the day is water, then 3-4 beers is probably OK (but still too much), but beer is full of carbohydrates and empty, unnutritional calories, and could lead to weight gain or diabetes. If you are also drinking soda or juice during the day, I would drink only one beer a day and try to increase water intake.

Something else to consider is that most craft beers that we are drinking are at least 5% and could be as high as 8+ percent when a natty light is probably around 4%. So drinking 3 - 4 craft beers could be the same as a person drinking 5 - 8 natty lights every night.

All that said, it's definitely possible as some other people have mentioned, to drink and still have a healthy lifestyle. I joined a gym about 2 months ago (got a good black friday deal), and I've lost about 17 lbs. It was my new years resolution to get down to 165lbs. I'm 5' 11" and went from about 187 down to 170 lbs so only 5 lbs to go. All the while I've been drinking about 5 - 7 beers a week. Before I joined the gym, I had been drinking 1 beer a night on "work nights", and 2 - 3 beers on friday and saturday, so about 9 beers a week. It was easy to reduce my drinking when you realize that one beer equals 2 - 3 miles worth of jogging. I didn't want all my effort to go to waist.

Hell, I do about 6 or 7 a night, every night........Never drunk, slight buzz maybe.....

I enjoy one cold per evening about 5 days a week, perhaps 2 on occasion.

1-2 drinks per day is supported by science to be healthy (2 22oz bombers is not 2 drinks ) .

OK...some weekend nights I have 3...I'm trying to drink my way to a nice collection of Grolsch Swingtops, its hard work, but someone has to do it.

As many have mentioned, I get up at 4:00am every morning 5 days a week and work 10 hour days. I drink roughly 4 beers a night probably 4-5 days a week. Obviously if one of those nights is a Friday/Saturday, that average can go up significantly. I exercise and eat healthy. Do I NEED a beer? I don't think so...but I definitely crave and look forward to my home brew. Now with that said, I crave MY HOMEBREW. Not just any brew you can buy at the store. Does that make me an alcoholic? If I'm a functioning member of society, not putting others at risk, a good father and a good husband to my wife and daughter, then I say nope. You only live once...I'm enjoying every minute!

Your doing fine! I wake up and redbull it up in the morning and after work I drink. Almost every day.
The energy drinks are guarenteed killing me faster than the beer.

Just to add something as a 'food for thought'..I can guarantee Im far more dependent on coffee than beer...I kicked caffeine once and holy smokes, the withdrawal is pretty nasty (headaches, tired, nose bleeds from the caffeine / adenosine balance going off kilter..wow).

If I dont drink a beer for a week, I wouldn't even know it.

Beergazzi said:

Just to add something as a 'food for thought'..I can guarantee Im far more dependent on coffee than beer...I kicked caffeine once and holy smokes, the withdrawal is pretty nasty (headaches, tired, nose bleeds from the caffeine / adenosine balance going off kilter..wow).

If I dont drink a beer for a week, I wouldn't even know it.

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I think the science is pretty clear that one to two drinks a day has health benefits but going beyond that has negative health consequences. This, of course, is the "average" and it will be different for each person. The higher the ABV in the beer, the less you should drink from a health standpoint. Coffee, while very addicting, is a bit of an oddball. Study after study has found health benefits from coffee (on a whole range of areas), and, unlike alcohol, the benefits appear to increase with consumption. Put simply, if coffee does not make you jittery, you should drink as much of it as possible.

Alcohol consumption in general is not "good" for you, it adversly effects triglycerides and cholesterol, blood pressure, it can mess with your digestive tract, and your liver can go bye bye. On the other hand, it can help lower cholesterol and aid in digestion. Funny eh? It depends on who you listen too. I personally think the biggest problem with beer drinking is the intake of excessive calories. Binge drinking on the other hand is where you damage your physical and mental health.
But who doesnt like to get wasted once in a while, Im not talking about sleeping on the bathroom floor covered in vomit wasted.....
A while back I had a health concern with my heart. I have had PVC's since I was 15-16 and i finally got it checked out. Its normal, alot of you probably have them. Its a common condition and I was informed it in no way effects your overall health or lifespan. The interesting part of this is the cardiologist actually instructed me to drink 2-4 beers or glasses of wine a day, but NOT every day. He said avoid all hard alcohol, well thats hard to do but I rarely drink hard alcohol, maybe a few cocktails in a night twice a month and a bloody here and there.
On to the liver.... Binge drinking will damage your liver. I wound up in the hospital from drinking almost 2 liters of vodka and jager in a night atop countless beers at a party when i was 20-22. I couldnt hold water down. Turns out it was gastritus, but they did blood tests and my liver enzymes were elevated, which they can be for a while after binging. The ER doc mentioned it as a concern.
Now fast forward a few years, During a routine health exam my liver enzymes were triple the normal range but still half of what they were in the ER. The doc didnt even mention anything about the liver, not because there were grave concerns elsewhere on the panel, but because there was no worry as I asked about them.
Moral of the story is it depends on who you listen to, and if a cardiologist tells me to drink 2-4 beers a night, then dammit, Im going to!

rklinck said:

I think the science is pretty clear that one to two drinks a day has health benefits but going beyond that has negative health consequences.

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It's hard to accept that but you're right. Even with all the different studies on drinking and alcohol, science pretty much agrees that 1 - 2 drinks is healthy, but drinking beyond that has negative health effects. Denying that is like denying global warming. I just read a study the other week that said the first drink of the day adds 30 minutes to your life, but every drink thereafter subtracts 15 minutes.

olz431 said:

I personally think the biggest problem with beer drinking is the intake of excessive calories.

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I agree, of course assuming we're not alcoholics. You'd probably only have to worry about your liver if you're drinking at the levels of an alcoholic. For smaller amounts of drinking, the biggest concern is really just the empty calories.

each slice of bacon takes a month off of your life, so I shouldve been dead in 1879

I'll deny global warming all day.

I good friend of mine has been drinking 1500 ml (2 bottles) of white wine every night for the past 10 years. He can count on one hand the number of times he did not drink in the past decade.

He just turned 50, physically active, eats well and takes vitamins and supplements. Every night he drinks his wine till 2 am or so and then gets up at 6am. Been doing this for years.

The doctors tell him that he is in great shape. As for his liver... I dunno

mttfrog13 said:

I just read a study the other week that said the first drink of the day adds 30 minutes to your life, but every drink thereafter subtracts 15 minutes.

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So 3 drinks a night and your just fine right? No negative effects because they wash out?

jcam91 said:

So 3 drinks a night and your just fine right? No negative effects because they wash out?

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I took another look at the article, and yes 3 drinks will give you a net result of 0 minutes added or subtracted. This number are arbitrary though. Everyone is affected differently and they are just making a point. Always in moderation.

It has to do with the antioxidants and certain nutrients vs the extra calories and liver damage. For example I read another study that "x" amount of glasses of wine have enough antioxidants to completely reverse the damage of one full cigarette. But the amount of liver damage and extra calories make it completely pointless.

This is a good discussion and good that you are thinking about it. I'm in the same boat as most of you, I brew beer, I love beer, I drink beer. Usually 3 (give or take one) per night on most weekdays, maybe 4 on a Fri/Sat night. Here and there I will skip a day like when I have a late night soccer game or something.

One thing I do every year just to re-evaluate my relationship with alcohol is to take 1-2 weeks off (usually in January) from drinking. I abstain completely and just see how it feels. I've been doing this for the past 4 years and every time it's easier than I expect it to be. Don't get me wrong, I look forward to a nice pint at the end of it, but it is pretty easy for me to switch to water, juice, or my homemade soda in its place. Each time I've learned something about my habits, and feel that it's an important experiment for me to do.

I also do the same thing every year with coffee (not at the same time). This is much, MUCH harder. You want to talk about addiction...

Ok, just to play devils advocate here because I too love beer.

But, would you "love" beer if it were Non alcoholic? Would you still drink x beers a night for the taste alone? I "love" beer, but will not drink NA.

I drink nightly, 2 beers or the equivalent of something else. I'd probably have a 3rd if I weren't trying to be frugal.

I drink for flavor not for the physical reaction to alcohol, that's how I know it's not too much.

Rosvineer said:

Ok, just to play devils advocate here because I too love beer.

But, would you "love" beer if it were Non alcoholic? Would you still drink x beers a night for the taste alone? I "love" beer, but will not drink NA.

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If I liked the taste, sure.

mttfrog13 said:

It was easy to reduce my drinking when you realize that one beer equals 2 - 3 miles worth of jogging. I didn't want all my effort to go to waist.

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I see what you did there.

I used to be strictly a weekend drinker, but since I've started homebrewing, I'm finding it hard to resist the temptation of pulling a glass or two from the keg on the occassional weeknight. That said, I'm trying to scale that back to just the weekends again, as I want to keep my weight down.

I drink 1 or 2 a night, weekends don't count

I talked with my Nutritionist about a month a go and she said 3 alcoholic beverages or less is just fine. I don't know for sure where she got that information but I am feel I can trust her lol

I took another look at the article, and yes 3 drinks will give you a net result of 0 minutes added or subtracted.

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So the best advice is to start drinking at 11pm. Drink down your three drinks, then at midnight, it resets, and you get another day's worth! lol...