I love being labeled a liar without even posting!
When I was around 19, my first two years in University (which is a legal drinking age here), I was already into craft beer (my first alcohol purchase ever being a sixer of Trois Pistoles), but rarely a week would go by where there wasn't at least one night that I'd drinking an entire 750ml bottle of 40% liquor.
After a little while, wondering every time why I kept doing that to myself, I realized that I didn't really like feeling drunk.
I'm only 25 now, but my tolerance has since dropped significantly but although I now have slight liver issues, it's not something I really think about.
These days, I drink (and brew) craft beer strictly for taste. In a world where pretty much everything these days can be overwhelmingly sweet, even a simple beer can be a nice escape from that. And great beers can absolutely blow my mind. I'd easily consider myself a foodie, and my love for great brews is really just a natural extension of that.
There is simply nothing else like it out there though, so whether I like it or not, drinking good beer means drinking alcohol. There might be the extremely rare occassion when I'm looking for a little buzz (never full-on drunk though), but I mean EXTREMELY rare. I CAN drink BMC without gagging, but if I'm at a restaurant or a friend's place or whatever, and that's all they have, I'll pass on it simply because I see no point. Heck, it's worse than that - having to drink alcohol without any personal up-side.
Generally, I'd love to make or buy equally great beer without alcohol. But all I've ever seen is a few alcohol-free versions of macroswill. There's nothing I'd love more than to be able to drink a bunch of beers without worrying about feeling sick, having the room spin, or deal with hangovers. I'd be thrilled at the ability to go to a great beer bar and try out a nice portion of their extensive selection, or sample a bunch of local homebrew, without worrying about designated drivers or how to get home. I'd love to be able to crack open a beer for any (every!) meal or time of day without having to make sure I don't need a clear head for certain responsibilities or anything else that might be on the agenda - and I don't even have kids yet!
But alcohol goes hand in hand with beer, and unfortunately, big flavor often comes with big alcohol, due to the relationship between the grain bill and ABV. I don't let the fact deter me from making big beers, as the payoff is often worth it, but the result of the alcohol content in ANY beer is that I don't get to enjoy this incredible drink nearly as much as I'd like to.
I don't care if people drink to get drunk, though there's little that upsets/angers/disgusts me more than people who get drunk and become belligerent, obnoxious, or otherwise just an *******. Alcohol never did that to me, but I find it beyond selfish when people intentionally get hammered if that's the kind of person they suddenly transform into. If you're looking for a bit of stress relief, to unwind, to loosen up a bit socially, etc, and you can still be civil even when you're loaded, then more power to you.
In fact, the art and science of beer-making wouldn't be anywhere near where it is today without people looking to get a buzz without swallowing something gross. The same thing could be said for fine wines, liquors, etc - there's a reason that you don't see the same level of artistry and refinement with something like cola. So these people still have my undying gratitude
The only thing that might get me less than cooperative in a thread where somebody is looking yo get maximum punch without regard to flavor is when something leads me to believe that the poster might be a kid looking to make something cheap and powerful because they can't otherwise obtain or afford retail alcohol.
I know I'm in the minority here, and I'm not going to condescend to people for just doing what people are practically hard-wired to do. But it would be nice if people realized that the rest of the world doesn't operate from with their own personal framework, and that just because it might be difficult to understand doesn't mean that others must be bull****ting when they say that alcohol is not even a minor reason for why they drink beer.
