How much do I drink a day

[bracconiere]

lol, i decided to click most viewed this came up!


if 10 glasses is too much, brew them stronger to keep a low profile! (aka, Brüt IPA) make it a doppel, no one will be wiser...

 

[TwistedGray]

Don't know if you guys have seen people die because of alcohol addiction, I actually had the questionable honor to witness it first hand and all of the guys actually talked like many of you guys trying to justify, trying to talk themselve out of it, trying to reason, giving bs excuses blabla.... Well, at the end alcohol is a drug and an alcoholic is a drug addict. Hardest part for an addict is to face the truth, that one is addicted. A lot of alcoholics who are already in the dying process, because the body cannot take it anymore still would swear an oath on having everything under control.

Had a good friend drink himself literally to death recently.

 

[Toxxyc]

Alcoholism runs in families. Unfortunately, it runs in mine. Plenty of my family members I know to be alcoholics. Since that addictive streak seems to be inherited, I know I get severely addicted to some things. It's a well-know fact that if you get addicted to something and you quit, you find something else to be addicted to. I used to be addicted to online gaming. Severely. I spent more time a day playing games than working, for example. That stopped. Then I discovered alcohol. We're legally allowed to drink from age 18 here, so it's even more of a problem.

Anyway, it took me several years to realize that I have an addiction problem. Not necessarily alcohol, because I've learned how to "control" my addictions, so to speak. Starting homebrewing was a very worrying hobby for me and for my wife. She even said that she thought it was a great idea because it's an interesting hobby, but I should be careful. So I am.

I don't drink at all during the week (Monday through Thursday). Friday evening, Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday afternoons is when I allow myself to "drink", so to speak. Never to drunk. Very, very rarely to tipsy. So yes, I don't brew a lot, because I at one time sat with so many beers I didn't have space to store all the bottles. Every imaginable bottle was filled with beer, and I just don't drink enough to empty it.

Queue friends. Now I often host friends and family, and beers are handed out left right and centre for everyone to taste. I recently made a non-alcoholic beer (around 0.3% ABV), and while it lacks body, mouthfeel and has a bad liquorice kick due to stressed yeast, it's still drinkable. And I can drink 3 or 4 easy, with no side effects.

But since I like brewing, this posed a problem. At the speed I drink (3 or 4 beers over an entire weekend, maybe a bit more in summers), it takes me WEEKS to finish a 23l batch. So I started doing two things:

1. Moved to all grain. It's significantly cheaper to brew, and way, WAY more fun. So I can afford to brew more.
2. Moved to smaller batches. It allows me to brew twice as much, so it's twice the brewing time and twice the recipes I can try.

These two allows me to brew more often now, and also drink a lot more responsibly. I'm liking it.

PS: 10 beers a day is excessive. Your liver will konk out sometime. It's called Alcoholic Liver Disease. You may not feel bad, but it's there.

 

[Miraculix]

Alcoholism runs in families. Unfortunately, it runs in mine. Plenty of my family members I know to be alcoholics. Since that addictive streak seems to be inherited, I know I get severely addicted to some things. It's a well-know fact that if you get addicted to something and you quit, you find something else to be addicted to. I used to be addicted to online gaming. Severely. I spent more time a day playing games than working, for example. That stopped. Then I discovered alcohol. We're legally allowed to drink from age 18 here, so it's even more of a problem.

Anyway, it took me several years to realize that I have an addiction problem. Not necessarily alcohol, because I've learned how to "control" my addictions, so to speak. Starting homebrewing was a very worrying hobby for me and for my wife. She even said that she thought it was a great idea because it's an interesting hobby, but I should be careful. So I am.

I don't drink at all during the week (Monday through Thursday). Friday evening, Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday afternoons is when I allow myself to "drink", so to speak. Never to drunk. Very, very rarely to tipsy. So yes, I don't brew a lot, because I at one time sat with so many beers I didn't have space to store all the bottles. Every imaginable bottle was filled with beer, and I just don't drink enough to empty it.

Queue friends. Now I often host friends and family, and beers are handed out left right and centre for everyone to taste. I recently made a non-alcoholic beer (around 0.3% ABV), and while it lacks body, mouthfeel and has a bad liquorice kick due to stressed yeast, it's still drinkable. And I can drink 3 or 4 easy, with no side effects.

But since I like brewing, this posed a problem. At the speed I drink (3 or 4 beers over an entire weekend, maybe a bit more in summers), it takes me WEEKS to finish a 23l batch. So I started doing two things:

1. Moved to all grain. It's significantly cheaper to brew, and way, WAY more fun. So I can afford to brew more.
2. Moved to smaller batches. It allows me to brew twice as much, so it's twice the brewing time and twice the recipes I can try.

These two allows me to brew more often now, and also drink a lot more responsibly. I'm liking it.

PS: 10 beers a day is excessive. Your liver will konk out sometime. It's called Alcoholic Liver Disease. You may not feel bad, but it's there.

I got kind of a similar situation. Did everything you described but added one thing, session beers. And I mean really session, sub 3% beers. Use expressive yeasts, lots of wheat and do a mashout at 77 c, results will be good! I really rarely brew something above 4%, most of it is actually even below 3%.

 

[Toxxyc]

I "accidentally" made a sessionable beer with my last batch. I tried to make a Vienna lager, and I suspect that my mash temps were completely wrong. I measured temps with an IR thermometer, and it turns out after the fact that it's a TERRIBLE thermometer to use, as it doesn't measure liquid or shiny surfaces anywhere near accurately. My recipe was supposed to take 1kg Vienna, 1kg Pale and 300g CaraMunich II and turn it into 13l of wort at 1.041 OG. I ended up with 11l of wort at 1.032, totally undershot the gravity. To boot, something happened in the wort and after almost 4 weeks in the fermenter I took the gravity and found it at 1.018. Fermentation was completely dead, wort cleared and no CO2, so it really is finished. As a result, I have a ~2% ABV beer.

While the smells and tasters from the fermenter was absolutely excellent, I'm still to taste the final product. I want to taste one and lager the rest, bar one, for a side-by-side comparison of "lagering" beer for a few months. But yeah, it's a good session beer. Not bad at all. It gave me an idea going forward - properly mash, get a high gravity wort and then just dilute down to a weaker solution to make "more" beer at a lower ABV.

PS: I don't brew strong beers at all. Most of my beers are in the 4% range, but that's coming down now. Right now I'm fermenting a mead at 11%, but that's a different project

 

[Miraculix]

I "accidentally" made a sessionable beer with my last batch. I tried to make a Vienna lager, and I suspect that my mash temps were completely wrong. I measured temps with an IR thermometer, and it turns out after the fact that it's a TERRIBLE thermometer to use, as it doesn't measure liquid or shiny surfaces anywhere near accurately. My recipe was supposed to take 1kg Vienna, 1kg Pale and 300g CaraMunich II and turn it into 13l of wort at 1.041 OG. I ended up with 11l of wort at 1.032, totally undershot the gravity. To boot, something happened in the wort and after almost 4 weeks in the fermenter I took the gravity and found it at 1.018. Fermentation was completely dead, wort cleared and no CO2, so it really is finished. As a result, I have a ~2% ABV beer.

While the smells and tasters from the fermenter was absolutely excellent, I'm still to taste the final product. I want to taste one and lager the rest, bar one, for a side-by-side comparison of "lagering" beer for a few months. But yeah, it's a good session beer. Not bad at all. It gave me an idea going forward - properly mash, get a high gravity wort and then just dilute down to a weaker solution to make "more" beer at a lower ABV.

PS: I don't brew strong beers at all. Most of my beers are in the 4% range, but that's coming down now. Right now I'm fermenting a mead at 11%, but that's a different project

Haha, i bottled a 16% mead yesterday as well, but as you said, different project... And horribly oxidised btw., But it was experimental anyway and only about 2l.

The key to good foam and body with those low abv beers seems to be (at least for my system) 10 to 50% flaked wheat or wheat flour (I use spelt flour) and 20 minute mashout at 77c which forms glycoproteins.

I forgot this step with my last brew, I'm really curious how it will affect the beer.

 

[Toxxyc]

Well this beer has the body, and it has the mouthfeel, and it has the head (apparently), because I used all the grains I was supposed to. It tastes fantastic and the colour is up there too. If it works, and I really hope it does, I will definitely try and replicate it in the future again.

 

[TwistedGray]

I got kind of a similar situation. Did everything you described but added one thing, session beers. And I mean really session, sub 3% beers. Use expressive yeasts, lots of wheat and do a mashout at 77 c, results will be good! I really rarely brew something above 4%, most of it is actually even below 3%.

+1 here - I try to keep everything equal to or less than 3% ABV unless I'm doing a stout then I go higher ABV with the understanding that it's a one-beer night when I have one of those. I also no longer drink one or two a night...it's more along the lines of zero to three/four in a week.

 

[firerat]

Do you feel like you have a problem?

It does seem like you drink an awful lot, but I guess that's relative. I couldn't imagine drinking that much every night. I mean, I do have at least 2 drinks, be that beers, or whiskey or some wine or sometimes tequila, etc... just about every night. I rarely drink to intoxication beyond a mild buzz.

I sometime worry that I have a drinking problem as it runs in my family. My mom and I are the only ones in the family that have never been in rehab, incarcerated, or died (duh) due to some sort of substance abuse. I tell my wife is she thinks I'm pushing it to say something, which she has.

What I'll do from time to time is take a break. Just for maybe a week. To make sure I can. I once went a month without alcohol just because my wife said I couldn't. (Then I told challenged her to not drink coffee for a month. she failed. LOL)

If I was to start shaking, or getting sick, or just not being able to function, then I know have a problem.

 

[El Nino]

I usually have 2-3 on Fridays and Saturdays. Sometimes on Wednesdays, though i don't typically drink much during the week.

I do tend to drink more during football season, those 2-3 turns to 4-6

I used to drink a lot more when i was younger, but the combination of getting older and going vegan makes me a lightweight. Since the diet switch it doesn't take me much to get tipsy, i guess the lack of the greasy foods to limit absorption lol

Speaking of fukishima, I'm glad I don't eat finish anymore, though I do spend a lot of time in the ocean, but it'd take me a lot to quit surfing lol. I don't care if they say there's sharks out at the break in a feeding frenzy, if the waves are good im paddling out

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

A heavy drinker is defined as more than 14 drinks PER WEEK.

So whether or not you are an alcoholic, I can't say. But you ARE a very heavy drinker, and your liver is probably hard as a rock. You are cutting years off your life with 5-10 drinks a day. But hey, its your life, even if it is a short one.

 

[beersk]

Fukushima...

What's more scary is someone, who drinks >10 beers and says they don't feel anything, getting behind the wheel.

What do you suppose they said in Medieval times? "What's more scary is someone, who drinks >10 beers and says they don't feel anything, getting behind the rope to ride the horse home." I'm sure there were all kinds of people making comments like this in those times. "I'd say you've a problem! Quit for 2 weeks!" Funny how times change.
For me, personally, yes, 10 beers a day is excessive. I couldn't do it. I'm not going to tell anyone else what to do. Just please don't drive after drinking that much.
Personally I have to eat before or while drinking or else it goes to my head too fast and I don't like that feeling. If I'm just having 1 or 2 beers, it's not a big deal.

 

[Toxxyc]

A heavy drinker is defined as more than 14 drinks PER WEEK.

So whether or not you are an alcoholic, I can't say. But you ARE a very heavy drinker, and your liver is probably hard as a rock. You are cutting years off your life with 5-10 drinks a day. But hey, its your life, even if it is a short one.

Flip. I do maybe 14 drinks a month if I drink a bit more than usual

 

[EthanH]

I'm very close with two alcoholics who had to quit drinking (unrelated and decades apart) after their habits got into the 12-15 beer-a-day territory. Both of them, near the end of their drinking careers, said:

1. But I only drink (low alcohol) beer.
2. My doctor says I'm healthy.
3. I don't get drunk or even tipsy.

And they were both wrong about #3.

 

[NolaMonk]

I usually drink 2 or 3 22 oz bottles a day for 14 days and then take 14 days off just water i dont drink sodas so it's just good alkaline water... life is all about balance my brother

 

[NGD]

Somewhat related. Used to drink big bombers (750, 8-14%abv) all the time...until I couldnt. Felt like crap constantly. Joints sore constantly and I wasn’t even 40. I wasn’t particularly overweight at 5’11 and under 197 but felt like I was 100 years old.

Found an elimination diet that cut out all kinds of things. In 2 weeks I lost 10lbs and felt great and started to reintroduce a few things. At a month I felt fantastic and had dropped 17 lbs. No more soreness, stomach issues, getting tired in the afternoon. Overall just much better.

The downside....a few months later I had a 3-4 6-7%abv local brews at home over several hours and was floored. Pretty much lost all my ability to “throw a few back and not feel it”. In speaking with a few other friends that have or are on similar diets (keto, paleo, even vegan) they’ve all had similar experiences. I find it interesting. The one consistent thing we were all doing was cutting out sugar and excess carbs.

Like some of you guys, I love brewing but looking into doing lighter beers. My days of dreaming about making a 15% bourbon barrel RIS are over.