The Lemon Fool

bungeejumper wrote:[
Have to say that I'm a bit flummoxed by the idea of a pint containing only 2 units, even for a session ale.

BJ

http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/ccalcoh2.htm - usual caveats etc

1 pints contains units:

3.5% - 1.99
3.6% - 2.05

Incidentally we may all be aware that the UK govt's advised maximum units per week currently is 14.
In Poland its 35 for men.

Obviously Polish male livers are more resilient than our puny UK livers.

I don't know what happens to Pole's livers when the male body they are in moves to the UK.

Does anyone remember Mitchell's and Butlers Cape Ale? Back in the 1950s it was very innocuous. I recall drinking 12 half pint bottles one night and feeling very sober afterwards. The alternative was Courage Director's Special, which was quite the opposite.

TJH

didds wrote:

bungeejumper wrote:[
Have to say that I'm a bit flummoxed by the idea of a pint containing only 2 units, even for a session ale.

BJ

http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/scol/ccalcoh2.htm - usual caveats etc

1 pints contains units:

3.5% - 1.99
3.6% - 2.05

Incidentally we may all be aware that the UK govt's advised maximum units per week currently is 14.
In Poland its 35 for men.

Obviously Polish male livers are more resilient than our puny UK livers.

I don't know what happens to Pole's livers when the male body they are in moves to the UK.

Maybe I've been abroad for too long, but below 4.5%, a beer is just water.

Yes, in Poland, they have 'Piwo Mocne' everywhere. Strong beer!

The strongest I ever tried was 12 %. Ridiculous.

My favourites are around 7-8%. But I drink them in moderation and much prefer them to the UK tradition of drinking loads of pints of weak cat's p*ss. Why do people do that? The last time was when I was a student and all I remember was the frequent visits to the loo.

PS When I visit my mum near Cambridge, my favourite is a good bitter on tap like Abbott's Ale. I have never understood the attraction of so-called 'lager'. No taste and totally different from lager in other countries.


Steve

didds wrote:
OOI...

3 pints of 6% ABV = 10.2 units
5 hours = 5 units "burnt"

residue = 5.2 units.

Going back to that general rule of thumb of 2 pints = 4 units, that implies a wait of another 1.2 hours would be "OK" (obvious caveats here).

I used to hear that the 'metabolism time' starts after you finish the last drink. This was for "morning after" calcs, however you should not start the timer for an hour after you start drinking as it takes that long for the first drink to work through your system.

So, out for dinner, sit down at 8pm, 2 medium glasses of wine (1/2 bottle!) over 2 hours is 5 units, which means it isn't out of your system until 2am. It also means if you think about driving home when they kick you out at 10pm then you're probably borderline for the limit,and certainly impaired for driving.

An Aussie friend told me you could buy small beers there which allowed you to drink one every hour and still be legal to drive. He suggested many people thought that was the reason for making them that size!

Paul

stevensfo wrote:The strongest I ever tried was 12 %. Ridiculous.

I've had this.

https://www.brewdog.com/uk/tactical-nuclear-penguin

stevensfo wrote:Maybe I've been abroad for too long, but below 4.5%, a beer is just water.

You are drinking the wrong < 4.5% beers obviously.

stevensfo wrote:PS When I visit my mum near Cambridge, my favourite is a good bitter on tap like Abbott's Ale.

GK Abbott's Ale? "good bitter" ? same sentence?

Mass produced swill.

The prosecution rests its case.

Lootman wrote:

servodude wrote:Those assumptions would hold for 3.6% ABV beer. There are plenty where you'd be a lot closer to the actual limit

Are there any beers still widely available that are 3.6% ABV? My idea of a weak beer is something like Bud Light or Miller Light. The UK versions are about 3.5% ABV, although I'd rather drink the urine of a dehydrated goat.

There are some excellent beers in that ballpark. I much enjoyed this just a few days ago. 3.8% but a full flavour.

UncleEbenezer wrote:

Lootman wrote:Are there any beers still widely available that are 3.6% ABV? My idea of a weak beer is something like Bud Light or Miller Light. The UK versions are about 3.5% ABV, although I'd rather drink the urine of a dehydrated goat.

There are some excellent beers in that ballpark. I much enjoyed this just a few days ago. 3.8% but a full flavour.

I've found a few that I can have at that strength, and they vary from mild ales to gose; which can work nicely as a palate cleanser when switching IPAs.

I think for the first part of my drinking life cooking lager was the expectation, running 4-4.2%, but stronger imported (or under licensee) ones have always been available (Stella, Coors, Beck, Proper Budweiser, Staropramen) would variously have been on tap in most places

Checking online Whitbread started brewing Stella under licence in 1976, which is less than a decade after they put the drink driving rules in place. I think the rule of thumb was probably out of date pretty quickly... I know I've got to budget about 3.5 units for my go to beer at the moment, so I just don't drive (or cycle )

didds wrote:

stevensfo wrote:The strongest I ever tried was 12 %. Ridiculous.

I've had this.

https://www.brewdog.com/uk/tactical-nuclear-penguin

Beh, debatable if a 32% ABV drink produced by freeze distillation can still be called a beer, any more than brandy is still "wine".

Reminds me of the old American way of producing applejack. Put a barrel of windfall apples in the New England autumn sun, leaving it to ferment into cider and then, when the long cold winter comes, the water to freeze leaving an apple brandy to be tapped off.

But re the Brewdog "beer", please tell, how were you fortunate enough to get some? "This was an extremely limited edition beer of only 500 bottles, so has long since disappeared into the hands of collectors."

mc2fool wrote:

didds wrote:
I've had this.

https://www.brewdog.com/uk/tactical-nuclear-penguin

Beh, debatable if a 32% ABV drink produced by freeze distillation can still be called a beer, any more than brandy is still "wine".

Reminds me of the old American way of producing applejack. Put a barrel of windfall apples in the New England autumn sun, leaving it to ferment into cider and then, when the long cold winter comes, the water to freeze leaving an apple brandy to be tapped off.

But re the Brewdog "beer", please tell, how were you fortunate enough to get some? "This was an extremely limited edition beer of only 500 bottles, so has long since disappeared into the hands of collectors."

It was doing the rounds (as was "Sink the Bismarck" ) in whisk(e)y bars - or at least it was round these parts - normally served as a large shot type thing
Which given the cost, strength and flavour I can see why

mc2fool wrote:
But re the Brewdog "beer", please tell, how were you fortunate enough to get some? "This was an extremely limited edition beer of only 500 bottles, so has long since disappeared into the hands of collectors."

It was a very very long time ago. Somebody I knew was foolhardy enough to splash the cash and then he shared it. I was just "lucky" enough to be there when he did.

I agree incidentally about when is beer "beer".

If it helps I have had a 17% imperial stout that didnt rely on freeze distillation.

servodude wrote:Checking online Whitbread started brewing Stella under licence in 1976, which is less than a decade after they put the drink driving rules in place. I think the rule of thumb was probably out of date pretty quickly... I know I've got to budget about 3.5 units for my go to beer at the moment, so I just don't drive (or cycle )

I think its more that the rule of thumb was very badly explained.

didds wrote:

mc2fool wrote:
But re the Brewdog "beer", please tell, how were you fortunate enough to get some? "This was an extremely limited edition beer of only 500 bottles, so has long since disappeared into the hands of collectors."

It was a very very long time ago. Somebody I knew was foolhardy enough to splash the cash and then he shared it. I was just "lucky" enough to be there when he did.

I agree incidentally about when is beer "beer".

If it helps I have had a 17% imperial stout that didnt rely on freeze distillation.

I've not had an imperial quite that strong but 12% isn't uncommon in the style - had an unusual one a while back with chilli and chocolate involved that was dangerously drinkable (as was a smoked porter they had!)

I never really went back to barley wine style beers after I tried the Roger and Out when I moved to Sheffield - I probably should, as I expect my taste has changed in the intervening decades!

servodude wrote:
I've not had an imperial quite that strong but 12% isn't uncommon in the style - had an unusual one a while back with chilli and chocolate involved that was dangerously drinkable (as was a smoked porter they had!)

Aye - 17% is very unusual while 12% not at all. I had a chocolate imperial on handpull in Derby last Sunday night @ 11% that was very drinkable.

#1 on this list - https://tinyurl.com/impychoc

Pub = https://www.smithfieldderby.co.uk - merely a very contented customer.

didds wrote:Pub = https://www.smithfieldderby.co.uk - merely a very contented customer.

By a remarkable coincidence I was at that very same pub last year. It was my one and only trip to Derby and frankly I probably should not have bothered. But I was staying at the Premier Inn just across the river from there and tracked down that very fine establishment. I went there twice during my brief visit, in fact.

Does it always snow in Derby?

Lootman wrote:By a remarkable coincidence I was at that very same pub last year. It was my one and only trip to Derby and frankly I probably should not have bothered. But I was staying at the Premier Inn just across the river from there and tracked down that very fine establishment. I went there twice during my brief visit, in fact.

Does it always snow in Derby?

A fine choice of establishment Lootman

I find it normally rains in derby (well, Burton which is only a few miles south)

Reading through the above discussions, I didn't see anything about the Scottish Limit. Its 50mg per 100ml of blood - compared to 80mg in England. So think twice before drinking multiple pints in Scotland. In lunch meetings with old lags we each usually had a modest glass of wine - but we stopped when the new regulation was introduced in 2014. I believe this reduced level is common in many European countries.

scotia wrote:Reading through the above discussions, I didn't see anything about the Scottish Limit. Its 50mg per 100ml of blood - compared to 80mg in England. So think twice before drinking multiple pints in Scotland. In lunch meetings with old lags we each usually had a modest glass of wine - but we stopped when the new regulation was introduced in 2014. I believe this reduced level is common in many European countries.

..not just Europe!

scotia wrote:Reading through the above discussions, I didn't see anything about the Scottish Limit. Its 50mg per 100ml of blood - compared to 80mg in England. So think twice before drinking multiple pints in Scotland. In lunch meetings with old lags we each usually had a modest glass of wine - but we stopped when the new regulation was introduced in 2014. I believe this reduced level is common in many European countries.

True but then the whole drinking at lunchtime thing at work has gone, even for those in cities who merely have to stagger back to the office and pretend to work for the afternoon.

As it happens I recently stopped by one of my old work haunts, The Lamb and Flag, WC2. Back in the day (i.e. 40 years ago) it was packed with office workers from noon to 3 p.m., when it closed of course. A three pint liquid lunch was the UK equivalent of the New York three-martini lunch of the day.

Anyway, at 1 p.m. there was hardly anyone there. I was stunned.

Now that evening (I went back to check) it was busy. So the after-work drinking thing is still a thing. But the lunchtime drinking thing is an ex-thing.

Political correctness, eh?