• Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    Here is the key sentence in the article.

    …an acceleration in the long-term decline of so-called domestic-premium brands, which include Bud Light and rivals Miller Light and Coors Light…

    So, are people drinking less beer or are they drinking less piss beer? Could it be that people are having two Hazy Imperial IPA’s with 8+ ABV instead of a six pack of Coors Light? I am taking this headline with a grain of salt.

    EDIT: I found my glasses.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Article has a vague accusation that soda-based drinks are to blame without covering any of the other possibilities here

    • comador @lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I’m more of a once a week Porter, Ale and Hard Cider drinker, but it’s still a Microbrew.

      Grain a salt is right: People just don’t like the taste of that crap anymore, not with so many options on the market now.

      Coors/Bud/MGD/Corona? I haven’t had one in years.

    • QuarterSwede@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      A Four Noses or Cerebrus Hazy is so much better than the domestic swill it’s not funny. We have so many more options these days that I’m glad it’s hurting the big guys. They’ve been making crap pilsners for decades.

  • The Pantser@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I’m sure the weed legalizing has had an impact as well. I have completely stopped drinking in favor of weed. Saves my liver and no hangover.

        • Chocrates@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          CBD isn’t psychoactive so it’s not gonna be the same for most people, but good on you! Honestly probably just drinking water is really the way to go for health. There is probably an argument for psychoactive substances relieving stress (which is a potent detriment to health) but there are also healthier ways to do that

          • PinkPanther@sh.itjust.works
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            10 months ago

            It’s true. Same as weed can make you psychotic.

            However, what they don’t usually tell you if they you’d had to have the psychosis latent, but the weed triggers it. Just as a car crash could, a loved one dying, or even just getting frightened by a loud sound. Hey, even getting drunk can cause it - alcohol also causes psychosis while being intoxicated. Source: my sister who stopped drinking around 40, who realized that it fucked her up. I could tell when she’d have over single beer.

            If you’re ever unsure if you have psychosis latent, be careful!

            • force@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              You don’t have to have a latent disorder for a drug to cause it, but often times drugs do trigger it if you do. There are plenty of people who have gotten e.g. an anxiety disorder or bipolar from heavy use of weed who had no family history of such things. Personally I do have a family history of bipolar and I already have GAD and a little OCD so I try to avoid it altogether, but I occasionally smoke with friends (I’m talking once every few months, which is still probably risky).

        • piecat@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Nothing fun is good for us. Just use substances in moderation and you’ll most likely be fine

          • remotelove@lemmy.ca
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            10 months ago

            Psychedelics are fun and also beneficial with appropriate use. I can’t handle weed because of the paranoia, believe it or not. Just like any other substance, they can be abused and overdone.

            I eat shrooms recreationally but have also used them to replace my antidepressants with phenomenal results. It took a ton of experimentation and time, but I have found a balance. Disclaimer: This is a high risk maneuver and could end very badly for some personality types. In some ways, they function exactly like S/SRIs but at a much grander scale. It turns out that psilocin can be more effective than serotonin itself. (Here is a great presentation that has some notes regarding that: https://youtu.be/cxE9qnocJEY?si=69CKRAUJd01cOCPh)

            Unfortunately, some people just can’t handle them. Seeing reality disolve around you can be a disturbing thing to witness if you are not fully prepared for it. However, if a person is able, a few heroic doses and the correct set and setting will produce significant life changes for the better and the effects will last for years.

            • TK420@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              Sorry you got downvoted. Mushrooms are incredible medicine. One day they too will be legal just like weed.

    • pearsaltchocolatebar@discuss.online
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      10 months ago

      I think that many people are switching to hard liquor because of the state of things, as well. My town alone has seen like a 7-800% increase in alcohol sales since covid.

    • MirthfulAlembic@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      It’s insane. I swear that some liquor stores I go to have a craft beer section that’s 90% IPAs… and another 5% that are basically IPAs with cutesy names like “Super Duper Pale Ale.”

        • lad@programming.dev
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          10 months ago

          Sometimes mediocre will become better with time. If they do not make it mediocre they will likely make none rather than make outstanding right away.

      • Gingernate@programming.dev
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        10 months ago

        Idk if that’s true, they oxidize easily. I would say brown ales or pale ales would be easier. IPAs sell, that’s why every small brewery has one

          • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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            10 months ago

            But there are tons of other ales. It’s not like it’s just IPA or you have to lager.

        • gerbler@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          They take less time to brew than a pilsner so when you only have a small capacity you can churn out more product if you’re targeting IPAs. This is generally why (beyond the general trend) microbreweries will opt for IPAs over lagers.

          • WoahWoah@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            I’ve brewed both styles. You’re right that lagering adds a step and not doing it adds significant time to the brewing process, but in terms of the volume at a brewery, that’s really only a one-off time delay. After it’s in a brewing rotation, lagering doesn’t add time to a production schedule. It’s more about storage space and equipment at that point.

            IPAs can be significantly more difficult to brew, so if you’re talking about a one-off brew, IPAs are harder to make WELL but faster to brew. Pilsner is easier to make well, but can take longer and/or require an additional step (lagering).

      • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Pale ales are easier and cheaper to make than IPAs. They make IPAs because they are popular, not because they are easy.

    • EveningPancakes@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Had the same thought to myself at the Sprouts today. All I wanted was a stout. Not even a Guinness anywhere, but an entire wall of IPA’s and then the rest were hard seltzers.

  • flames5123@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    beer shipments

    That’s the problem. A lot of people are living in and around cities now. We buy beer at the brewery. Do these figures include 1st party sells? Distributors have always been a necessary evil and many states have laws saying you must go through a distributor for selling elsewhere, but many breweries are just doing taprooms now to not have to deal with that. I’d like to see those stats if they exist.

    I do understand that many people are buying seltzers now, myself included.

    • commandar@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      It also doesn’t help that the craft beer scene turned into a competition to push the most over the top bitter IPAs possible. A lot of the appeal of craft beer went away for me when 3/4 of the taps became unremarkable IPAs. A good IPA is wonderful, but the vast majority of what you run into isn’t that.

      It’s only marginally more interesting than when the landscape was dominated by lagers.

      • flames5123@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Hops are really awesome when used correctly, but many breweries just toss in hops to cover up bad bases. I’m lucky to have a few breweries around me that make really goods stouts and sours.

      • Tujio@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        At least around me that has improved. Ten years ago it was just a dick-measuring contest about who could make the bitterest beer. Once you hit 90+ IBUs you’re not even pretending to make something good.

        Since then, craft breweries here have course corrected. Most of them here are focusing on making a well- balanced IPA as their flagship, then experimenting with sours, stouts and saisons.

        • AA5B@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          A brewery near me is owned by a guy from India, and has been very creative with spices reminiscent of different foods from that region, that I just haven’t seen anywhere else! Maybe it’s a sour or has tamarind or a juicy IOA with different fruit notes, or a mango lassi dessert beer, etc

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        10 months ago

        As a lover of pale ales and browns, has been a tough few years. I used to love IPAs but the flavor is mostly played out and predictable for me at this point

      • Bye@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Oh god I love those sorry, it’s probably my fault. A regular old bitter IPA or with citra is perfect for me, and lately everywhere I go has like 10 beers I want. It’s amazing and I’m very happy.

      • hydrospanner@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        That might have been the case 10-15 years ago (and I guess maybe it still is in some areas that are slow to follow the trends of craft beer) but these days that’s just not the case for most of the small scale craft beer.

        Sure, IPAs have become the iconic style of American craft beer and they’ll likely be overrepresented in the US craft market for at the very least the next several decades, but for the past 5-10 years things have moved away from there over saturation that those who dislike the style still like to pretend dominates the scene.

        Since the peak of ultra-bitter-IPA-mania, we’ve seen similar (if smaller) fads/trends for sours, NEIPAs, and most recently hazy IPAs (the latter two of which are not in the excessively bitter trend of the IPAs most think of). We’ve also seen fruit beers and seltzers take over, maybe even beyond the degree that IPAs ever did.

        In the meantime, we’ve seen these extreme hop bombs relegated to the sidelines of the modern craft beer scene. My personal theory being that lots of brewers wanted to get in on that trend, tried, and found out just how tricky it can be to craft a good imperial IPA, and once people found good ones with wide availability, they stuck with them and the rest of the market dried up. While there’s nuance within hop bills, it’s still all hops. With fruit beers, it’s far easier to do something that nobody else is doing.

  • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    It might have something to do with weed being easier to get. Where I live it’s easier and faster to get weed than it is to get beer, especially on sunday.

    • Mike@lemmy.ml
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      10 months ago

      Alcohol is expensive and makes you feel like shit. Who does that to themselves by choice when there’s alternatives?

      • hansl@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It only makes you feel like shit if you want to get wasted irresponsibly. I like beer and outside of some college benders I’ve never felt like shit after. Stay hydrated folks.

        • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          After you’ve acquired the taste. It was social pressure that got me to acquire it, but if that social pressure is dropping, it doesn’t surprise me that fewer pick it up because beer tastes kinda awful at first.

            • Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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              10 months ago

              I don’t really care about the social pressure anymore but I do like a beer on occasion. Though it is more about the overall experience of drinking a beer rather than the taste itself, which I’d personally say is at best not bad and generally tolerable.

      • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        I enjoy the buzz from alcohol and I rarely drink enough to make me feel like shit. While I’m generally a social person, I also enjoy that it is a social lubricant, while I find other highs to not be nearly as social, and often even anti social.

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        10 months ago

        I respond poorly to weed and well to alcohol. Bodies are different.

    • BobGnarley@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      This is part of why alcohol companies spend insane amounts of cash towards anti legalization efforts

      • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        The DEA, or Distiller’s Enforcement Apparatus, is an army of masked thugs licensed to rob, defame, kidnap, or kill those suspected of preferring other drugs over alcohol.

    • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      $12 is a steal. A 7% IPA in Jersey will run you 16-22$. Yeah, and add to that that the craft beer market is just oversaturated, I think I’ll pass.

      • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Depending on the size of the can, At $2-3 per standard unit of alcohol, would put it at like $40-60 for the equivalent whisky bottle. So, yeah it could be.

      • Landmammals@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        There’s a bourbon called ancient age which is made by Buffalo trace. Sells for $11 a bottle here. It’s not fancy, it’s just a perfectly decent bourbon for a very low price.

        But a bottle of whiskey and a four pack of craft beer have different amounts of alcohol, so you could end up getting a much nicer bottle of whiskey.

    • bcron@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Liquor store chain in my area sells 30 packs of Hamm’s for $13.99. 6 of those is more than a 16 gallon keg and costs ~80 bucks, cheaper than just getting a keg

  • archchan@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    Meanwhile my drinking has hit personal record highs this year. Yay depression.

    • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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      10 months ago

      Even if you don’t stop completely, and instead only drink socially as opposed to alone I think you’ll feel a lot better. I know I did! Plus, the feeling of waking up every day 100% sober with no hangover is better than all the drunken nights. Whatever you choose, good luck…

    • dirtySourdough@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I peaked during the pandemic and was also depressed. It’s a difficult cycle to break but I got out of it. If you want to chat about it let me know.

    • BleatingZombie@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I don’t know you, but I understand how tough depression is. Just remember when things get bad that this stranger on the internet loves you. I want to see you happy and I’m sure you’ll make it there :)

  • Pickle_Jr@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    10 months ago

    I also wonder how liquor sales are as well.

    My wife and I are obviously only one couple, so this is confirmation bias, but alcohol in general just isn’t as appealing anymore. With all this general stress we’ve been going through (struggling with inflation, insane work hours, insane work conditions) alcohol is causing more migraines, sucky morning-after-drinking symptoms, high calories, expensive prices, there’s just no good reason to drink as much as we used to. And it’s not like we drank that much earlier in our lives as well.

    Tie this all together with marijuana availability which has none of these cons except for high taxes, then alcohol doesn’t sound as appealing anymore.

  • Prethoryn Overmind@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    I think beer is gross, personally, so this isn’t a post about me but reading the comments it is interesting to see beer drinkers here decide against it due to cost and wanting other choices. I have news for you guys there are cocktails and other great alcohols that cost as much as your 7 to 10 dollar beer and they taste fucking great.

    • suction@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      You say “gross”, now that’s an intriguing choice of vocab…because it’s just a watery liquid, it doesn’t have a texture like snot or slime or similar typically “gross” things. I’m not saying you’re wrong in your dislike of it, the taste, smell, etc. but could you elaborate what you think is “gross” about it?

      • Yggnar@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Beer tastes like carbonated ass with added bread flavouring. That specific enough for ya?

      • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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        10 months ago

        Smell and taste is terrible. I rather have a coke with amaretto if I HAVE to drink. Never saw the appeal of beer. Plus who has money to spend on this kind of stuff. Least soda is sweet and cheaper than water.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          10 months ago

          Beer is like soup. There’s tons of different ways to make it. There are sweet (like candy sweet, not just soda sweet) beers if you want them. The issue is you have to find them. There was a big movement towards sour beers for a while, which turned into a race for the sweetest beer and ended horribly in my opinion, but those are more rare than during that period now. There’s also beers that taste like pickles, wine, or just about whatever else you could want. There really isn’t a “beer” flavor, though there is a lager or pilsner flavor which is the typical cheap beer.

          • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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            10 months ago

            Yeah that probably what I am used to seeing. I have had draft beer but I can’t tell difference so I assume I am lost cause there. Same goes for red wine for me they all taste basically the same. It’s like difference between 7up and sprite.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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              10 months ago

              Draft beer just means it’s coming from a keg, not a style difference. You may not find beer you like, but if you’ve only tried the typical beer you get at a bar or whatever then yeah, it won’t be good. I’d say go to a brewery and ask for help. The bartenders will be happy to help and they’ll let you taste whatever you want before ordering. You can also go to a taphouse or something, but they won’t be as helpful probably and you also probably can’t get tastes.

        • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          I’m confused by this, how is soda cheaper than water? In the us, water comes out of my faucet ridiculously cheaply, and virtually every restaurant will give you water for free while charge for soda. At least with beer you get a buzz, why anyone would ever choose soda is beyond me. Well, I get it, it’s sweet. But it’s really just absolutely empty calories.

          • Spacehooks@reddthat.com
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            10 months ago

            Ah water bottles versus faucet. I Believe you live in a place that doesn’t have terrible tap. Plus I can’t upgrade the place I live in to resolve that ugh. Sugary water taste good by default plus you can offer it to anyone unlike beer. Buzz is also a side-effect which soda codes not have. I can drink 50 Cana of soda and still drive home.

            • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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              10 months ago

              Plus I can’t upgrade the place I live in to resolve that ugh.

              If we are talking about living in a place where the water is literally nonpotable, maybe you’re correct. But if it’s simply that you don’t like the taste then this isn’t about it being more expensive. Additionally, if this is the case, you can just buy a filter, which would produce way better tasting water at a fraction of the cost of soda.

              My point about beer giving a buzz is that it actually provides something that water does not. If you are looking for caffeine from a soda, there are way better ways of getting it without getting all those empty calories as well. If you just need to hydrate, water is pretty universally the best choice (when it comes to vs soda, although maybe a tiny bit of soda would be better than just water if you are seriously deplenished from an intense workout. . .although so is a bit of beer).

              I mean, you do you, I was just curious as to how in the world soda was cheaper than water. I’m not even sure it’s cheaper if you just buy it bottled as well. I’m curious as to your math. I just did a quick check on walmart, and the water is less than a cent per ounce, while the cheapest coke I saw was about 2.9 cents per ounce. . and that required having a 2 liter bottle, which would require using it rather quickly.

    • BigBananaDealer@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      sweet drinks are fine to have 1 or 2 of, but the sugar content will fuck your stomach up badly. learned that the hard way

  • FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Because it’s expensive, calorie intensive and takes longer to drink than something like whiskey or vodka.

    If I’m thirsty, I’ll drink water. If I want to get drunk, I’ll drink whiskey. Beer is the middle ground that just isn’t worth it anymore.

    • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
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      10 months ago

      Best I can understand, beer is more of a social drink than anything. Slow enough to get most people wasted that they can easily drink for the 2-4 hours they’re at a party or event for without getting too badly drunk

  • krakenx@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    The beer fests near me are filled with selzers, ciders and stuff like mead. As someone who doesn’t like beer, I think it’s a positive change to have alternatives for different tastes.

  • Snot Flickerman
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    10 months ago

    As someone who rarely drinks and fucking hates being around dumb drunk fucks.

    Good.

    Keep going, don’t stop, fuck alcohol.

    David Nutt knew what was up. He argued alcohol and tobacco should be illegal and marijuana, LSD, and mushrooms should be legal, based on real-world harm (he also had the data to back it up). He got shitcanned for suggesting this.

    Humanity needs to wake the fuck up to how fucking bad alcohol is for us as a species.

    • flames5123@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I’m not one to put down someone else’s hobbies. My wife and friends and I all go out and drink for the flavor. Cocktails are entertaining and delicious, beer gardens and breweries have a chill laid back atmosphere and really helps us get out of the house. We don’t drink to get drunk. Sure, alcohol isn’t that healthy for us, but it takes the edge off. I can’t take mushrooms, weed, or LSD every day after work to relax. Booze is nice sometimes to just have a bit of a rounding out of the day.

      There are many precautions that need to be in place to protect drunks from harming others, and I get that it’s exhausting to be around drunk people.

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        10 months ago

        If you ever worked in a hospital or worked on the social services side of things that tune might change.

        Just like tobacco, alcohol is patently terrible for society. DUI deaths, domestic violence, longterm brain deterioration, carcinogenic effects.

        Alcohol costs society so much. Just because some can handle driving over the speed limit doesn’t mean everyone should.

        • Snot Flickerman
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          10 months ago

          I have a friend in his 50’s who has been unable to taper off his drinking, and it’s so sad to watch.

          His impulse control is failing, he can hardly enjoy things he used to. He literally gave up on video games and board games because he doesn’t have the patience and they confuse him now.

          Part of that is the long-term effects of drinking every day, and the other part is being drunk every day and not being able to soberly assess, well, anything.

          I don’t know weed smokers like that.

          • AA5B@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            But I do. While I don’t really want to defend alcohol, y’all are blaming beer for problem drinkers while defending pot because most people aren’t problem consumers.

            Back in college I knew several people whose pot habits consumed their lives. Actually, just recently I learned a player got kicked off my kids soccer team, not because they caught him (school has a zero tolerance policy) but because laying around vaping cbd oil ruined his cardio

            Before anyone thinks they need to jump to the defense of their favorite vice, these are real people with real problems. Most people can handle a vice or two, and I’d argue it’s a healthy approach to life, but some people just can’t. Some people let the vice consume them, regardless of the vice

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              10 months ago

              Let’s also see how this all breaks out over the next decade. Seems a bit early to say weed has no negative effects for society…

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            10 months ago

            I do. Abusive drinking is worse but pot can absolutely be abused. My ex wrecked his teeth and cardiovascular endurance smoking pot. And certainly could not put it down. When he finally couldn’t get pot (when we split and he didn’t have my paycheck) he eventually did abuse alcohol instead, in his 40s. Which yes, was worse at least behaviorally, more damaging to his daily life. His health is harmed still from his years smoking every day. He is clean now, goes to AA. But now is fat. Binge eats instead of drinking or smoking.

            I think probably people who are prone to addiction will use whatever they can afford so alcohol is abused more widely.

      • Snot Flickerman
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        10 months ago

        Nutt’s argument relied on large amounts of evidence based on how dangerous each drug actually is in reality.

        But sure, because some people consider it a hobby we should definitely keep it legal and let people continue to ruin theirs and others lives!

        • flames5123@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          I’m well aware of this chart. I actively push for using other drugs because of this. One way we can help the dangers of alcohol is by having a better public transit system.

          Everyone has vices. Alcohol is very historical. We have alcohol in a lot of things, like a lot of food, so it’s impossible to get rid of it or even ban it.

        • bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          So are you suggesting criminalizing it? Because we tried that once and became a bigger issue than it was while legal.

          People are going to drink whether we like it or not, and outlawing it just pushes it underground and let’s criminals take control. The only way to really drive it out of society is to render it socially unacceptable, but then you’re going up against thousands of years of human habit. I’m not saying that the effects of alcohol on the individual and society aren’t bad, but it’s likely to be an unwinnable campaign. Better to legalize the less harmful intoxicants and give people the choice on how they consume their vices, because again, they are going to get their fixes one way or another.

      • bramblepatchmystery@slrpnk.net
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        10 months ago

        First I would like to say that millions of people do consume weed every day after work. Without weed, a vast many of them would perhaps be daily alcohol users are.

        My second point is, the fact that you have a category of acceptable drugs to consume daily, and include alcohol in it, might be something you should evaluate.

        I will drink a bottle of wine on a Friday and Saturday night, but the idea of drinking every night, even if just 1 or 2 drinks, terrifies me.

        • hydrospanner@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          First I would like to say that millions of people do consume weed every day after work.

          Okay?

          They never said nobody does those things, just that they don’t, and can’t.

          My second point is, the fact that you have a category of acceptable drugs to consume daily, and include alcohol in it, might be something you should evaluate.

          And maybe your inability to consider the possibility that others can handle responsible use of drugs in moderation and still carry out healthy, productive, well-balanced lives is something that you should evaluate.

          Sure there’s people who can’t handle any amount of any substance in their lives, but that doesn’t mean nobody can, and to imply a personal failing is at the core of any alcohol consumption (beyond whatever personal limits you’ve set and decided to impose on others) is just holier-than-thou nonsense.

          • bramblepatchmystery@slrpnk.net
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            10 months ago

            I would say that the rate of people who are drinking every day and living healthy, productive, well balanced lives is lower than you are assuming.

            This isn’t being moralistic about people’s choices, this is just basic understanding of alcohol’s effects on the body and brain.

            If I’m a moralist in your viewpoint, than I’m just happy that pushing for getting addicts (of which the majority of daily drinkers are defined as) onto weed is now considered the moral position to hold.

    • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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      10 months ago

      I mean, yeah, booze isn’t great for people. But it’s been a fairly important part of humanity since, like, the first city. According to wikipedia, humans have been making booze since the Neolithic period (10,000 BCE). Many, many, human cultures have some sort of relationship with it. Removing it would not be easy or well received.

      • remotelove@lemmy.ca
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        10 months ago

        There are a few theories that propose alcohol tolerance is baked into our DNA. Pre-humans that were able to breakdown alcohol were able to survive off of fermenting fruit when needed and not get so blackout drunk they became easy prey for something else. While that is just theory, the ability for us to process alcohol had to start somewhere.

        I find it strange that a substance that helped us evolve is also a major sponsor of the Darwin Awards.

    • prole@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      Lol people know how bad alcohol is.

      Maybe you’ll understand when you’re a little bit older, bud.

      • Snot Flickerman
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        10 months ago

        I don’t know how young you think a guy who is referencing an obscure UK government official being sacked 14 years ago would be.

  • chitak166@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    No joke, it’s all the seltzer marketing that gets people to spend way more on way less alcohol.

    It was successful as fuck. Just look at all the streamers shilling it.

    • papalonian@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      How is it spending way more on way less alcohol? In my area a 12 pack of Trulys is comparable to a 12 pack of Corona and they have roughly the same alcohol content

    • paraphrand@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think hard Seltzer is technically classified as beer?

      It says “BEER” on the back of White Claw cans.

      Can you clarify your point?

      • SolidGrue@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        If I was making hard seltzer at scale, I’d consider two options:

        1. Cut some Everclear 97% and some flavorant into water, and throw 30psi of CO2 on for it a few days (expensive)

        2. Ferment some dextrose, rack it off the yeast cake, add some flavorant, and throw 30psi of CO2 on it for a few days (cheap)

        My hombrew club hated me.

          • hydrospanner@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            The way they’re produced en masse is that high alcohol “beer” is brewed for maximum sugar content and minimal flavors, and then it’s aged, filtered, and in some cases concentrated for shipment.

            Usually this neutral malt alcohol base is used on site at around 14% but if it is to be shipped it’s usually concentrated to liquor levels for economy of scale.

            When it’s time to make a seltzer it’s not “brewed” as such, but simply blended with industrial scale batching equipment. Basically a big tank of water with a pipe loop that runs the contents of the tank in circulation, and has ports for adding flavoring and the alcohol base.

            Once the batch is at the right flavor and ABV it can be held in storage or sent to canning/bottling, with compressed CO2 injected into the liquid line just before the point where it goes into the can or bottle.