Had my first beer.

[Okjoek]

Not sure it's really appropriate, but I just felt like telling someone. Is it strange that I'm 22 and I've waited this long before trying? Wasn't sure if I even wanted to. Some people say there's health benefits and others say there's absolutely nothing good about it. Either way it's some kind of hard root beer flavored stuff at 5.? percent alcohol.

 

Not exactly feeling very much. I wonder if it's because I'm over 200 lb and ate several slices of pizza while I had it and then proceeded to drink a whole bottle of water, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be feeling something. I don't think I'm going to have it again, the alcohol made the rootbeer taste like crap IMO. I think I might feel a little disoriented, but IDK if it's actually the alcohol...

[Okjoek]

3 minutes ago, vinyldash303 said:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I haven't ever had any. A lot of the people I know say their first beer tasted like crap and now they drink a few every now and again. Same thing with coffee I guess.

 

If its an acquired taste I guess that means they got used to how terrible it was. 

 

Kind of like Coffee. And tea on some level. Neither of those things taste good to me unless I put other stuff in them. Coffee for me takes a bunch of half and half and a couple spoonfulls of sugar. Tea takes a little bit of honey and some cream.

Personally I just like a good cup of hot cocoa.

[Mooshi]

Mexican soda > piss water anyday

[dalekphalm]

34 minutes ago, Okjoek said:

Not sure it's really appropriate, but I just felt like telling someone. Is it strange that I'm 22 and I've waited this long before trying? Wasn't sure if I even wanted to. Some people say there's health benefits and others say there's absolutely nothing good about it. Either way it's some kind of hard root beer flavored stuff at 5.? percent alcohol.

 

Not exactly feeling very much. I wonder if it's because I'm over 200 lb and ate several slices of pizza while I had it and then proceeded to drink a whole bottle of water, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be feeling something. I don't think I'm going to have it again, the alcohol made the rootbeer taste like crap IMO. I think I might feel a little disoriented, but IDK if it's actually the alcohol...

Beer comes in quite a few flavours and styles. I personally don't think I've ever had a beer that even remotely tasted like "Root Beer" (the soft drink).

 

As for feeling something? One beer generally won't make an adult drunk. You get drunk faster on an empty stomach. If you get drunk fairly easily, then one beer might make you feel "tipsy" (slightly light headed, possibly tingling sensation in the fingers) or "buzzed". Not many people will get drunk off of one beer. Even light drinkers will usually need 2-3 minimum.

 

As mentioned, beer is definitely an acquired taste. Some people like it instantly, the first time, but most do not. The first time I had beer, it was literally one of the worst things I've ever tasted (ironically, it was, what is now, my favourite kind of beer). I personally still hate most kinds of beer, especially darker, stronger, or "hoppier" beer (Hops is one of the ingredients). I prefer blonde/pale/light flavours. My favourite beer is Coors Light (the colder, the better).

 

Personally, I'm not much of a drinker. I like having a beer or two now and then, but I don't get drunk often. Research shows a correlation (not causation) between drinking 1-2 beers or glasses of wine a day, and good health. Heavy drinking is 100% confirmed to contribute to bad health though, and can lead to death. But anyone who says alcohol is never good is either naive, or lying to you.

[Yoinkerman]

Ya you prob won't feel one beer if you are over 200lbs and also eat pizza

[Speedyv]

2 hours ago, vinyldash303 said:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

I haven't ever had any. A lot of the people I know say their first beer tasted like crap and now they drink a few every now and again. Same thing with coffee I guess.

 

If its an acquired taste I guess that means they got used to how terrible it was. 

 

Kind of like Coffee. And tea on some level. Neither of those things taste good to me unless I put other stuff in them. Coffee for me takes a bunch of half and half and a couple spoonfulls of sugar. Tea takes a little bit of honey and some cream.

I've had it and it does taste bad initially till you get the buzz. People say you start to actually like the taste but none of the ones I've tried have tasted what I'd call good. 

[Mug]

3 hours ago, Okjoek said:

Some people say there's health benefits

There are actually no health benefits to beer. Everything that people say there is can be obtained by minimal amounts of certain foods.

 

You won't be drunk off one beer, even if it's a pint. If you don't drink much then you might feel it after 3 depending on your size and the condition of your liver, the amount of fluid in your body means that you'll get less drunk. Anything before that is likely placebo.

The first time I drank beer was the last day of secondary school, I was 15. Didn't get much effect from the beer because I had drank a fair amount of vodka beforehand.

 

I think the thing about alcohol is that it really should be consumed with friends to enhance your experience, otherwise it's not really enjoyable at all and it carries a fairly large health risk. I used to drink alone all the time but then I got an ultrasound and found out I had fatty liver disease. Since then I've stopped and only go drinking on the weekend. If I go during the week, it'll either be a vodka and diet coke or just a diet coke.

 

26 minutes ago, Speedyv said:

I've had it and it does taste bad initially till you get the buzz. People say you start to actually like the taste but none of the ones I've tried have tasted what I'd call good. 

I found it a bit like coffee. When I was 16, I went to sixth form and there was a coffee machine in the common room. It was there from drinking coffee every day that my taste for it developed.

[TubsAlwaysWins]

I may or may not be a minor but ive had parents permission (Im in a state that allows it with parental permision on private property) and ive had 3. I generally don't like them though.

 

I will tell you this. If you ever have something in your throat, whiskey is the answer. Just get like less than a shot glass full. That shit is strong

[vrod]

There is health benefits in drinking in beer, moderately that is.

 

Nevertheless there's thousands of different types of beers, each with their own little difference in taste. Now, the first beer can def. not taste to your likings but you might love other beer. For example, I guess many people in the US likes budweiser or heiniken, but over here in Europe, most people call that piss-water.

 

If you try some german or belgium beer, maybe even danish or dutch beer, there's a lot of good stuff. I drink beer occasionally myself, for example yesterday when I watched a movie. Many people drinks it to get drunk, others (like myself) drinks it because it taste good (like people drink cola). You might find several flavors or types that you really like. Now, you were drinking root-beer. What was the name of that exactly? I've tasted many flavours of beer and some def. went down the drain.

[MrDynamicMan]

Living on the edge yo.

 

personally I dont really like beer, but w/e.

[RocketFarmer]

Main reason beer has generally been considered "healthy" in the past is that it's safer than water with respect to contaminants, bacteria and parasites.  In some countries you are much better off passing on water and having a beer.  Locally, you have been accustomed to the water so that should not be an issue. 

 

In general, beer tastes like shit.  It's an acquired taste. Some like high hoppy bitterness of an Indian Pale Ale (IPA) while others like the relatively sweet and heavy character of a stout.  Most beer sold domestically (Canada and USA) are lagers, which tend to be much lighter and crisper than the ales.  I'd recommend visiting a micro brewery to try a variety of styles or one of the many craft brew stores that seem to be popping up everywhere that offer samplings of an even wider variety of beers than what the micro breweries offer.

 

Overall you are better off not really being into alcohol.  But alcohol is a social drink and it's nice to be able to have one or two every now and then.  Binge drinking, on the other hand, is something to avoid. Having one big drinking night, and then the aftermath from that, is an experience you can't really explain as much as go through. Just make sure you have a sober person to get you where you need to go and to watch your back if you try to do something really stupid or someone tries to mess with you.  But overall the bender isn't really all that "fun". 

[RuffRuffmcgruff]

HEINEKEN FOR LIFE

[techswede]

As others have said its an acquired taste. And one 5% er probably won't get you drunk right off the bat. 

Can't say i've had root beer with alcohol in it. (Not a huge fan of root beer in general. I'm more of a ginger ale guy)

But there are different kinds of beer for different kinds of people. Personally i can't stand lager beer.

But i like stouts and porters. Brewdog makes some good stuff like the Tokyo and the riptide. 

 

After my first beer i did not feel like having more either. But now i don't mind having one on a hot summer day. 

[xentropa]

11 hours ago, Okjoek said:

Not sure it's really appropriate, but I just felt like telling someone. Is it strange that I'm 22 and I've waited this long before trying? Wasn't sure if I even wanted to. Some people say there's health benefits and others say there's absolutely nothing good about it. Either way it's some kind of hard root beer flavored stuff at 5.? percent alcohol.

 

Not exactly feeling very much. I wonder if it's because I'm over 200 lb and ate several slices of pizza while I had it and then proceeded to drink a whole bottle of water, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be feeling something. I don't think I'm going to have it again, the alcohol made the rootbeer taste like crap IMO. I think I might feel a little disoriented, but IDK if it's actually the alcohol...

I can't remember my first beer.

 

My dad let me have sips as a kid every now and then and I think high school 16 or 17 was when I first had a whole can to myself.  Now I am 32 and I drink a pint every day or two.  Its probably not healthy.  No its defintely not healthy, but it does help take the edge off after a hard day at work.

[PlayStation 2]

I tasted beer on accident years ago and it was shite.

Frankly, I don't think I'll drink any sorts of alcohol. My brother thought he was good enough to take on tequila like half a year ago. You can guess how that turned out.

[Okjoek]

1 minute ago, xentropa said:

I can't remember my first beer.

 

My dad let me have sips as a kid every now and then and I think high school 16 or 17 was when I first had a whole can to myself.  Now I am 32 and I drink a pint every day or two.  Its probably not healthy.  No its defintely not healthy, but it does help take the edge off after a hard day at work.

Yeah I had the "kid sips" as well, but I didn't count those. Ultimately  I'm a guy that loves learning about other cultures, but I rarely ever get to travel to see them and that's probably the only reason I would drink is to experience the local customs.

 

I gotta say though, I did sleep very well last night. Not going to attribute that to the beer though.

[lufihengr]

I went out drinking a couple of times, but it's super meh. Not my thing 

[treeroy]

13 hours ago, Okjoek said:

Not sure it's really appropriate, but I just felt like telling someone. Is it strange that I'm 22 and I've waited this long before trying? Wasn't sure if I even wanted to. Some people say there's health benefits and others say there's absolutely nothing good about it. Either way it's some kind of hard root beer flavored stuff at 5.? percent alcohol.

 

Not exactly feeling very much. I wonder if it's because I'm over 200 lb and ate several slices of pizza while I had it and then proceeded to drink a whole bottle of water, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be feeling something. I don't think I'm going to have it again, the alcohol made the rootbeer taste like crap IMO. I think I might feel a little disoriented, but IDK if it's actually the alcohol...

Um, don't know who's been trying to convince you of the health benefits of alcohol - there aren't any, period.

 

Most people won't feel anything after 1 beer, although if your body isn't used to alcohol it will obviously take less to feel the effects. It takes me 4-5 pints to start feeling anything. But yeah if you eat a bit of food that will neutralise the effect of the alcohol.

 

Beer tastes like piss anyway, it's horrible.

 

Actually, piss is nicer.

[dalekphalm]

11 hours ago, Mug said:

There are actually no health benefits to beer. Everything that people say there is can be obtained by minimal amounts of certain foods.

 

You won't be drunk off one beer, even if it's a pint. If you don't drink much then you might feel it after 3 depending on your size and the condition of your liver, the amount of fluid in your body means that you'll get less drunk. Anything before that is likely placebo.

The first time I drank beer was the last day of secondary school, I was 15. Didn't get much effect from the beer because I had drank a fair amount of vodka beforehand.

 

I think the thing about alcohol is that it really should be consumed with friends to enhance your experience, otherwise it's not really enjoyable at all and it carries a fairly large health risk. I used to drink alone all the time but then I got an ultrasound and found out I had fatty liver disease. Since then I've stopped and only go drinking on the weekend. If I go during the week, it'll either be a vodka and diet coke or just a diet coke.

 

I found it a bit like coffee. When I was 16, I went to sixth form and there was a coffee machine in the common room. It was there from drinking coffee every day that my taste for it developed.

@Mug can you provide a source to back up your claims? I have several:

In this video, they detail alcohol in general, and how 1-2 drinks per day, or 1 per week, both show various potential health benefits. There are also risks, so it's not 100% clear cut, but the research indicates that the benefits may outweigh the risks. At the very least, there's enough research that shows benefits to warrant more comprehensive research studies.

 

Here's another, that links several studies specifically about the health benefits of beer:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/the-surprising-health-benefits-of-drinking-beer/

 

1 hour ago, treeroy said:

Um, don't know who's been trying to convince you of the health benefits of alcohol - there aren't any, period.

 

Most people won't feel anything after 1 beer, although if your body isn't used to alcohol it will obviously take less to feel the effects. It takes me 4-5 pints to start feeling anything. But yeah if you eat a bit of food that will neutralise the effect of the alcohol.

 

Beer tastes like piss anyway, it's horrible.

 

Actually, piss is nicer.

You seem to have a very biased view of beer. I can certainly understand not liking the taste. I myself dislike most styles of beer. However, to straight up say there are no health benefits of alcohol?

 

You're either naive, misinformed, or lying. Most likely, you were educated/brought up this way, and people lied to you about it. Sure, binge drinking is very VERY bad for you. So drinking in moderation/low amounts is key to getting any health benefits.

 

But hey, you can overdose and die from consuming too much Dihydrogen monoxide too (that's water, in case you weren't sure).

 

There's enough research out there to clearly say that there are some health benefits to alcohol in general, when consumed in low daily or weekly quantities. Enough to say that:

Quote

don't know who's been trying to convince you of the health benefits of alcohol - there aren't any, period.

is quite frankly, 100% false.

[Guest Kloaked]

I'm 24 and I only had my first beer a few months ago. I don't really care for drinking much.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

3 hours ago, RuffRuffmcgruff said:

HEINEKEN FOR LIFE

We're talking about beer here, not dishwater

[treeroy]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

 

 

You seem to have a very biased view of beer. I can certainly understand not liking the taste. I myself dislike most styles of beer. However, to straight up say there are no health benefits of alcohol?

 

You're either naive, misinformed, or lying. Most likely, you were educated/brought up this way, and people lied to you about it. Sure, binge drinking is very VERY bad for you. So drinking in moderation/low amounts is key to getting any health benefits.

 

But hey, you can overdose and die from consuming too much Dihydrogen monoxide too (that's water, in case you weren't sure).

 

There's enough research out there to clearly say that there are some health benefits to alcohol in general, when consumed in low daily or weekly quantities. Enough to say that:

is quite frankly, 100% false.

Of course I have a "biased" view of a taste, it's completely down to the individual's taste buds! Lol. I know people who love it. I can't stand it. Just my personal preference!

 

And sorry, but I can't see how alcohol can have any positive effect on your body. I mean I may well be wrong, I'm not a scientist and haven't done any research, but most of the claims I've seen are simply correlations ("people who drink more live longer!") etc.

 

And no I didn't mean binge drinking, I just can't see how alcohol as a drug has any positive health effects... we all know its not great for you (though it doesn't usually do much harm) but we outweigh the health effects with how nice it is.

[Monkey Dust]

The only reason to develop a taste for beer is that it's cheap, and almost everyone drinks it, which is easier when you're doing rounds. I can't stand the stuff and the additional cost of a double JD over a pint can result in grumbling if it's not my round. Though down here in the west country, cider is freely available and a more palatable alternative to beer.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, treeroy said:

Of course I have a "biased" view of a taste, it's completely down to the individual's taste buds! Lol. I know people who love it. I can't stand it. Just my personal preference!

 

And sorry, but I can't see how alcohol can have any positive effect on your body. I mean I may well be wrong, I'm not a scientist and haven't done any research, but most of the claims I've seen are simply correlations ("people who drink more live longer!") etc.

 

And no I didn't mean binge drinking, I just can't see how alcohol as a drug has any positive health effects... we all know its not great for you (though it doesn't usually do much harm) but we outweigh the health effects with how nice it is.

When I said "biased view", I was specifically referring to your incorrect opinion about the lack of health benefits.

 

You are correct that correlation does not inherently equal causation, but there are many studies that link (correlate) alcohol/beer consumption with positive health outcomes. To simply say "there are none" goes against the research, and the scientists that conduct them.

 

Go watch the video I linked above, and also check out the article (And follow the sources, don't just read the article itself). To see the many correlations between alcohol consumption and positive health outcomes, and to ignore that, is wilful ignorance. There's enough research to say "There is definitely something there worth looking into", and we should be doing more research on the issue to confirm these correlations.

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, Monkey Dust said:

The only reason to develop a taste for beer is that it's cheap, and almost everyone drinks it, which is easier when you're doing rounds. I can't stand the stuff and the additional cost of a double JD over a pint can result in grumbling if it's not my round. Though down here in the west country, cider is freely available and a more palatable alternative to beer.

Cider is becoming a bit more popular in Ontario. Coolers (usually vodka or rum) are normally the popular alternative to beer. I personally dislike all hard liquor. I find the taste much worse then beer.