Sunday, November 21, 2004

Oh My God, I'm Sick of Beer

Ok, I have actually been sick of beer since about March, but it's reaching desperate proportions now. I can't drink beer like the Irish at all. Canadians just don't drink as much beer. Most people in Ireland think it's because our beer has a lower alcohol content, which is not true. In Canada, most people drink bottles, which are smaller than pints. Also, if pints are bought, they're consumed at a slower pace, and most people only have three before stopping. Funny because people in Canada think that I can drink a ridiculous amout of beer, but I'm a complete lightweight here.

It's customary here to buy drinks in rounds. If you're out with three people, it's a safe bet that the 'just one pint' will actually be three pints. Unfortunately, because drinks are bought in rounds, it messes up the round system to order a mixed drink as they're more expensive. So, when I'm out at the pub, I'm drinking beer - whether I really want to or not. It's pretty anti-social to say, 'oh no, you guys buy rounds, I'll take care of my own'. However, for some reason, I just can't stomach it much anymore. I don't know why, and I don't know when this happened. I can only drink about four pints and then I hit a total wall, and I can't consume anything else at all - even food because I'm so full. The first two pints are great, but then I would really rather switch off to something else.

On a related note, there is a new product out on the market here called "Lifeline". It's a hangover pill, but unlike its predecessors, you don't have to take one with each drink you consume (ridiculous and you would never remember), you don't have to take it a certain number of hours before your first drink (because all nights out are planned), and you don't have to take it before going to bed (if you don't always remember your pint of water....). Also, it's available in pharmacies, not just on the Internet, so that eliminates some of the dubiousness of its claims. You take one with your first drink and that's it. The marketing line is, "developed in Ireland for Irish drinkers. So you know it works." Hilarious. I was at the pharmacy the other day, and I saw the display for them but they were sold out. Everyone is talking about them. I'll let you know the verdict.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

At least you get some choice of beer. In India we get Kingfisher, Kingfisher Strong, and (just for some variety) Kingfisher Premium. Ok, there's Castle, UB, Jaguar (kind of like La Fin du Monde) and (rarely) Corona, but they're harder to find.

There are no rounds here; the most common thing seems to be to buy the 660 ml bottles and split them between two people, and then split the bill at the end of the night.

I suggest going to Metroplitan on one of the happy hour nights and then posting your thoughts on Lifeline :)