Moderately Drunk?

I have always been told that beer by itself is not a very good drink for getting drunk. If you want to get drunk, have a few mixed drinks or down a bottle of wine or two. Maybe even have a few shots of whiskey. By virtue of alcohol content, compared to hard liqour or wine, beer is a drink of moderation. Now, moderation flys out the window if you are drinking cases of beer from a funnel or playing quarter bounce like a college student. Quantity and volume in the long run will always trump moderation, no matter how slight the alcohol content. For that matter, beer drinking duration is another bump in the road. It is the time that one puts into the event that gets one into trouble. Drinking beer over a twelve hour period, even 3.5-4% beer will lead to a serious bout of drunkenness. How about cross polination? Quantity + Duration = Profound Drunkenness.

Not being a mixed drink drinker or a serious whiskey guy, I can honestly say that when it comes to inebriation soley from beer, I have been there. I know the quantity thing. I know the duration thing. I know the polination of the two. Beer can get you drunk. So where does this moderation thing come in? For me moderation came into play gradually overtime. Over a slow period of moving away from swill beer and learning to appreciate quality, well brewed beer. One or two, ok maybe three or four quality beers satiates your entire being. To borrow a phrase from John Denver, "It fills up your senses." Great taste, smell, mouth feel and after taste, leaves you complete. It takes 12 -24 Light beers to get the same feeling, only it's not the same feeling, you're just drunk. Good quality beer, leaves you euphoric and finished. You don't need anymore. It doesn't mean you can't have anymore. Have as many as you like. But remember, duration and quantity take away moderation. The drink of moderation can easily become the drink of excess. And you know what else? There is nothing wrong with that either. Beers for everyone!

The Beers:

EEL River Brewing, EEL River IPA, This California Micro has done a fabulous job with their IPA. 7% alcohol, this beer pours a dark, rusty, carmel color with a sparkling, white head. The faint hoppy smell does not even indicate the pleasure about to enter your mouth. The first taste is a very well balanced mouthfull of hops. Nothing overpowering or pushing the edge of drinkability as many American Micro's do with their own IPA styles. This is a very drinkable IPA with an ever present, but well balanced hop content. The closer you get to finishing a 12oz glass, the better the beer actually becomes. A true sign of a great beer.

DogFish Head Brewing, Olde School Barleywine: This is a very strong beer. Rolls in at a whopping 15% alcohol. Surprisingly transparent in color. Almost looks like a whiskey in the glass, except for the thin head, which naturally gives it away. There wasn't even a hint of visible carbonation. Slightly sweet, slight fruity smell, raisen like. The first taste was very thick on the tongue, carbonated and warming, almost a burn. Delicious. Not typical of the Barleywine styles I am used to. More Whiskeyish in appearance and taste than a barleywine, but very good none-the-less.

Lindeman's Peche Lambic: Now here is an ale for celebrating a New Years Eve midnight toast. This bubbly peach lambic from the Lindeman's Brewery in Belgium will win many points with the non-beer drinking female crowd. This ale is a pleaser. The beer was so full of peach taste and so refreshing, I think it would go down just as well on a hot summer day sitting on the beach. After having a few Black and Tan's and a Barleywine on New Years Eve, the Peach Lambic hit the spot. Bring a bottle home for the wife and yourself. You won't be sorry. Oh, and it is modestly light in alcohol.