h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Do you drink 'responsibly'? How much do you drink? Do you think you might drink too much? Do you care?

Did you give up drinking for January? Do you believe in de-toxing?

If you do drink, why do you drink? What's your tipple of choice? Conversely, if you don't drink, why not?

Do you think we drink too much as a nation? Do we drink differently to, say, the Italians or folk in Europe in general? Are we more 'northern European' in our drinking habits? If so, why is this?

-North Americans generally seem to treat alcohol more like a drug than a food compared to Europeans, it seems to me. Canadians are a little different, we seem to have led the small-batch boutique beer movement, with a noticeable exception during the 50's and 60's when drinking establishments seemed generally alcoholic disassembly lines.

Have our drinking habits changed over the years? Do we drink differently now than when we did in the 1970s?

-The 70's here were all about venues for live music here and I think that has slowly returned since the turn of the century along with the *happy* drinking that goes with that.

Are folk drinking more at home these days due to cheaper supermarket booze? Is this a bad thing?

Hasn't really happened here.

Is pub culture dying off?

Here it seems to be growing, albeit without the history that Europe has. Some pubs have gone to the extreme of buying Brit pubs, disassembling them and reassembling them here, a ridiculous notion if you ask me, I prefer authentic locals that have signs like *Since 1976*.

What are the best and worst things about drinking?

Excess.

No seriously, it's a fantastic social lubricant in the right amount and a horribly destructive social acid in excess.

Odd, I missed the first three questions.

Do you drink 'responsibly'? How much do you drink? Do you think you might drink too much? Do you care?

I don't drink and drive or become aggressive or obnoxious when I drink which I think is responsible. One per evening with the weekends several more. I don't believe so.

Did you give up drinking for January? Do you believe in de-toxing?

No and no.

If you do drink, why do you drink? What's your tipple of choice? Conversely, if you don't drink, why not?

I drink socially because it makes life more interesting and perhaps makes me a tad more loquacious. I like red wine if it's better than average, scotch, ales, gin and tonic in the Summer- it depends on the place and the time. If I had to be stuck on a desert island with one case of an alcoholic beverage I believe it would be rum since it would mix well with cocoanut milk.

If I didn't drink I'm sure it would be for my health.

"If I had to be stuck on a desert island with one case of an alcoholic beverage I believe it would be rum since it would mix well with cocoanut milk"

Excellent point!

I shall remember that as you never know...

Yeah, I've noticed that Canadians have a different attitude to alcohol than the Americans, the biggest being that they like their beer to taste of beer. A country that eats burgers for breakfast but still orders Light Beer? Sheesh.

As an Irishman I've grown up with an attitude to booze that would probably raise a few eyebrows elsewhere in the world, but here most socialising is done in the pub. Incidentally, it's rumoured that you can get a resonable estimate of the size of an Irish town by counting the number of churches, but that there's always a close correlation between the number of churches and the number of pubs!




PS What province are you from? I'm currently awaiting my visa to move over the Canada. New Brunswick via PEI.

Waaaay over to the left coast, thousands and thousands of miles from New Brunswick (thus the *End of the World*)

You'll probably end up drinking a lot of Sleeman's beer-

http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/anb/2007e0913an.htm

... but there are lots of *brew pubs* in NB, just like here in BC.

And of course, you'll have to try Screech!

http://www.durham.net/~kburt/ScreechStory.html

Also handy for cleaning paint brushes!

Yeah, I think I've tried most types of Sleeman's. I'm also a fan of Keith's and Rickard's Red. Have been over to a few places on the east coast and enjoy trying all the locally brewed ales.

Haven't tried this 'screech' though, I'll have to keep my eyes open for it. (restricted internet in work, have to check the links later)

I live in Florida and there seems to be a microbrew thing goin on here. I mostly drink beer with a bottle of German white wine on occasion. I'm not what you'd call a heavy drinker. Used to be though. But then that was when I was younger.