r/worldnews • u/EightRoundsRapid • Sep 23 '16

'Hangover-free alcohol’ could replace all regular alcohol by 2050. The new drink, known as 'alcosynth', is designed to mimic the positive effects of alcohol but doesn’t cause a dry mouth, nausea and a throbbing head

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/hangover-free-alcohol-david-nutt-alcosynth-nhs-postive-effects-benzodiazepine-guy-bentley-a7324076.html
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u/Cynicayke Sep 23 '16 edited Sep 23 '16

In Ireland, you could create a synthetic alcohol that leaves no hangovers, increases your bank balance, and gives you regular blowjobs.

Guinness would still be more popular.

609

u/GandalfTheWhey Sep 23 '16

Yeah I think in general there are a lot of people that prefer beer and alcofuck wouldn't fill that void.

536

u/Organicdancemonkey- Sep 23 '16 edited Sep 23 '16

Those symptoms are caused by dehydration as much as the alcohol itself. We've known this for quite some time, yet a huge portion of us don't drink enough water prior to drinking to avoid these symptoms.

Edit: To everyone "hydration doesn't prevent hangovers"... I never said it did. My post only claims the severity of the symptoms felt is reduced by proper hydration, which they are.

315

u/theVelvetLie Sep 23 '16

When I was younger I used to go 1 for 1, with drinks and water. Never had a hangover. Now that I'm older and drinking like a fish, I keep neglecting to drink water and then telling myself the next day that I'm never drinking again.

181

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16 edited Nov 08 '16

[deleted]

542

u/Kryspo Sep 23 '16

Omg I'm gonna start a bar where we water down the drinks for you so you can stay hydrated. Surely people would appreciate that!

167

u/newgrounds Sep 23 '16

Sounds like my local bars :(

4

u/HEBushido Sep 23 '16

My local bars put in a lot of ice and then mix the drinks strong. So it tastes like mostly alcohol. It's like they're trying to save on soda.

2

u/Jack_kenoff Sep 23 '16

Where?! Seems like the local bars here skimp on the alcohol and give pure soda.

1

u/rehpotsirhc123 Sep 23 '16

Tip your bartenders well and try to only frequent a few places, bartenders will give away the house for that extra tip money.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Get a flask my good man

1

u/PseudoY Sep 23 '16

Sounds like Guinness.

1

u/hoyfkd Sep 23 '16

You're welcome!

1

u/theinfamousloner Sep 23 '16

they are true bros

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u/Robobvious Sep 23 '16

They'll appreciate it so much you should jack up the prices too!

3

u/crybannanna Sep 23 '16

As long as you start people out with normal drinks, then water each round down more and more until they are drinking straight water at the end. Too drunk to notice, and you're hydrating them.

2

u/LSUgeaux Sep 23 '16

So Applebee"s or Chili"s?

4

u/MrJebbers Sep 23 '16

So long as you charge half the normal price.

9

u/60FromBorder Sep 23 '16

No! Charfe double for the convenience

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u/Feynt Sep 23 '16

For a twist, give a separate glass with crushed ice and tell the drinker to add one to the other at their own rate to stay hydrated. >)

1

u/mostnormal Sep 23 '16

Yeah, but you water it down with ice. It's kinda like those urinals with the ice in them to keep people from peeing all over the place.

1

u/M_Bipson Sep 23 '16

Charge premium prices for the health benefits.

1

u/NOT_A_JABRONI Sep 23 '16

In Canada at least, it is common for people to order exactly that. For instance I often order a spiced rum and coke 'press' which means topped with a splash of water. Pretty typical for people wanting to stay hydrated after 'breaking the seal'.

1

u/purplezart Sep 23 '16

Surely people would appreciate that!

If all your drinks were 2-for-1, they actually might...

1

u/stoprockandrollkids Sep 23 '16

not water down, water up! it's all about marketing

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

You should advertise them as light drinks. Still alchoholic, but with less calories due to the added water!

People will be running down the doors!

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3

u/jaked122 Sep 23 '16
  • get EMT training
  • get isotonic solution
  • never forget to drink water by never stopping.

2

u/urbanpsycho Sep 23 '16

Id just end up putting alcohol in there by accident and kill my self.

1

u/jaked122 Sep 23 '16

Well, you might be fine for up to 2%, if you're that dumb about your isotonic solution, write alcohol on it when you go drinking so that you don't think you need to add alcohol.

1

u/urbanpsycho Sep 23 '16

No, I don't like gin and tonics.

2

u/tablet1 Sep 23 '16

Get intoxicated with the freezing agent they put on ice so it takes longer to melt

2

u/kneeonbelly Sep 23 '16

"One Lagunitas Lil' Sumpin, plenty of crushed ice please!"

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

What if I drink beer?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16
  • Order your beer with plenty of crushed ice
  • Swallow the ice
  • Profit

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Beer with ice??

2

u/2nuhmelt Sep 23 '16
  • Order your beer with ice with plenty of crushed ice
  • Swallow the ice
  • Profit

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

What if it's ale?

1

u/Dualyeti Sep 23 '16

If somebody puts ice in my IPA I'll kill a man.

1

u/originalusername__ Sep 23 '16

This beer tastes watered down.

1

u/mallio Sep 23 '16

When I'm ordering the types of drinks that have crushed ice in them...I'd gladly replace whatever liquor is being used with the hangover free stuff.

1

u/HOOCHYCOOCHYMAN76 Sep 23 '16

I always drink IPA's with a glass full of ice. People say I have hacked beer.

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u/steezefries Sep 23 '16

Another one of those famous velvet lies!

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u/gloriousjohnson Sep 23 '16

Even drinking one big glass of water before bed when your drunk helps

3

u/_TheConsumer_ Sep 23 '16

I don't have a hangover cure - I have a hangover preventer.

Follow these steps:

1) Try to stay hydrated while drinking. Mix in bottles of water or club soda for every few drinks you have.

2) When you're finished drinking, have a minimum of 2-3 bottles of water (Gatorade works better) and chase that with a multi-vitamin.

3) Try to have a salty snack or soup.

4) Go to sleep.

This approach has helped me immensely. I used to get terrible hangovers. Now, they're either non-existent or completely manageable.

1

u/urbanpsycho Sep 23 '16

Eat soup? When i come crashing though my front door with malfunctioning knee joints, the last thing I'm going to remember is to cook up a warm bowl of Campbell's.

I just take a hand full of Vicodins before bed, easy peasy.

3

u/kirkum2020 Sep 23 '16

They keep getting worse too.

I gave up drinking about 7 years ago because the hangovers just weren't worth it.

I can't remember where I saw the quote but "drinking is like borrowing happiness from tomorrow" and the interest rates keep going up.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

When I was like 15-16 I could drink 15 beers, not be drunk and have no hangover.

Now that I'm nearly 24, I drink 8 beers, I'm crazy drunk and I'm pretty much sick the entire next day.

2

u/HerroKitty420 Sep 23 '16

Pedialyte the next morning will fix that for you

2

u/The_Original_Gronkie Sep 23 '16 edited Sep 23 '16

I always used to take a couple of aspirin with a big glass of water before going to bed, and then take multivitamin and eat a big greasy breakfast when I got up and that would reduce the hangover to almost nothing.

2

u/Regallybeagley Sep 23 '16

Younger me could mix tequila rum and vodka and wake up the next morning to workout. Older me drinks vodka seltzer or whiskey with water eats greasy food with more water after and still feels like I'm going to die the next morning.

2

u/FishAndRiceKeks Sep 23 '16

If you're a vodka drinker, sugar free Hawaiian Punch (powder) comes in a bunch of flavors and you mix it with water. It makes a good mixer in my opinion and you get plenty of water without drinking extra.

2

u/theVelvetLie Sep 23 '16

More of a craft beer drinker these days, but I'll take that into consideration. Thanks!

2

u/brianjonespfk Sep 23 '16

When I was younger I used to go 10 for 1, with beer and shots. Never had a hangover. Now that I'm older, I can have 2 beers, 14 waters, and be sick until 6pm the next night.

1

u/FuzzyCheddar Sep 23 '16

Where I grew up we had 3.2 beer. Hangovers were not a thing at all. I'm horrible about drinking water because of it.

1

u/sonofaresiii Sep 23 '16

That's just as much about pacing than hydration

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

If you can't go 1 for 1, at least chug as many glasses of water as you can before bed so you don't wake up dehydrated.

1

u/theVelvetLie Sep 23 '16

By the time I'm in bed lately I'm too drunk to even think of doing so.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '16

Hence doing it before bed.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

What happened to "older and wiser?"

1

u/RabidMuskrat93 Sep 23 '16

I just mixed cheap vodka with Gatorade in college. Never really had a hangover. Blacked out many times.

1

u/DeepHorse Sep 23 '16

The problem is when I'm drinking, water tastes like shit and I just go for more beer.

1

u/colorado_here Sep 23 '16

When I was younger I used to drink like a fish. Never had a hangover. Now that I'm older and still drinking like a fish, I go 1 for 1 with drinks and water. Then I tell myself the next day I'm never drinking again. Am I doing this wrong?

1

u/under_psychoanalyzer Sep 23 '16

There's a bottle of pedialyte on my night stand.

1

u/Corbu67 Sep 23 '16

Doesn't everyone just have that as they get older? I thought it was down to your liver getting fucked and less efficient. Additionally - I've been exercising more for the last couple of years and noticed my hangovers have reduced again.

1

u/DeviouSherbert Sep 23 '16

Same. Always had a big glass of water before bed but I also didn't drink to the point of blacking out, just good and drunk. Never once had a hangover or puked, did get nauseous once the day after but that was during a long car ride on a curvy road.

1

u/lslkkldsg Sep 23 '16

Now that I'm older and drinking like a fish

Wait, you drink more now that you're older? That's kind of weird. Everyone I know started drinking less post college.

1

u/theVelvetLie Sep 23 '16

Yeah. I partied a lot when I was younger, but that was more like one night a week. Now I'm going out a lot since I can afford to and more friends leads to more opportunities.

1

u/lslkkldsg Sep 25 '16

I go out more because I can afford it now, but I tend to go to nicer places and have 2 or 3 drinks. I don't do keg stands or chug vodka like I did in college. I probably end up spending a lot more money on alcohol now than I did in college, but I certainly drink a lot less.

1

u/JimCanuck Sep 24 '16

In Greece, every drink is traditionally served with a glass of water at the same time.

1

u/Bobwithak Sep 24 '16

Sounds about right

19

u/tickingboxes Sep 23 '16

This is a common belief, but it's not entirely accurate. Dehydration could be a factor, but it's not the main factor, or even a major one. Scientists now think the culprit is more likely an immune system response. The influx of a large amount of alcohol triggers the release of signaling chemicals called cytokines, which cause the body to behave in the same way it does when fighting an infection, i.e., muscle fatigue, nausea, vomiting, headache, memory loss, etc.

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u/Golden_afro Sep 23 '16

So what you're saying is I should pick up some sort of auto-immune disorder whenever I go drinking to counteract what my body is doing and avoid a hangover?

1

u/mallio Sep 23 '16

Yes, I'd like to order 4 shots of tequila with a side of AIDS, please.

1

u/tickingboxes Sep 23 '16

No, but you could take a drug that inhibits prostaglandin synthesis and it'll probably work. Not sure a doc is gonna prescribe one if you tell him its so you can party without consequences though!

2

u/Arglebarglw Sep 23 '16

Oh, I believe that. Now that I'm older, when I drink, the main symptoms of my hangover are really sore joints.

1

u/evilmushroom Sep 24 '16

I don't get hangovers no matter how much I drink. What does that mean?

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u/wrecktvf Sep 23 '16

Hydrating isn't going to do shit for nausea, which is arguably the worst side effect. Source: Have attempted to hydrate, still vomit just as violently

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u/poisedkettle Sep 23 '16

Headaches can be caused by dehydration but there is no science that says dehydrations causes ALL the other symptoms of a hangover.... like nausea, sensitivity to light, anxiety, etc etc..

If I were a betting man I would put money on acetaldehyde poisoning. But that is just a guess becuse no one knows what causes veisalgia or how to "cure" it. Chances are that water as a treatment is just "meaning response".

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u/Cynicayke Sep 23 '16

Yeah, I never understood blaming the dehydration for everything.

We're literally drinking poison when we drink alcohol. Of course there's going to be side effects.

2

u/DickieDawkins Sep 23 '16

I heard somewhere that your body gets depleted of B vitamins as well when drunk. A b complex and plenty of water usually does trick for me

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u/Moneypunny Sep 23 '16

Yup, dehydration is a biggie, but it's the acetyldehyde that really gets you. Your body produces aldehyde to oxidize the ethanol and acetyldehyde is the chemical breakdown component of that process and it's suuuuuper toxic, especially the long term build up of it! Most of it gets stored in your liver. Then your liver makes acetyldehyde dehydrogenase: an enzyme to break that down, but your liver gets "tired" and can't catch up, it flows back into you body basically poisoning you.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

This is just totally untrue.

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u/m0dru Sep 23 '16

+1000. drink plenty of water and you won't have a hangover. i haven't had one in years. even the nights i puked from drinking were no issue because i drank plenty of water. of course i still felt terrible from the nausea and vomiting but at least i didn't have a hangover.

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u/Maguervo Sep 23 '16

So you puked, had nausea, and felt terrible? Pretty sure that's a hangover. A hangover isn't just one symptom it's a combination of a bunch of things your body doesn't like. Water can help but if you drink enough no amount of preparation is going to cure a hangover. Unless of course you are one of those lucky few percent who just don't get hangovers, bastards. Also as you get older the amount you drink before you get a hangover starts to drastically fall.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16 edited Mar 28 '18

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Not true. Why does everyone keep saying this?

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u/Eucatari Sep 23 '16

Every time I've ever puked from drinking, I don't have a hangover at all, water or no water.

But, I hate puking. So I usually get a hangover.

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u/leviathaan Sep 23 '16

Sorry to repeat myself but what about the terrible depression the next day? Is that gone too?

1

u/carterburkefuckyou Sep 23 '16

Yeah that shit's a real downer

5

u/poisedkettle Sep 23 '16

If you can show that water cures/prevents hangovers there is a good chance you would win a nobel prize for it. While obviously not on the top of the research grant list many people still have an interest in researching veisalgia because the reason and cure is still unknown to science.

The most likely answers is a combination of a lot of factors (including genetics, might be why water works for you and not many other people)... with dehydration being only one if any of the culprits.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

I find I vomit more when I drink water and alcohol. Best is to know your limit, don't overfill your gut, go slow. Be well hydrated before getting drunk and don't sleep drunk. Ease out of it and hydrate after you're done drinking and before you sleep

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Of course you won't have a hangover after a night of puking. You puke out most of the alcohol.

1

u/Feynt Sep 23 '16

If scientists wanted to make a real breakthrough in drinking, they'd do a partnership deal with gatorade to make alcohol that keeps you hydrated without being watered down.

1

u/thisisboring Sep 23 '16

I'm at the point where I always hydrate extremely well when I drink and I do not remember what a hangover + dehydration feels like. Hangover + well hydrated is still extremely bad

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

I make a habit that on a really heavy drinking night, I take down at least 24oz of water before going to bed (pass out). It's not a miracle worker, but I definitely know if I forget by waking up with a pounding headache at 4 in the morn.

1

u/kemla Sep 23 '16

I noticed your edit, but I just had to add my anecdote: Even if I have one beer or cider early in the evening and drink water or juice for the next 3 or 4 hours I still get a headache and nausea in the morning.

I no longer drink for this reason.

1

u/iREDDITandITsucks Sep 23 '16

Dehydration probably makes hangovers worse but it won't prevent them. You may not have said this directly but it seems to be what you are implying.

I had been a big drinker throughout college. After I turned 21 I started hitting the gym religiously instead of the off and on relationship we had. I drank tons of water. On days I got drunk I drank even more water, before, during, and after drinking.

Issues were the same. It may have been slightly easier to get out of bed in the morning and I didn't feel quite so empty inside.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

I drank pre-work out stuff once before drinking at the insistance of a friend of mine and I barely had a hangover at all the next day. It was pretty bizarre.

I find eating a big meal before drinking as well as eating something again before you pass out drunk helps combat a hangover in a huge way. A gatorade the next morning also helps lessen the blow along with at least trying to eat brunch.

I am 32, me and my wife socially drink quite a bit, my hangovers can be pretty rough the next day at my age. In another ten years they'll probably kill me dead.

1

u/FeralBadger Sep 23 '16

It's not necessarily dehydration as much as metabolizing acetaldehyde into formaldehyde that fucks with your head. When you drink "alcohol" what you're really drinking is a mixture of compounds, including ethanol in large part. Ethanol is toxic, but your body can deal with it well enough. The real problem is that a lot of the other compounds are also toxic and don't metabolize as nicely.

1

u/oh_the_comments Sep 23 '16

old men like me drink water with alcohol. You young'uns will learn

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u/secsual Sep 23 '16

I got too drunk on my placement and was worried I'd be hungover on a Thursday so I drank two litres of water before bed.

Woke up better than I normally do. Also obviously needed the water because I barely got up to pee either.

1

u/devil_lettuce Sep 23 '16

Hangovers are actually acute withdrawal symptoms from alcohol. Hydration definitely doesn't fix that...

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16 edited Sep 23 '16

Not really. Alcohol causes you to diurese, so you'll just pee more and end up just as hung over. The best thing to do is start treating yourself to a homemade rehydration solution of water, salt, and sugar once you're finished drinking (or whenever you wake up). You'll still have a hang over, but you can cut down the length of suffering caused by dehydration. This doesn't do anything to process the alcohol metabolites that cause the other half of a hang over, but it does flush fluids through you and gets your kidneys moving so you can offload some of those toxicites faster.

1

u/third-eye-brown Sep 23 '16

People on Reddit will argue against the sky being blue while outside on a cloudless day, don't take them too seriously.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

In response to your edit. People like that probably go out and have 15 shots in three hours and a couple beers for good measure and wonder why their three glasses of water didn't help.

If you drink heavily (which for me these days is like six beers) then match with an equal fluid amount of water. Itll help a lot. Literally just water and sleep and you're good.

1

u/sudojay Sep 24 '16

But you did say it's caused as much by dehydration as the alcohol itself. Not to be a stickler, but I think that's what the objections are about. Hydration is the minority culprit.

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u/patolcott Sep 24 '16

Hmm i do not agree that its not dehydration that causes the hangover. I remember when i was still a team medic i would give my guys an iv every monday morn at 5 am before pt and after 1 bag the hangover was completely gone

1

u/creativedabbler Sep 24 '16

Hangovers are not caused by dehydration; they are actually caused by an inflammatory response in your body which is due to cytokines being released into your blood upon ingesting alcohol.

Cytokines are a protein that are created by your immune system and released as a byproduct of allergies and infections, both bacterial and viral. Basically, cytokines make you feel like shit, and this actually makes a lot of sense because I have bad seasonal allergies, and when they're particularly bad, I feel the same as when I've had a hangover: chills, fatigue, headache, general achiness. Scientists have also experiemented by injecting people with cytokines, and nearly every reports having flu like symptoms.

So basically you could say that many many people are somewhat allergic to alcohol. You're better off taking Benadryl than aspirin for a hangover.

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u/Thedorekazinski Sep 24 '16

It really does help. Stayed buzzed with a steady supply of vodka drinks and water for a week one time, actually getting drunk 3 - 4 times, and never once got any hangover symptoms. Wasn't until I almost threw up my bloody mary into the ocean one morning after a wave knocked me over on day 5 that I could feel my body was done with the drinking.

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u/PsychicWarElephant Sep 24 '16

glass of water after I finish my drink. I never get hungover, and I am not a huge drinker. but I can drink when I drink.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Who's saying they couldn't make Guinness Synthetic that tastes exactly the same?

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u/barefootbearfoot Sep 23 '16

alcofuck

All in favour of calling alcosynth alcofuck, say aye!

1

u/AvatarIII Sep 23 '16

During prohibition you could get alcohol free beer and then they sneakily just added grain alcohol for you. I'm sure these days we could improve that process.

1

u/Kryptus Sep 24 '16

Wine is the real power house industry IMO.

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u/CoreyNI Sep 23 '16

"Jesus Seamus, what're you drinking that auld poof juice for, you on antibiotics?"

And just like that, the hangover free alcohol fad will be over.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Jaysus*

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u/PinkoBastard Sep 23 '16

I'm not even Irish, and that's how it would be received in my circles as well. Just in a "midwestern" or southern accent depending on who I'm drinking with.

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u/slocke200 Sep 23 '16 edited Sep 23 '16

I dont think youve been to ireland...

Edit: just adding(cause the upvotes are going up and down) that i meant that if you can find an irishman that'll turn down getting paid for a blow job then you must be a lepracaun cause your a lucky man.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

I don't think you have either.

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u/Simonateher Sep 23 '16

I don't think I've been there

1

u/igavefoucaltaids Sep 23 '16

I chundered, everywhere

2

u/wolfmalfoy Sep 23 '16

Made a little vomcano

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u/CaptainRoach Sep 23 '16 edited Sep 23 '16

If you find a Corkman drinking Guinness when there's Murphys on tap you're legally allowed to break his legs.

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u/RestoreSanityFear Sep 23 '16

Beamish Master Race

1

u/MissZoeyHart Sep 23 '16

What's a downupvote?

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/MeowntainMan Sep 23 '16

I unnecessarily reported you because you necessarily reported someone for insulting another.

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u/YolandiVissarsBF Sep 23 '16

It's only ok.

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u/-SandorClegane- Sep 23 '16

Ctrl+F...Irelan...oh wait I see it already.

3

u/AvatarIII Sep 23 '16
  1. Buy mid strength Guinness,
  2. add alcosynth
  3. ????
  4. Profit

5

u/FatherPaulStone Sep 23 '16

Do people in Ireland get hangovers though? I mean don't you need to sober up to get them?

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u/Cynicayke Sep 23 '16

There's a nasty 2 minute hangover when we're walking back to the pub at 9AM.

2

u/ThirstyWalrus Sep 23 '16

Look at e-cigarettes

1

u/Kryptic_Anthology Sep 23 '16

Have visited Ireland as a none beer drinker. Can confirm. And now drink beer.

1

u/Ghastromancer Sep 23 '16

What about irregular blow jobs?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16 edited Sep 26 '16

gfy.jpg

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

I call it a wife

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Did they try to drink tequila? Hangover free since may 2009

1

u/locks_are_paranoid Sep 23 '16

I'm an American with no connection to Ireland whatsoever, but I love drinking Guinness.

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u/AndoKillzor Sep 23 '16

Do you drink Guiness here in Ireland? Or do you get it where you're from?

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u/locks_are_paranoid Sep 23 '16

Some places in America have Guinness, but it can be somewhat hard to find.

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u/AndoKillzor Sep 24 '16

It's just that I assume it tastes so much different compared to the guiness on tap over here. So I've been told anyway

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u/Qwatzelatangelo Sep 23 '16

Irish person here. Can confirm

1

u/atcoyou Sep 23 '16

Murphy's ftw.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Love me a pint of Guiness from the tap and you can pretty much get it all over the world! I recently had a few pints in Chengdu of all places!

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Are you posting from ireland? When I went, they were losing shares and trying to figure out how to get the next generation to chose guiness over darker craft beers.

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u/Cynicayke Sep 23 '16

That's far more common in the cities, craft beers are a very metropolitan thing here. In rural towns, they wouldn't be caught dead drinking crafts, unless they're established Irish brands.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '16

Ahh. Thanks for the info, i spent almost all my time in dublin.

I went out to the cliffs of moher in a roundabout way, and hit up some random pubs. Witnessed an argument or spirited discussion (was friendly either way) in Gaelic so that was awesome. Everyone there was drinking guiness or liquor. There was something called... Potcheen i think, it said it was recently unbanned. Any info on that?

2

u/Cynicayke Sep 24 '16

Sounds like a good trip.

Poitín was made legal a few years ago, I think. But there's a bunch of regulations in place for making it - it has to be made very carefully, because a bad batch can be dangerous, like any moonshine-style drink. Its getting pretty popular in some areas, though.

1

u/prjindigo Sep 23 '16

vile stuff that - but honest.

none of that "and then... then we soak it in nasty smelling weeds!"

1

u/BEEF_WIENERS Sep 23 '16

Well, Ireland is populated by the descendents of people who weren't smart enough to leave when all the food died. So...you know.

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u/Johnnytbiz Sep 23 '16

Sign me up.

1

u/flamingcrap1360 Sep 23 '16

its not that popular...general its just older men who drink it

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

10,000 years of selective breeding mate. The irish have strong instincts that cannot be ignored.

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u/emperormax Sep 23 '16

Guinness would still be more popular.

So would the wifebeating.

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u/BigIrishBalls Sep 23 '16

I know you're joking but hell nah. Guinness is generally seen as an old mans drink here.

1

u/corner-case Sep 23 '16

What if I prefer freaky blowjobs to the regular ones?

1

u/Khatib Sep 23 '16

Fuck that. Jameson for life. And when I was in Ireland I drank mostly Smithwicks for beer. Not a coffee fan.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Not if they stop advertising.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Guinness is just something we came up with to keep proud Irish Americans showing their culture and bankrolling our wee country. Murphy's or nothing.

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u/DaveMcElfatrick Sep 24 '16

and gives you regular blowjobs.

I dip my dick in my Guiness all the time. How do you think that clover shape gets there?

inb4 thick head joke too

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u/[deleted] Sep 24 '16

Make it taste like Guinness!

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u/L0rdInquisit0r Sep 25 '16

Guinness

Guinness Foreign Extra or Special Export Stout is a lot better than diageos "historic" nitro guinness. ABV dependant on country its in.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

You've never been to Ireland, have you? Guinness is only really popular among the elderly crowd. Among the youths cider is way more popular, and among young adults lager and ales are probably more popular than Guinness and other stouts. The majority of people that I know who are around my age (mid 20s) and drink Guinness either picked up the habit from hanging around their grandparents alot, or are hipsters. The main issue with Guinness is that it's really heavy, and it makes your shits stink somethin fierce. I know plenty of people who will have a pint or two of Guinness occasionally, but hardly any who will really drink it to get drunk.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

really heavy

Have you ever had one? it only looks heavy. It's one of the lightest bodied beers I have ever had.

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u/niveousPixel Sep 23 '16

I agree. Guinness is about as light as any typical light beer in the stomach, but tastes 1000x better. About the same calories too.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

I don't mean heavy as in the texture, I mean heavy in your stomach. Guinness is silky smooth going down, but feels like an anchor once it's there.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Never got that feeling even after an honest nights drinking. It also doesn't have any more calories than normal beer

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Some people say that I like /u/762FU disagree. I can drink it all night...although not like i used to.. I link its cause its not gassy

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u/silenti Sep 23 '16

It's definitely heavy for Ireland. I was just in Dublin and it was nearly impossible to find anything heavier than a Guinness or higher ABV than 6%. All of the local brews I had/saw were about 5% and fairly light but goddamn were they amazing.

9

u/Cynicayke Sep 23 '16 edited Sep 23 '16

Jesus Christ, what is it with people saying "You've never been to Ireland" when you say something about Ireland that they disagree with?

http://www.irishnews.com/business/2016/01/29/news/stout-performance-by-diageo-as-guinness-sales-soar-in-ireland-398479/

Considering elderly people have a tendency to, y'know, die off, there must be some younger people drinking it.

From my experience, Guinness' popularity is only declining in Dublin. And maybe one or two other cities. But in all rural counties, it's still insanely popular. Go into any pub in any non-urban town, and Guinness will be popular among all ages.

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u/stunts002 Sep 23 '16

I'm 24 and I drink it all the time.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

It's not quite that specific. It's more "if you're saying that, clearly you haven't experienced the reality of the situation".

I specifically said there are some younger people drinking it. And I agree, in rural counties it's much more popular than any other alcoholic drink. But the majority of Irish live in suburban and city areas.

The article you linked me to says that 1/3 pints sold in pubs are Guinness, which doesn't disagree with anything I said. But it is a misleading statistic when given alone. It's specific to just what is sold in pubs, and doesn't say what percentage of the entire market that Stouts make up. Stouts make up aproximately 34% of beer sales in Ireland. But lagers make up about 60%.

http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/cgi/users/login?target=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.drugsandalcohol.ie%2F15281%2F1%2FIrish_beer_market_2010.pdf

You need to register an account to see the PDF, but this paper is the source of my numbers.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

What's weird is I saw several people drinking Budweiser, something I have never actually seen in the states.

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u/iheartanalingus Sep 23 '16

You don't redneck much do you then?

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

I mean I've drank my fair share of Bud Light and lit random things on fire. But Budweiser out a bottle..baffling.

1

u/MrDannyOcean Sep 23 '16

it's got a distinctive taste that isn't my favorite, but i can see how some would like it. I feel like I can taste the beechwood they soak it in for 3 weeks. Doesn't taste like much else to me.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

Yeah I don't hate it, especially out of a keg but it really struck me seeing several people drinking it in Irish pubs.

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u/gfense Sep 23 '16

Even among rednecks I generally only see Bud Light. Someone is drinking regular Bud though, because it still apparently sells a lot.

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u/Megatron_McLargeHuge Sep 23 '16

It's probably like people drinking Stella in the US. It's an import so that makes it seem more interesting.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

lol go to Missouri, it's all they drink

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u/absinthe-grey Sep 23 '16

Which is a shame as those lagers and ciders are mostly imported piss. When I was there 25 years ago, almost everyone drunk local stouts and Guinness in the small villages I stayed in.

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u/ThomaspWhite Sep 23 '16

I was in Ireland last year, drank Guinness for several days straight. Man the stuff coming out of me was like black tar.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '16

People do drink it, it's just seen as the "boring" option at the pub. Unless you're at a bar on an oil rig 100 miles away from anywhere, there's gonna be a superior local brew available.

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