Healthy drinking

[strange-steve]

Regardless of your stance on this I think it's definitely a good thing to see threads like this occasionally on a brewing forum, just to remind us that the product we love so much just isn't healthy and really should be moderated to some extent.

 

[pms67]

Strange steve
I think swmbo has hacked your account

 

[terrym]

Since starting home brewing my beer intake has gone up 100% I actually wasn't drinking any beer, though I was drinking wine but always had 2 or 3 days off a week. With the homebrew I started drinking every night to save the bottles, and as I got hooked on brewing I am now drinking so that I can brew more. I started out always having Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday without drink but this has slowly gone by the wayside although I intend to get back on track with that.

I never drink before 6pm and really enjoy that first pint

Your experience is similar to my own. Before I restarting homebrewing I only occasionally drank beer, I was mainly a wine drinker two or three nights a week very much in moderation. But now I rarely drink wine and a few months back I was drinking beer every evening, although rarely before 6pm, and never more than three pints usually less. But I then decided to have two alcohol free days per week, although I can't say I notice any benefits. But since I have to take medication for a number of 'issues' I feel sure my liver is thanking me for it .
And I have noticed a tendency to think about brewing more beer to keep conditioning stocks maintained. I'll bet many homebrewers get into the mind set of brewing more because they enjoy the process, perhaps like to experiment, and the result is predictably that you end up drinking more.

 

[strange-steve]

Strange steve
I think swmbo has hacked your account

Have you taken those bins out yet?

 

[Sadfield]

2. February 10th & August 23rd

Switch to the 29th Feb and you'd get an extra 3 days in.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

I'll bet many homebrewers get into the mind set of brewing more because they enjoy the process, perhaps like to experiment, and the result is predictably that you end up drinking more.

Yep, this is me. I have been drinking a beer or two every night for years. Never have the first before 10.00pm and usually go to bed around 11.00 - 11.30. I started home brewing almost 2 years ago and really enjoy my hobby. So much so, I now find myself having more like two or three beers every night, usually in order to empty a keg, and subsequently a FV, ready for my next brew. I’m hoping this will become less of an issue when the COVID situation changes and we can start entertaining again but in the meantime I either drink it myself or buy more kegs!

 

[pms67]

Have you taken those bins out yet?

No I will do it now, I just need to nip into the shed first to “check” the FV temp

 

[Galena]

I'll bet many homebrewers get into the mind set of brewing more because they enjoy the process, perhaps like to experiment, and the result is predictably that you end up drinking more.

Yep, that's me

 

[TheOsprey]

I've been having similar thoughts. I never buy beer, so I don't drink it. Now I'm drinking most nights. I just bought a 5l box from my local brewery, and I find I'm much more likely to have a second pint from that than to open a second bottle. So if you're brewing to drink on tap, I'd cut back on that to start.

I'd also say something that worked for me (I lost weight when my daughter was born - from 20 stone to 14) was noting down what I was having. If you're trying to live healthily, writing down the calories in the beer you're having could be enough to stop you opening a third.

 

[MmmBeer]

I'm lucky in that I rarely get hangovers. I do try to restict myself to no more than 3 beers on schoolnights, although I doubt I could now manage the 10 - 12 pint sessions of my younger years, after 5 or 6 I feel like falling asleep.

In terms of calories in beer, most of it comes from the alcohol content, with a small amount from residual sugars (probably more so in cider than beer). I have always worked to carbohydrates and proteins, 4 calories per gram, alcohol 7 calories per gram and fat 9 calories per gram.

 

[Jim Brewster]

My intake is kept down if I wait until a certain time of day, usually 6 or 7pm if I'm working from home. The first one or two are always the best but by the time I'm having the second I forget that. It helps that I dont enjoy the effects of alcohol after a few so don't enjoy being "drunk" as it's just nausea to me.

In the height of lockdown I was one strict one a day policy out of necessity as the supply had to last to the next supermarket delivery and to my surprise was not that difficult to stick to.

 

[strange-steve]

I'd also say something that worked for me (I lost weight when my daughter was born - from 20 stone to 14) was noting down what I was having. If you're trying to live healthily, writing down the calories in the beer you're having could be enough to stop you opening a third.

I think that's a very good idea, most people seriously under-estimate their calorie intake.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

If you're trying to live healthily, writing down the calories in the beer you're having could be enough to stop you opening a third.

hmmm, I think I’d rather miss a meal first

 

[DocAnna]

https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/alcohol/tips-on-cutting-down
The link above is properly sensible and not preachy, genuinely worth taking a look at.

Anna

 

[Furry Shark Brewery]

This is a useful thread. Beer is just so darn tasty, especially when you have nailed a recipe and you’ve had a full on day. I generally plump for 2/3 consecutive alcohol free nights during the week but sometimes think sod it and have just the one. To avoid a technical binge on a weekend night is a challenge, ie more than 8 units. I do keep an eye on consumption and do regularly have dry spells. And absolutely take note of what works and what does not. I still bottle my beer rather than switch to kegging because I absolutely know if my beer was, quite literally, on tap I would be more tempted!

 

[GerritT]

Is there a checklist to check if one has a drinking problem?

 

[kelper]

It's easy to track 'units' of alcohol. Vol in ml times percentage - divided by a thousand. Example pint of 4% is 568 x 4 = 2.3 units (or round up to 600ml = 2.4)
330ml bottle at 5% - 1.6 units. But the NHS limit of 14 a week seems very low to me. We have some rather large wine glasses at home and my wines are 15% - have to be careful as 250ml x 15% is 3.8 units! Most wine glasses were 125ml twenty years ago.

 

[Pennine]

yeah i appreciate all the input, and agree with strangesteve about the importance of having these discussion every so often.
so for some general themes:
-brew lower abv
-or higher abv and enjoy only one
-brew less frequently, or smaller batches
-no beer days
-delayed start time
-drink sours
-drink water or non-alcoholic beers
-no more lockdowns...

by the way @Hazelwood Brewery if you intermix sipping a pint of water while drinking a beer technically you are cutting the abv in half right?

 

[Pennine]

Is there a checklist to check if one has a drinking problem?

i've seen a couple will post if i can find. i always feel like once i start drinking hard liquor thats a good indicator as i am not a big fan of any of it.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

yeah i appreciate all the input, and agree with strangesteve about the importance of having these discussion every so often.
so for some general themes:
-brew lower abv
-or higher abv and enjoy only one
-brew less frequently, or smaller batches
-no beer days
-delayed start time
-drink sours
-drink water or non-alcoholic beers
-no more lockdowns...

by the way @Hazelwood Brewery if you intermix sipping a pint of water while drinking a beer technically you are cutting the abv in half right?

Absolutely!! See you on the other channel