Occasional non-drinker here!

I can drink quite a lot and not have a hangover, this I see as a problem.

Haha, yes it could be! I was once this way, never got hangovers at all. It didn’t last forever though, so enjoy it while you can! I think they made up for the years not having them by being 10x worse than anyone else’s when they did eventually happen….

Do you not like enjoying a nice wine or beer? If not, fair enough. if you do, is it not possible for you to just have one or two (ex alcoholics excluded)?

I did used to enjoy a nice ale, not so much a wine drinker. I find that having one or two then stopping just makes me tired, which isn’t great if you’re out with friends for the night. I’d rather stick with water or cola/coffee – I can last the evening then without getting the post-beer slump. I also latterly was getting headaches from even small amounts of beer (2 pints), so this also influenced my decision. The joys of growing old…

I do miss the taste sometimes, but for me it’s easier to keep control by not drinking at all – it answers the question ‘do I want a drink tonight?’ without me having to think. It also really helps when friends attempt to get you to drink and stay out (“you’ve had two beers, I’ll buy you another, etc”). If you don’t drink at all, they stop bothering trying to ply you with drinks!

I really enjoy the fact I can go out and spend absolutely no money – in fact I generally get my drinks bought for me as I’m driving everyone else. Driving drunk people around can get irritating at times, but you get used to it. You just think how rough they will feel in the morning and that is usually enough 🙂

I’m with peterfile on this.
A case in point: the wife and I went out with friends to the local theatre on Saturday night and then afterwards to a proper pub I’ve been meaning to go to for ages: The Grove in Huddersfield, some on here will know it. I had a Duvel (the barman had to get out the beer menu to price it up: £4.50,that smarted a bit) and then after that, a half of one of the many many guest beers: Durham Brewery’s Apollo American IPA. I enjoyed them both a lot along with the company and chat, and 2 hours passed very quickly. I drove home, which meant not having to call for a taxi or walk to the bus stop/taxi rank in the tanking rain. Lovely evening, job done.

These were the first alcoholic drinks I’d had in at least 2 if not 3 weeks, not that I’m counting.

Do you not like enjoying a nice wine or beer?

No, I don’t enjoy it at all. Most alcohol either tastes rank to me or is like drinking some kind of solvent. It hurts and makes me feel ill.

The advantage of not being drunk is that you don’t waste much time hanging out with people you don’t actually like much but haven’t realised due to being drunk. I’ve not been drunk myself so I don’t understand it from a personal point of view but on the other hand I’ve been a sober observer of many many drunk people, which a lot of people have never done.

I’ve been a sober observer of many many drunk people

a dreadful experience..

I think too much sobriety definitely turns folk a bit peculiar though

It’s happening again! 🙂

We’re making a leap from drinking to being drunk.

There is a huge gap in the middle which consists of people enjoying alcoholic drinks.

I fully acknowledge the massive institutional booze problem the UK has, but as people who don’t drink, surely you are the best candidates to appreciate wine/beer without the negative effects?

Being unable to drink a good wine would be the same to me as being deprived of meat. I don’t enjoy it for the alcohol content, I love the taste, smell, flavour.

I hate the smell, the taste, and the flavour.

I think too much sobriety definitely turns folk a bit peculiar though

Well it’s a chicken and egg thing for me. Am I peculiar because I don’t drink, or do I not drink because I am peculiar?

There have been many occasions when I wished I did drink though.

There is a huge gap in the middle which consists of people enjoying alcoholic drinks.

Surely there is only one purpose for alcoholic drinks, no?
*hic*

If the hat fits then wear it 😉

I hate the smell, the taste, and the flavour.

Aye, to be fair though Molgrips, i think you’re probably in the minority. That is quite unusual and a completely reasonable excuse for not wanting to drink something!

How much have you drank over the years if you don’t mind me asking?

I only wonder, since when I was younger I hated the taste of anything containing alcohol, but peer pressure made sure I drank it anyway. Now I still hate most lagers or cheap booze, but love some other drinks. Acquired taste or is it just becoming adjusted to the alcohol content? Who knows.

What does astound me is people who drink vodka and claim to enjoy the taste. It’s water flavoured alcohol. There is nothing to enjoy other than the alcohol itself.

How much have you drank over the years if you don’t mind me asking?

About half a measure a handful of times, on account of me not liking it!

I’m not susceptible enough to peer pressure to push through the nausea and unpleasantness.

However I can’t imagine my reaction to it is normal, otherwise hardly anyone would drink.

About half a measure a handful of times, on account of me not liking it!

I’m not susceptible enough to peer pressure to push through the nausea and unpleasantness.

However I can’t imagine my reaction to it is normal, otherwise hardly anyone would drink.

That’s quite interesting. I bet most people had the same opinion at 16/17/18 (or whatever age they started), that it’s horrible and wonder why anyone would drink it (although perhaps not to the same extent).

But the peer pressure at that age is normally enough for most to push through that initial (and fairly long lasting!) period of hating the taste etc.

Perhaps your body/palate has just never adjusted to it.

I’m completely guessing here, but it did take me a while as a yoof to be able to tolerate alcohol.

I bet most people had the same opinion at 16/17/18

Dunno.

My sister used to love Top Deck shandy as a kid. I hated even that.

See, I am special after all 🙂

i go through stages, sometimes i wont drink for months, sometimes i’ll drink a fair amount with old friends on a night out, sometimes i’ll have about 4 pints over a month…. every now and then i get the taste for the odd pint but as a general rule i dont really drink.

not many of my friends are big drinkers and the ones that are tend not to push it hard on others when out having fun 🙂

still got about 400quids worth of wine left from the wedding in our spare room so if i do fancy a glass of wine at least its decent (worked in a wine shop for a while when i was younger)

Currently on the fence about whether to give it up. Have had a few evenings where it has genuinely made it more fun. I’m quite introverted and couple of beers gives me a bit more confidence to have a bit of laugh and I wouldn’t have met my other half 11 years ago without a bit of liquid courage.

But then there have been quite a few times where I’ve become a bit of a dick and woken up thinking “I’ve just spent £70 on a splitting headache and a horrible feeling of anxiety”. However the biggest problem, and the reason I’m considering quitting, is I’m starting to be quite susceptible memory loss – I’ll be out with my mates all drinking the same but in the morning they’ll remember everything I and I won’t remember leaving the pub. The feeling of having a complete blank in my life (even after being shown photos!) I find really scarey.

i used to hate the taste, and the only reason i ever drank alcoholic drinks was to get absolutely wasted.
hence i stopped completely. i tried non-alcoholic booze (at the time there was only one readily available; kaliber) once, and then never touched it again for over 20 years as it was absolutely rank.

over the last 3 years though, i’ve acquired a taste for alcohol free wheat beers (erdinger, maisels, schneider) although i’m still not even slightly tempted to go back to drinking the alcoholic versions.

most of my friends drink. my girlfriend drinks. i don’t often get invited on nights out; not because i’ve ever given anyone a reason to not invite me, but i think because they tend to assume i wouldn’t go. which isn’t always true, although i do concede that there’s sometimes a point in the night where it becomes really tiresome and dull being absolutely unable to join in with everyone else since they’re so inebriated that their interactions with one another are beyond bizarre (this is quite unusual, i admit, but still these nights are the ones i have to bow out of as i don’t feel right being there).

more often than not though, my friends don’t get into this state and there’s nothing wrong with that, but drinking’s just not for me and i can’t see that changing at any time in the future.

headfirst

you had an 8.5% beer and then another beer and drove? reckon you could have been close to the limit there?

I’m a non-drinker most of the time… I guess I drink less in a year now than I used to drink in a quiet month. I’ve not stopped entirely, because it can be quite nice sometimes but it’s a long time since i did that “I am going out, therefore, I will have a pint”.

I can have fun without drink, but, tbh, there are certain types of fun I can’t have sober.

owenfackrell – Member

I haven’t had a drink for 19 odd years now. I don’t like the taste of alcohol

I don’t really understand this one though… It seems like saying “I don’t like the taste of spices”, there’s so many different tastes.

I drink plenty, but then hangovers are for wimps and communists so I don’t feel rough the morning after.
Always loved the taste of Guinness, and there are many meals that aren’t quite complete without that perfectly accompanying glass of vino.

I certainly don’t always drink when I go out though, and I do have the odd friend that doesn’t drink, which has never been a big deal.

I tend to find the types that trot out the old “can’t you have fun without drink?” are the types who can’t have fun full stop.

The fight outside the kebab house just wouldn’t be the same if I was sober.

headfirst

you had an 8.5% beer and then another beer and drove? reckon you could have been close to the limit there?

Duvel is normally sold in a 330ml bottle, then he had a half of 4% ale, I’m sure he was fine.

Newsflash: that bloke you know who lost his licence after only drinking two pints?
He’s a **** liar!

I will just drink one night in the week at home, usually Friday night, a bottle of wine, or whisky, or a couple of bottle of real ale or cider.

If i go out with the lads, i get buckled . . .

I don’t really understand this one though… It seems like saying “I don’t like the taste of spices”, there’s so many different tastes.

All alcoholic drinks have one thing in common though – they contain alcohol.

To me, alcohol tastes really bad and hurts my mouth and head, and obliterates any other delicate flavours. The finest wine to me smells and tastes overpoweringly of rancid fruit juice.

I do appreciate fine tastes in coffee and tea, so it’s not like I don’t give a crap about taste, it’s just the alcohol ruins it all for me.

I don’t drink, I never have. As a teenager the antics of drunken friends put me off the idea rather than attracted me to it. Initially I thought I would probably start drinking at some point or another, but I never did.

Typically the people most confused/offended by me not drinking are those who are the biggest arses when they are drunk.

sbob, thanks for fighting my corner for me! No need for me to say anymore, you put it perfectly, cheers

headfirst – Member
sbob, thanks for fighting my corner for me! No need for me to say anymore, you put it perfectly, cheers

If 8.5 % is only “driving lager”, I don’t think anyone wants to find out what a fighting drink is 😉

Is there anyone on this thread who’s never drunk alcohol in any significant amount?

I never have.
It doesn’t define me.
And I don’t drink tea either which some of you will probably be more offended about.

molgrips – Member

To me, alcohol tastes really bad and hurts my mouth and head, and obliterates any other delicate flavours. The finest wine to me smells and tastes overpoweringly of rancid fruit juice.

I suppose that’s basically what it is.

But how about alcohol in food? Or, say, brandy in coffee?

What I guess I’m saying is that alcohol doesn’t really have a flavour as part of a complete beverage, in that if you took 2 seperate drinks they might share no flavour.

Brandy or whisky in coffee – yuck. Actually, I quite like the whiskey taste with coffee but I just can’t drink it. Too unpleasant.

Alcohol in food – don’t really like it. Never liked sherry trifle as a kid, I can tolerate small amounts but if it’s too rich, like someone puts too much in a tiramasu or something – yuck.

alcohol doesn’t really have a flavour as part of a complete beverage

See, this is why I think I lack some gene or other. To me it definitely does have a flavour.

My sister was very concerned that I never liked to drink, so she once served me coke with vodka without telling me (yeah thanks for that… 🙄 ) on the basis that it had no flavour. I had to spit it out, it was awful and very noticeable.

That’s quite interesting. I bet most people had the same opinion at 16/17/18 (or whatever age they started), that it’s horrible and wonder why anyone would drink it (although perhaps not to the same extent).

Well I am 19 and like the taste, I’ll down Guinness happily. If any thing the taste (and being bored on nights out) is the reason I sometimes may have a drink.

But I don’t really drink, since I feel like crap when drunk.

If somebody could please explain how standing in a room full of sweaty people whilst listening music I dislike is enjoyable, and how drinking a liquid that will make me feel stupid/restless/tired will enhance the situation, do go ahead.

Even if I could fathom some enjoyment out of drink, it would be overshadowed by the amount that I enjoy myself at music gigs and when mountain biking.

it was awful

would that be because vodka has a very strong flavour…?

I dunno.. what would you have put in my coke to try and get me drunk without me noticing?

molgrips – Member

I dunno.. what would you have put in my coke to try and get me drunk without me noticing?

Rohypnol. 😉

you are special Molgrips, don’t worry.. 🙂

Do you find plenty of other ways in life to be uninhibited..?
Do you get chance to turn off your conscience once in a while..?

Are you comfortably able to socialise without referring to your conscious mind..?

Do you find plenty of other ways in life to be uninhibited..?

Yeah, what some drinkers don’t realise is that only PART of the inhibition-loss thing is down to alcohol. Having a good time with your mates has similar effects 🙂

Do you get chance to turn off your conscience once in a while..?

Hmm.. I dunno what you mean by turning off conscience. I don’t ever want to be acting like an arse and not considering how it affects others, if that’s what you mean. That would not be good for me. I’d be very unhappy about that afterwards if I did that whilst drunk I think.

I don’t ever want to be acting like an arse and not considering how it affects others, if that’s what you mean.

that’s not quite what I mean.. I just feel that it’s important to rest that part of your brain, to socialise without having to worry about it, let yourself flow for a bit..

the acting like an arse bit is not necessarily a forgone conclusion, although my peer group is well equipped to mentally cope with such an event should it arise

I just feel that it’s important to rest that part of your brain, to socialise without having to worry about it, let yourself flow for a bit

Ok well I understand that – but there’s definitely a high to be had just by being with good mates. It’s different without alcohol, I’m sure, but it’s still there.

When I used to go out regularly it was usually just me or one other person not drinking, everyone else would drink, so it didn’t matter much. If things got really messy then it became a bit more difficult for me, but otherwise it was great.

However if no-one’s drinking (or drunk) then it’s a bit different, but now we are older a good time can still be had of course.

It really depends on the quality of your mates. Alcohol seems to make it easier to have a good time regardless of who you’re with, but if you’re sober they have to be proper close friends I think.

molgrips – Member

My sister was very concerned that I never liked to drink, so she once served me coke with vodka without telling me (yeah thanks for that… ) on the basis that it had no flavour. I had to spit it out, it was awful and very noticeable.

Vodka has fairly little smell, but quite a lot of taste. Your sister should give up date rape, she’s bad at it.

that’s not quite what I mean.. I just feel that it’s important to rest that part of your brain, to socialise without having to worry about it, let yourself flow for a bit..

To be fair, MDMA is far more effective than alcohol for that. 🙂

Viva la revolution!

Your sister should give up date rape, she’s bad at it.

Fortunately!