I, too, am a Guiness fan. Gotta love a beer that doubles as dinner!


>>>I discovered, many years ago, that I'm a happy-mean drunk and it's probably best if I don't overindulge in public. And, since I'm the one generally driving, I don't drink much outside the house. Maybe a cocktail before dinner - or a beer if I'm somewhere I'm gonna be for a while and I'm famous for nursing a beer for a couple of hours or so. Good thing I drink beers that don't turn nasty as they come to room temp.
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>>Same here - I'm the designated (or shall we say cursed) driver, and as a rule, never drink alone. Absolutely never. It's a kind of a dire warning here, once you catch yourself drinking alone, you know you're down the drain, and you know everyone else knows the same warning. I didn't even get drunk when our children were born - had to drive the grandparents around. OK, a bit for the third, had half a liter of white wine and soda water at work (aka špritzer - schpritzer), as I was bicycling that day.
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>>I'll keep my opinion on the american so-called beer to myself :). OK, Schiner and Negra Modelo are fine, and the americanized versions of a few european beers aren't bad.
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>Beer made in the United States? What is that? Chemicals, contaminated water, and extra large bubbles! Have some commercials on television and pass the swirl off as “Beer”. Americans cannot spell beer! They do not know what good beer is.
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>My great grandfather (Rudolph) and his brother came to San Francisco from Poland to make beer. I have lots of pictures and Rudolph held many patents which I have copies of thanks to the Polish Club in San Francisco.
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>Many relatives told me how good beer made in this country was before Prohibition (1920-1933), and insist that no American beer tastes good since that event ended. I can only compare our beer with beers from around the world.
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>During the cold war there were over 6000 beer breweries in West Germany. The ones I tried were great. East Germany had one brewery called “Red Star”. Now that stuff was worse that any American brew!!!
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>Years ago I had beer from Yugoslavia, and I think that the name was Marcus? Now that was a good beer! A bit dark, with an excellent head that lasted to the bottom of the glass, and a great taste. Oh yes, I have to have my beer in a glass. A German friend who was an importer introduced me to this beer and I have not seen it since.
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>As for the Irish, we have a bad name when it comes to drinking. But I did some research on the subject and the Germans put away more beer than anyone on the planet. The Irish do consume more milk than anyone else though! My favorite beer is Guinness.
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>I do not drink to get drunk and I enjoy a drink once in a while. I stay away from drunks and idiots that drink. By standing up (I am 2 meters tall) I have stopped every fight that every drunk insisted upon having with me. I have never started a fight but drunks love to fight.
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>Having a drink by myself is enjoyable. One or sometimes two is all I have.
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>Here is a little story about drinking Guinness, told to me by an Irish friend.
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>He said that you can tell an Australian, American and an Irishman from the way they drink Guinness. You can do so from the number of rings left inside of the pint glass. An Australian leaves no rings (they chug down the pint in one gulp), Americans leave four rings and an Irishman leaves 24 rings! The Irish like to enjoy their favorite beverage.
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>I started counting rings at the Pub and by God, that man was so right! :)
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>My wife is from Peru, and Peru has some good beers, like Pilsen Callao.
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>I like Spaten from Germany. My Brother in law was from North Germany (Neuss) as are his friends. Whenever I would order Spaten, his group would jump on me with, “What? That water from the South”? They drank beer that was almost black and I did not enjoy the taste as it was very bitter. Now Guinness is almost black but I love it!
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>Belgium has some very nice beers, as do a number of other countries. Perhaps someday we will put more money into developing good beer then we put into advertising.