tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post5376115569741601892..comments2023-09-20T12:50:40.208+01:00Comments on Pete Brown: Dry JanuaryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03011702209832734676noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-32282222655090772932015-01-12T11:16:43.738+00:002015-01-12T11:16:43.738+00:00absolutely love this blog. I am participating in d...absolutely love this blog. I am participating in dry January as sometimes we need to hold the mirror up to ourselves (that and the ridiculous amount of empty bottles we collected over the festive period) and be honest about our relationship with alcohol.<br /><br />Its a personal choice to drink but sometimes we don't stop to take stock of how often and why we have come to accept alcohol as such an accepted feature of modern life.<br /> <br />ThinkingDifferentlyAcloholhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00619479328863140614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-73666147165063331582014-01-10T18:34:57.557+00:002014-01-10T18:34:57.557+00:00It's good to go dry once in a while.
Quanti...It's good to go dry once in a while. <br /><br />Quantity is important too though, not just frequency. One or two drinks is okay but the effect of two vs. four or more is marked and a bright line is crossed - sometimes you want to do that, but it shouldn't be habitual, IMO. (Strong beer facilitates a moderate approach, and it is unfortunate in my view that some taxation systems discriminate against them, because low-alcohol or session drinks lend themselves to greater abuse, arguably).<br /><br />In the end, each has to decide for himself what is right.<br /><br />One thing that rings true for all though (surely) is the aging factor: the older you get, the more you need to think about it, because bad habits catch up with you.<br /><br />Gary<br /><br />Gary Gillmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-59902592569629468832014-01-07T13:40:16.992+00:002014-01-07T13:40:16.992+00:00An urban social life, combined with a home brew ho...An urban social life, combined with a home brew hobby that is delivering dependably good beer on a regular basis, has me in the same boat.<br /><br />Dont know if I would do a dry month, but I think mandatory dry days might be a good plan. My lifestyle is otherwise quite healthy, and my eating habits are good, its the beer putting the weight on and keeping it on.<br /><br />I have gone dry before, and obviously been the driver on occasion, and my experiences mirror many of the commenters - weight falls off, and awful alcohol free options down the pub. It often means that you simply can't go to a pub.Richardhttp://thesumofallbeers.tumblr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-71340057444927869542014-01-07T02:35:24.435+00:002014-01-07T02:35:24.435+00:00Cheers for this post! My husband and I have done a...Cheers for this post! My husband and I have done a one month beer hiatus every year since 2009. It isn't always in January, but it is usually in the first few months of the year. Is it tough? Yeah, kind of, but that's because beer is our passion and so much of what we do revolves around it. Every year the reactions of others astounds me. The shock, dismay, and a deep questioning of our choice comes up every year. I especially hate the indignation with which people ask us, "WHY??!!" Also, people assume we can't or don't want to socialize because we aren't drinking. I agree that people need to mind their own pints and keep their opinions to themselves.Meridethhttp://thebeergeek.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-17123378771075835322014-01-06T19:01:51.313+00:002014-01-06T19:01:51.313+00:00Good man Pete, a voice of considered reason.
Lot ...Good man Pete, a voice of considered reason.<br /><br />Lot of good observations in the comments too. A concentration of grounded views. <br /><br />We need a lot more of this spread around a lot more. The world we have created is eating itself up with fears about nonsense.<br /><br />Keep it up. J Mark Doddshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11800542445712331202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-21213915146231940572014-01-06T14:03:02.605+00:002014-01-06T14:03:02.605+00:00OK, I'll admit I'm an absolute facist abou...OK, I'll admit I'm an absolute facist about detoxes. They are nonsense.<br /><br />It seems to me that cutting out the booze, perhaps having a more normal diet (no more chips/kebabs on way home from pub?) are the real things you're doing in January, in other words, it's a diet.<br /><br />I admire people who can do this, radically alter their lives in such a significant way. I wish I could too. But I do like my odd few bottles of beer now and again, and the even rarer trip to the pub. <br /><br />A beer-fast for a month is easy, I do it often, but hasn't lost me any weight yet...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02499503393776752701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-47047390815636752882014-01-06T12:02:46.872+00:002014-01-06T12:02:46.872+00:00something like "dry wednesday" is probab...something like "dry wednesday" is probably an ultimately healthier and more manageable concept than a dry january followed by 11 months of overindulgence.<br /><br /><br />As for soft drinks, wouldn't it make more sense to simply have 2 pints of 2.5% beer than 1 pint of 5% beer followed by a lemonade?pyonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-51489020196933406552014-01-06T10:18:17.398+00:002014-01-06T10:18:17.398+00:00Excellent piece as ever and spot on about the infa...Excellent piece as ever and spot on about the infantilisation of our culture, something that has bugged me for ages — it creeps into the language: ‘sleeps’, ‘peeps’ and ‘hun’ (as in honey rather than being in the trenches 100 years ago) are three that get on my nerves. Yesterday the Sunday Times Style magazine’s New Year diet thing was about giving up sugar and the weight will just drop away. Come Valentine’s Day it will be about sweet treats for your loved one. Diets are like pop groups, a new one comes along every other day. <br /><br />As for drinking, I’ll probably have two to three alcohol free days during the week and go easy on the heavy duty imperial stouts (though given the cupboard is bare at the moment that’s an option made up for me) and to be more honest I’m more concerned with cutting back on meat and cheese (not cutting them out, though I might give cheese a break for a fortnight), drinking more water, going to the gym five times a week, from where I’ve just come back. Oh and yes to more interesting soft drinks, the last thing I want in the evening is coffee, it will interrupt with my sleeps…Adrian Tierney-Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421802854011395300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-63269830638114691662014-01-05T19:47:16.386+00:002014-01-05T19:47:16.386+00:00I'm not comfortable with abandoning pubs for t...I'm not comfortable with abandoning pubs for the whole of January. Partly it's a feeling that I'm letting the trade I love down at a time when they most need my trade, and partly because so much of my social life revolves around the pub. I frequently visit pubs and have to drink soft drinks because I like to visit out of the way boozers and have to drive there. What irritates the hell out of me is the almost total lack of choice of drinks if you're avoiding alcohol, and also don't have a kindergarten sweet tooth (ditto 99% of ciders available in pubs!!!). Coffee is usually the 'only' option that doesn't seem like buying a very expensive variation on the tap water I get very cheaply at home. What is there to drink in a pub if your taste preference is for something dry and 'grown up'?Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15595039296072668714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-69340641173073122292014-01-05T18:29:44.709+00:002014-01-05T18:29:44.709+00:00I'd already decided to give up beer for Januar...I'd already decided to give up beer for January (not wine or spirits mind, which I hardly drink anyway), mainly on the grounds that I was in danger of getting fed up with it (and in the vain hope of losing a bit of weight. Won't happen). I feared yourmpost wpuld be berating my choice, so I'm pleased to find myself in such good company.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01759448161130667128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-50869117250893717412014-01-05T13:33:59.402+00:002014-01-05T13:33:59.402+00:00What do you do with all the post Xmas booze? The h...What do you do with all the post Xmas booze? The half a bottle of left over sherry Aunt Ida didn't get round to finishing, or Alcopops your cousins didn't polish off?<br /><br />if you're not spending the month polishing it off, can I have it?Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-89998719516532749702014-01-05T12:46:53.621+00:002014-01-05T12:46:53.621+00:00Very interesting article.
The "reset" ...Very interesting article. <br /><br />The "reset" concept is exactly how I feel. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17352762421747444337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-51800393920457629452014-01-05T12:32:27.338+00:002014-01-05T12:32:27.338+00:00Great post Pete - and I'd like to suggest (fro...Great post Pete - and I'd like to suggest (from the point of view of gathering friends, some of whom need to drive) that we have a long way to go with improving soft drinks.<br /><br />It's not just pubs, soft drinks are generally abysmal, but it hurts most in pubs when you (or a friend) is the designated driver. Or just, as you are in Jan, not having alcohol right now.<br /><br />I think it would help everyone to be more of an adult about drinking if there were more non-alcohol drinks that tasted good.<br /><br />Imagine, for example, a soft drink that complemented beer well, so after a pint together, when your friend decides he's having another one, you actually have something to switch to that tastes good, sits well in the stomach with your last pint, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-79332127735306449202014-01-05T11:57:53.460+00:002014-01-05T11:57:53.460+00:00Good post Pete, it's about time people are a l...Good post Pete, it's about time people are a little more adult about alcohol. I rarely drink now, maybe once every 3 months, if that. But I certainly used to, and I am expected to justify myself to many who question my 'motives' (there aren't any, I'm just not that bothered if I have a drink or not any more). But I don't ever question someone who has a drink or twenty, but for some reason people feel threatened or suspicious of why I don't.Clairenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30743480.post-91847814057233868992014-01-05T11:53:51.016+00:002014-01-05T11:53:51.016+00:00Absolutely spot on. I will be linking to this when...Absolutely spot on. I will be linking to this when I feel the need to explain my attitude. Thanks.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12025197531317851590noreply@blogger.com