Who's Been Drinkin'?

[p0ke]

Wh...

Whoa... I thought you meant the kids were fermenting there. I had to read that again!

Yeah, life gets in the way. Kids would totally get in the way of my guitar, liquor, video game, and caffeine budget.

Yeah, the kids are definitely fermented already

But yeah, I don't even mind spending money on the kids stuff, but the fact that they take all your time all the time sucks. Even when you go somewhere overnight and leave the kids with their granny - they'll keep bombarding you with messages or calling about something completely irrelevant all the time

 

[Kaura]

Historic day here in Finland. Starting today we can buy beer (and wine) from supermarkets that's 8% ABV tops compared the previous 5,5% limit. Bought a new 6,3% version of this one lager I really like but I prefer the old, milder version. This just tastes like any other strong (lager) beer with a very up-front unpleasant pure alcohol taste.

 

[Grindspine]

Historic day here in Finland. Starting today we can buy beer (and wine) from supermarkets that's 8% ABV tops compared the previous 5,5% limit. Bought a new 6,3% version of this one lager I really like but I prefer the old, milder version. This just tastes like any other strong (lager) beer with a very up-front unpleasant pure alcohol taste.

At least your selection should improve quite a bit!

I just got home from work, paying for a pair of tires on my Jeep, and dropping my old Grand Am (back up car) off because it felt incredibly shaky on the interstate. I immediately went to the cupboard, but a glass in the freezer, then poured a Trash Panda to drink.

What's On Tap | Metazoa Brewing Co.

Learn what's on tap now in Metazoa's taproom - names and descriptons. Prices for pints and growler fills too. Awards and recognition for our beers.

www.metazoabrewing.com

 

[p0ke]

At least your selection should improve quite a bit!

That's what I'm hoping for! What I'm mostly looking forward to is smaller breweries that generally make higher ABV beers being able to sell their beers in normal grocery stores instead of just the national monopoly liquor stores. Should bring prices down a bit on that sort of stuff.

Still, I hope the progress keeps going and we'll eventually be able to buy any wine (up to 15% ABV) in grocery stores. I'd surely buy a bottle every now for dinner wine if I didn't have to go to a liquor store for it... Also sparkling wines, which is one of the rare drinks that both me and my wife enjoy. Anything stronger than that can stay in the liquor stores for all I care, though.

 

[Jarmake]

I just wish they'd allowed all 8% alcoholic drinks, not just brewed/fermented ones. Like the original long drink's black version with gin. The fermented long drinks taste like sadness and bad memories.

 

[LordCashew]

What I'm mostly looking forward to is smaller breweries that generally make higher ABV beers being able to sell their beers in normal grocery stores instead of just the national monopoly liquor stores.

Hell yeah. This is the way. Congratulations.

In the USA different states can have totally different laws about alcohol sales. Some are very restrictive. But in California where I live grocery stores can sell anything a liquor store can AFAIK. Some stores carry beer from local breweries sometimes going up to 12% alcohol or more LOL, not to mention wine and liquor. But beyond the ABV the local stuff is generally very fresh and higher-quality than the big brands. Grocery stores selling alcohol does help to keep the pricing down compared to other states, but the fact that normally it's the nicer stores carrying local products means they usually aren't dirt cheap.

Still, I hope the progress keeps going and we'll eventually be able to buy any wine (up to 15% ABV) in grocery stores. I'd surely buy a bottle every now for dinner wine if I didn't have to go to a liquor store for it... Also sparkling wines, which is one of the rare drinks that both me and my wife enjoy.

Wow and here I thought wine consumption with dinner was more widespread and less expensive in Europe than in the US! Less so in Scandinavia, or Finland in particular? I can go to my nearest grocery store and browse two whole aisles of wine, including locally grown Zinfandel at 16%+. Almost seems like it should be a basic human right to do so now that I'm used to it LOL. Hope you get that access soon.

 

[p0ke]

Wow and here I thought wine consumption with dinner was more widespread and less expensive in Europe than in the US! Less so in Scandinavia, or Finland in particular? I can go to my nearest grocery store and browse two whole aisles of wine, including locally grown Zinfandel at 16%+. Almost seems like it should be a basic human right to do so now that I'm used to it LOL. Hope you get that access soon.

According my experience it's just Finland and Sweden (maybe Norway as well, idk). In Denmark (which you'd probably consider part of Scandinavia) for example you can buy hard liquor at grocery stores. Same for all the countries I've been to. Sweden is definitely the worst at this - over there the limit is something like 3% ABV, so you gotta go to a liquor store if you even want proper beer.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure it's gonna take some time - even the raise from 4.7% -> 5.5% is quite recent, and I'm very surprised the change to 8% actually went through already. I was expecting it to take 10 years or something like that.

I just wish they'd allowed all 8% alcoholic drinks, not just brewed/fermented ones. Like the original long drink's black version with gin. The fermented long drinks taste like sadness and bad memories.

Yeah, it's a bit ridiculous that distilled stuff isn't allowed up to the same limit. I don't get what difference it makes. But then again, I don't really care, I'm not that into long drinks anyway and when I decide to buy some, I prefer cranberry ones which IMO taste better in fermented format anyway... (I don't really like actual gin)

 

[Jarmake]

Well, I am currently drinking at home... Just came out of sauna. Soon I'll leave and go to a festival in my fav pub.

 

[p0ke]

I'm really surprised how quickly grocery stores here reacted to the alcohol law update! My local K-kauppa already has a bunch of wines in shelf, including 3 liter bag in boxes Of course they're still only 8% ABV, but still a great upgrade.

 

[ezboarderz]

I'm really surprised how quickly grocery stores here reacted to the alcohol law update! My local K-kauppa already has a bunch of wines in shelf, including 3 liter bag in boxes Of course they're still only 8% ABV, but still a great upgrade.

i wish we could have more than 3.5% at the grocery store. It sucks having to go to systembolaget (swedish alcohol monopoly) for beer/wine. They do have decent selections, but still i think for beer under like 8% to be sold at a grocery store. I remember being some normal beers at a 711 in helsinki that were like 4.5% or 5% (i cant remember). 3.5% is not beer that is worth to drink, imo. Its just too watery and weird.

 

[Rubbishplayer]

i wish we could have more than 3.5% at the grocery store. It sucks having to go to systembolaget (swedish alcohol monopoly) for beer/wine. They do have decent selections, but still i think for beer under like 8% to be sold at a grocery store. I remember being some normal beers at a 711 in helsinki that were like 4.5% or 5% (i cant remember). 3.5% is not beer that is worth to drink, imo. Its just too watery and weird.

Too watery? Think again!

Here in the UK, where we can get anything in grocery and convenience stores (up to 60% Polish pure spirit), we're seeing the come back of "session ales": traditionally-crafted real pale ales and IPAs with 3.5% by volume. This is a beer you can drink all night and still have a philosophical conversation that makes sense. It used to be the case in the UK that some of the best draft ales were this strength.

Not everyone wants to have to book an ambulance home...

 

[Kaura]

According my experience it's just Finland and Sweden (maybe Norway as well, idk). In Denmark (which you'd probably consider part of Scandinavia) for example you can buy hard liquor at grocery stores. Same for all the countries I've been to. Sweden is definitely the worst at this - over there the limit is something like 3% ABV, so you gotta go to a liquor store if you even want proper beer.

Iceland too. I think there the limit is like 2,5% and it's still expensive af. Luckily I was teetotalling at the time when I was vacationing there.

 

[CrystalSky]

Historic day here in Finland. Starting today we can buy beer (and wine) from supermarkets that's 8% ABV tops compared the previous 5,5% limit. Bought a new 6,3% version of this one lager I really like but I prefer the old, milder version. This just tastes like any other strong (lager) beer with a very up-front unpleasant pure alcohol taste.

Jack’s Abby Mass Rising had none of that alcohol taste last time I tried it, but that is USA only privilege to drink such nice beers sadly. Longing to go on a beer trip to US one day

 

[p0ke]

Iceland too. I think there the limit is like 2,5% and it's still expensive af. Luckily I was teetotalling at the time when I was vacationing there.

Wow, that sucks But then again, isn't Iceland generally expensive af?

i wish we could have more than 3.5% at the grocery store. It sucks having to go to systembolaget (swedish alcohol monopoly) for beer/wine. They do have decent selections, but still i think for beer under like 8% to be sold at a grocery store. I remember being some normal beers at a 711 in helsinki that were like 4.5% or 5% (i cant remember). 3.5% is not beer that is worth to drink, imo. Its just too watery and weird.

Yup, last time I spent time in Sweden, I decided to try a few of the supermarket "beers", and even though they were all different, they were all crap IMO at least for lagers the sweet spot is around 5-5.5%, and pretty much all the supermarket beers were lagers...
But yeah, like I said I'm pretty happy with the latest update, because some smaller breweries make really good stuff that go just over the previous 5.5% limit. I don't care for beer with much higher ABV's, but I'm glad the law isn't stopping stuff that goes just over. And I will absolutely try some 8% wine, apparently the Riesling my local grocery store sells should be pretty good at least (my wife drinks Riesling, which is a semi sweet kind of white wine in case someone didn't know).

And yeah, Systembolaget generally has a pretty good selection and it's cheap too compared to Finland.

 

[LordCashew]

Here in the UK, where we can get anything in grocery and convenience stores (up to 60% Polish pure spirit), we're seeing the come back of "session ales": traditionally-crafted real pale ales and IPAs with 3.5% by volume. This is a beer you can drink all night and still have a philosophical conversation that makes sense. It used to be the case in the UK that some of the best draft ales were this strength.

That's intriguing. I don't need beer to have high ABV, I just want it to taste good. Just so happens that most of the styles I enjoy the taste of are high ABV. Rich, jet-black stouts and malty Scotch Ales are often hovering around 9% in the incarnations I most enjoy, for example. These are made locally to me, not imported from the UK, just to be clear. They may not be the most legit versions of the styles.

I don't know enough about brewing to know if it's possible to make low-alcohol dark beers without affecting flavor and body, but I'd be open to it. On the other hand, I'm also open to only sipping one or two strong beers and then switching to decaf coffee in the interest of keeping things cogent.