Things You Don't "Get"

[HanoiVillan]

Fair enough then!

[Chindie]

This discussion has made me realise that I think I could count the number of times I've drank any booze for pure pleasure, as opposed to work related 'working lunch', team building, relationship building, or such, in the last 18 months, on the fingers of 1 hand...

I've got some beer in the fridge now, that I quite like, but I'd wager good money it'll still be there in a month. I'd literally drink everything else in the fridge before I'd drink that at the mo. Odd.

[PieFacE]

I just like getting drunk in a social situation. It's fun. Sometimes I even drink things that I don't particularly like the taste of. Like shots. They're vile. 

But I so very rarely drink at home on my own. If I didn't go "out" I could quite easily just never drink. 

[Stevo985]

1 minute ago, PieFacE said:

I just like getting drunk in a social situation. It's fun. Sometimes I even drink things that I don't particularly like the taste of. Like shots. They're vile. 

But I so very rarely drink at home on my own. If I didn't go "out" I could quite easily just never drink. 

Probably the same with me really.

Even though I love having a beer when I'm out for a meal (i.e. not to get drunk), I very very rarely have a beer with my meal at home.

[Xela]

On 02/06/2016 at 01:27, sidcow said:

Carrying on the beer topic I seriously can't understand why people drink sh;t mass produced beer

I remember being in a lovely country pub in Cornwall a few years ago marvelling at the range of interesting ales on offer and plumping for something when the guy next to me orders a pint of tetley smooth pour 

If he wanted Carling or something I could at least understand he is a lager drinker and knows no better but if you stand up in public and announce you are a bitter drinker why have that Rubbish? 

It's like saying I am a lover of serious quality music now play me more of that Stock Aitken and Waterman. 

I love beautiful cars so I drive this 1985 Skoda 

 

WHY would you ever drink Tetley or John Smiths. And I double dare you ANYTHING smooth pour which is advertising over substance any day of the week month or decade

I like 'craft' beer and 'real' ale as much as the next bearded, cardigan adorned bachelor but sometimes I like a 'cheeky' Worthingtons Creamflow! 

Shoot me! 

[Xela]

Interesting topic. Would I drink lager or ale purely for the taste. No. I have ales in the cupboard and various lagers in the fridge and they never appeal to me if I'm staying in. I like having a lager after work with colleagues as a social thing but if I was driving then I'd have a coke. 

Its nice to let rip every now and again but I find my recovery time now gets longer. 

Tastiest alcoholic drinks? Cocktails! Mint julep, mojito, mai tai, strawberry daquiri. Not manly at all but delicious!

Edited June 3, 2016 by Xela

[il_serpente]

Along with the taste and the inebriating effect, the ritual surrounding consumption is also part of the whole package with alcoholic beverages in most cases, whether that means relaxing at the end of the day with an ale/cocktail/glass of wine and a crossword or going to a pub with friends and getting sh*tfaced on lager.  The relative importance of the three elements differs among individuals and situations.  If I'm relaxing with a glass of wine before dinner, taste is pretty important, as well as doing something I find relaxing.  The effect of the alcohol matters only to the extent that it reminds me that i don't need be concerned if it dulls my senses or intellect a little.  When I went to a Cinco de Mayo party last month and part of the attraction was people letting loose and getting a bit drunk I didn't base my decision to attend on what booze they'd be serving and gladly downed a shot of cheap tequila with others even though I generally only drink the good stuff straight.  Mind you, I still found beverages to consume that I enjoy the taste of, but it wasn't a huge factor in how much I enjoyed myself.

I think most of the posters who "disagree" on here about taste of various beers and the importance of alcohol just tend to lie within a different region of the taste-ritual-drunkenness triangle of importance.

[sidcow]

On 02/06/2016 at 11:25, chrisp65 said:

The smooth warming sensation of a decent whisky or rum truly is one of life's pleasures. I don't know of a n/a equivalent

Wow. Didn't think this would develop into such a heated topic

I NEVER used to drink whisky but I do now. I think it might be a taste that develops with age although I also had never tried a good single malt whisky until I won a bottle of 15 year old Jura single malt at a corporate doo a couple of years ago.  

I totally agree with the comment above. It really is one of life's joys and the complexity of the tastes is astonishing.  I always have a single malt in the house now but I make sure it lasts about a year. I drink too much beer already and I do not think it's a good idea to start drinking quantities of spirits. 

Ale is my thing but I am sorry even amongst lagers budweiser is an awful beer it is only as widely drunk as it is because of very very good advertising campaigns, rather like carling black label in the 80's a d 90's.

I literally cannot find drink Hobgoblin though. 

I went to Nottingham beer festival last year and inadvertently bought a half of mild when I wasn't paying attention to what I was buying. I hate mild but as I had it I was determined to drink it but I really couldn't and had to find a quiet corner to chuck it away after a few sips,  it really was rancid .  Yet my dad who was a founder member of Blossomfield club in Solihull resigned his membership of 40 years when they stopped selling mild and upped sticks to Kings Heath. . Weird 

[PompeyVillan]

Why people buy branded bleach and painkillers. Etc.

[sidcow]

42 minutes ago, PompeyVillan said:

Why people buy branded bleach and painkillers. Etc.

It's nuts. My wife will only buy nurafen and when I tell her the 36p supermarket own brand IS EXACTLY THE SAME she says it isn't and still spends £2 on the brand. I don't understand it. 

[Xela]

1 hour ago, sidcow said:

It's nuts. My wife will only buy nurafen and when I tell her the 36p supermarket own brand IS EXACTLY THE SAME she says it isn't and still spends £2 on the brand. I don't understand it. 

Indeed. Exactly the same ingredients and probably made at the same lab! 

Its like the Advance/Express Nurofen which is twice the price of the normal one. Isn't the difference there just that it contains caffeine and makes you think its working quicker than it actually is? 

Edited June 4, 2016 by Xela

[sidcow]

1 hour ago, Xela said:

Indeed. Exactly the same ingredients and probably made at the same lab! 

Its like the Advance/Express Nurofen which is twice the price of the normal one. Isn't the difference there just that it contains caffeine and makes you think its working quicker than it actually is? 

My brother in law is a sales rep for a company who sell labeling machines. He has been to many production lines where all the items come out from the same starting point then some are diverted left for the branded label and some diverted right for the supermarket label. Not all are like this but he confirms it is very common

[Stevo985]

6 hours ago, sidcow said:

It's nuts. My wife will only buy nurafen and when I tell her the 36p supermarket own brand IS EXACTLY THE SAME she says it isn't and still spends £2 on the brand. I don't understand it. 

 

5 hours ago, Xela said:

Indeed. Exactly the same ingredients and probably made at the same lab! 

Its like the Advance/Express Nurofen which is twice the price of the normal one. Isn't the difference there just that it contains caffeine and makes you think its working quicker than it actually is? 

Having a gf who works as a buyer for a supermarket has made me realise that this is true for SO many things. Literally exactly the same stuff can be sold at twice, 3 times, 4 times the price because it has a name on it.

[Genie]

Track and Field, whats the point? I just don't get it. And what about the athletes, their entire life/job/career involves running from point A to point B. That's it. Or the guy who has to throw a ball or another guy who has to jump as far as he can???? What a pathetic existance really.

Its not even like other sports like football, tennis, rugby that are entertaining to watch for a couple of hours. The entire event of someone's shot put day might amount to throwing a ball 15 meters about 3 or 4 times onto a piece of grass....

Even the showpiece, the 100m sprint. All over in less than 10 seconds and its just 8 people running in a straight line. Who actually cares?

 

 

[Stevo985]

I care. I love Track and Field

The shortness and variety is what makes it great.

Don't like the 400m? Don't worry, it's over in a minute. If you can't wait that long then there's high jump going on right now so watch that instead.

[mjmooney]

Yeah, following on from my post in the "piss you off" thread, athletics is one of the few sports (besides football) I do like watching. I guess as an amateur runner, I enjoy the middle and long distance events best, as I have the tiniest inkling of what it's like to do it.

[Genie]

The longer distance running I can kinda agree with to a degree. There's the stamina, the pacing and the tactics. It can be interesting to watch it unfold. But throwing a ball or running as fast as you can for 10 seconds... I just don't get it

Then there's the athletes themselves, they've devoted their lives to being good at jumping high or far. Nobody cares really do they? If they got a job in a shop, a factory or an office they'd actually be contributing something. But no, they're fully committed to 29 hours a day, 16 days a week of 'training' for the big event...

Nope, not for me. Fraudsters.

 

[Stevo985]

6 minutes ago, Genie said:

The longer distance running I can kinda agree with to a degree. There's the stamina, the pacing and the tactics. It can be interesting to watch it unfold. But throwing a ball or running as fast as you can for 10 seconds... I just don't get it

Then there's the athletes themselves, they've devoted their lives to being good at jumping high or far. Nobody cares really do they? If they got a job in a shop, a factory or an office they'd actually be contributing something. But no, they're fully committed to 29 hours a day, 16 days a week of 'training' for the big event...

Nope, not for me. Fraudsters.

 

Could you not say that about every athlete in every sport?

[Genie]

5 minutes ago, Stevo985 said:

Could you not say that about every athlete in every sport?

Not really, athletes like footballers, rugby players, cricketers, tennis players etc are providing entertainment, often a couple of hours worth. Greg Rutherford for example has a life that consists of running about 50m and then jumping as far as he can. It takes about 8 seconds per jump I guess. Fair play to him, there are far worse ways to make a living from his point of view... but for me, if all track and field was scrapped then it wouldn't be a loss at all.

 

[MakemineVanilla]

22 minutes ago, Genie said:

The longer distance running I can kinda agree with to a degree. There's the stamina, the pacing and the tactics. It can be interesting to watch it unfold. But throwing a ball or running as fast as you can for 10 seconds... I just don't get it

Then there's the athletes themselves, they've devoted their lives to being good at jumping high or far. Nobody cares really do they? If they got a job in a shop, a factory or an office they'd actually be contributing something. But no, they're fully committed to 29 hours a day, 16 days a week of 'training' for the big event...

Nope, not for me. Fraudsters.

 

I remember Michael Johnson saying that he thought that generous sponsorship of British sprinters had made them soft and uncompetitive.