Same here, and to the point I was making that “drunk” is rarely one of those reasons (at least these days).

Each and every time you drink beer?

Which was all about drinking for effect. Yeah, I do it. And in that column, I said just the same thing Lauren did. We don’t talk about it, but we damn sure do it. And I think we do ourselves a disservice by pretending it doesn’t happen.

SteveH — I’m not saying *every* craft beer enthusiast is being dishonest or unforthcoming about his/her intake, just that a lot of them are. You are obviously what I referred to as a pillar of moderation. And I’m sure you have company out there. Cheers to all of you.

Bill — Well, I’ll have to take a closer look (Lew’s quote being the case in point). However, I was trying to make a distinction between simply mentioning a beer’s effects on the drinker — “Hey, this beer is strong! Watch out!” — and being as rhapsodic about the “jolly” good time one had while drinking it as one is about its hop aroma, malt sweetness, etc.

Zythophile — Thanks for pointing to the crucial role of context and subjectivity in being “in the zone.” I agree with you completely. We don’t drink in a laboratory.

Stonch — Nice blog.

As I savored the great, double-decocted malt and the spicy hop flavor of the Saaz, enjoying the crisp mouth-feel and light body of the beer, the question of “dinking for the buzz” (never mind the “drunk”) was prominent in my mind.

Mulling this over after peeling and quartering the Yukon Golds and getting the water on the stove, I cracked the second Urquell and was again taken by the melanoidin character of the moravian malts and thought about just how much I’ve always enjoyed that flavor and missed it in other beers.

Finishing the second Pils and thinking back on the “buzz” question, I realized that I wasn’t. Buzzed, that is. Albeit, the Urquell is a nice 4.5 ABV, so getting buzzed could take a few — but it was at that point I realized I wasn’t foolng myself in my skepticism of Jolly Lauren’s opinion; my direction for purchasing the Urquell, and all the beer I buy, is motivated by what I’m expecting to enjoy in the flavor more than anything else.

Sure, there was a long-ago time when I was like many new beer drinkers out there; seeking something new and exciting with character and octane that slaps your face like Astor did Bogey in a few scenes, but I’ve climbed that peak and am making my way down the other side of the slope — taking in the scenery and looking for beer that I enjoy for flavor and unique character more than a resulting droopy head and sluggish speech.

Her point would be that your blog is different. As is “Three Sheets to the Win.” and Martyn Cornell was early to comment.

I’d venture that if Rate Beer and Beer Advocate were UK-centric the conversations would look much different.