Beer 101 - How many beers can I drink before I get drunk?
As I’ve stated on this blog before, it isn’t a sin for a person to drink beer. But it doesn’t take very much time in the bible to figure out that getting intoxicated is a sin. The abuse and overuse of alcohol does constitute as a disconnection between us and Jesus. So this poses the question, “How many beers can I drink before I get drunk?” (the wording my be a little off on this question but the main thought is…how many beers = drunk)
If you didn’t know, I work for UPS doing sales. I sale the services that UPS provide, mainly shipping. One of the most common questions I get from customers is, “How much does it cost to ship with UPS?” Every time I get asked this question, it takes a lot of self-control to not start laughing hysterically in their face. There are so many variables that go into determining the cost to ship a package (weight, distance, level of service, size of package, additional charges, ect.). The answer isn’t cut and dry. The same goes for how many beers it takes for a person to get drunk.
I worked my way through college as a waiter at a steak and sea food joint (one of three jobs). In order to work there, I had to get licensed to serve alcohol in the state of New Mexico. The majority of the class was spent learning how to tell if someone was intoxicated. Just like the cost for shipping, the variables that go into telling if someone is drunk are numerous:
- How many drinks?
- How much time was between each drink?
- What is the persons height?
- How much do they weigh?
- Did they eat anything?
- Are they male or female?
We could go into the intricacies of how these variables work together to determine whether or not you are intoxicated. But here are some simple things to keep in mind.
- Your liver can process one drink of alcohol per hour (one single shot, one glass of wine, one glass of beer). Therefore, the faster you drink the more likely you are to get drunk. Space out your drinks and you will be less likely to get drunk.
- The bigger you are…the more area the alcohol has to cover. Therefore, the larger you are…the more you can drink before you get drunk.
- If you have food in your stomach, it slows down how fast the alcohol gets into your system. Therefore if you eat before you drink, you can drink more.
Those are some general rules. But the main rule is to just know your own body. I’ve known 6′5″ guys that get smashed with one drink, and I know 5′7″ women who could drink Ted Kennedy under the table. Each person needs to know and set their own limit. For instance I generally don’t drink more than two beers in an hour. I know that if i get over that amount that I’m starting to push it. I feel light headed and loose a little bit of physical control. So I just keep to two drinks an hour.
So how many beers can you drink before you get drunk? That’s a good question and one that you need to figure out for yourself.
Reader Week Recap
I have to say thanks to Clayton, CJ, and Ross for their help last week while I took some vacation time to spend with Shannon and Asa. It was great knowing that I didn’t have to worry about this blog while I was enjoying time with family.
If you missed the posts, here is a quick recap.
Clayton Bell reminded us of the need to amplify and centralize Jesus.
CJ Mills gave us a great post on how beer is made.
Ross Middleton posted the question about what to do when a Christian brother is getting wasted.
Once again thanks guys for all your help. I really enjoyed getting to read posts from the readers. It was great getting to see views and writing styles other than my own.  If anyone else is ever interested in doing a guest post, the door is always open. Just shoot me an email with your post to greg [at] thebeerean [dot] com.
Reader Week - Ross Middleton - What’s a brother to do?
Ross Middleton is the author for Collide Leadership. He is married to, in his own words, his “smokin hot wife” Amy and has two little boys, ages 2 1/2 and a 1/2. They live in Tallahassee, FL and are campus ministers at THE Florida State University with Every Nation Campus Ministries.
I was at a bachelor party about a year ago for a friend of mine who is still currently a Christian seminary student and we were just hanging out at a restaurant/bar type place. Some of the guys started buying him some shots. No biggie. Then some other guys at the place found out it was his bachelor party and they started buying him shots also. He had also had some beer too that night if I remember correctly. He started drinking a lot and getting drunk and people were still bringing him more alcohol. By the end of the night he was totally trashed.
While I don’t have a problem with drinking alcohol, I do have a problem with getting drunk. I believe it is sin and it separates us from God. My dilemma in this moment is that I am not super close with this guy. I have known him for a while and he is a Christian brother but all of his close friends who are Christians were also there and none of them were trying to stop him from drinking any more except for one guy, who got overruled because of majority.
There were also some unbelievers there. So my problem was, I didn’t think that what he was doing was right, but I didn’t necessarily feel like I had the liberty to speak into his life when he had other Christian friends much closer to him than me also there.
I didn’t know if I should be that guy to stop it. If I had felt like I had known what to do, I wouldn’t have had any problem being that guy, so instead I just kind of sat there and did not encourage him to drink anymore. Looking back, I’m not sure I made the right decision. I would love to hear people’s thoughts on a situation like this so that I could learn if I am ever in a situation like this again.
Beer Tip of the Week - Episode 7 - Survival Beer Bottle Opener
This week we learn a simple trick for how to open a beer bottle with a lighter.
Reader Week - CJ Mills - Beer 101 - How is beer made?
Today’s guest post comes from CJ Mills. CJ is the author of Visual:Trademark::Blog. Take some time and go read about his family’s amazing journey as they had their son, Asher, 2 months early and on vacation away from home. CJ is an amazing man of faith and a great father and husband.
I want to thank CJ for helping out theBeerean.com this week while I take a break to spend time with my son. I know all too well now how stressful a new kid can be, but he decided to write a guest post anyways. Thanks CJ.
Not all of us have the power to turn water into wine, or your favorite lager. So, for those of us who are stuck paying for the drink, let me tell you how this drink is made.
The first step in brewing is called malting. This involves mixing grain with water for several days until it beings to germinate, converting the grain to a type of sugar, eventually creating malt. After a few days, the malt is heated and dried, preventing the malt from further germination – a process called kilning. After kilning, the malt is processed in a mill, which cracks the outer coating of the grain. The cracked malt is then moved to a mash tun and mixed with hot water for one to two hours. This process, called mashing, breaks down the sugars in the grain and releases them in water, producing a liquid known as wort. Temperature and amount of time affects the body and flavor of the beer.
The wort is then transferred to a large brew kettle and boiled, sterilizing the wort and killing any bacteria that could spoil the wort during fermentation. During this stage of the brewing process, hops are added to provide flavor and to balance out the sweetness of the wort.
After brewing, the wort is cooled, strained, and then transferred to a container where it can ferment. Yeast is then added into the wort to allow fermentation. When the yeast has consumed the fermentable sugar, wort officially becomes beer. The beer is then transferred to an airtight container where the beer becomes naturally carbonated through an aging process, lasting a few weeks to several months. To kill any remaining yeast after the aging process, the beer is heated to 180°F after it has been sealed in cans or bottles and then packaged for shipment to a town near you.
For a look into a microbrewery, take a look at the video below:
Recovering Jesus - Reader Week - Clayton Bell
Today’s guest post comes from Clayton Bell in Tallahassee Florida. Clayton is the author of Clayton Bell Online where every week he give great cultural and spiritual insights ( an Hot Links of course).
Clayton recently left his job at Moore Consulting Group to become the Family Pastor at Every Nation, Tallahassee where he will be overseeing Children’s Church, middle school and high school ministries
Clayton has become a good friend and supporter of theBeerean.com and I want to personally say thank you for everything that you do Clayton.
A running joke in Christian music circles is the “Jesus per minute” rule (JPM), a musicians’ term that is derisive of corporate Christian music’s emphasis on happy songs.
It struck me recently that in many Christian blogs, books and sermons any sense of a JPM rule has been thrown out in favor of a CPM (church per minute) rule, SJPM (social justice) rule, PMPM (postmodern) rule, or a ILJBNTCPM (I like Jesus but not the church) rule.
However, when I read through Paul’s letters I’m convicted and challenged by the frequency with which Paul talks about Jesus. Paul doesn’t avoid subjects like morality, service to the poor and the church, but always places Jesus as the motivation, reason and example for all other things. He never lets anything but Jesus be at the center of his thoughts, action, motivations and explanations.
I am so very challenged by this. My tendency is to fall back into rational arguments, formulaic answers, and plug-and-play ideas. I look back on my conversations with my wife, my friends, my family and my coworkers to find the name of Jesus noticeably absent. Not that we should be the crazy Jesus person in the office, but have we gone too far in our attempt to not offend and/or fit in? How can Christ continue to be at the center of our lives if he is continually absent from our conversations?
Perhaps the amplification and centrality of Jesus is the reason churches like Mars Hill Church in Seattle find themselves with over 6,000 people in the most un-churched city in America and some even wondering if they are in the midst of a genuine revival.
Have we become too much about the “How” and not enough about the “Why” in our pulpits and small groups? What’s the last book you read about the person and work of Jesus? When’s the last time you had a conversation where you couldn’t stop talking about Jesus and what He’s done instead of the activities you’ve been participating in?
If I’m honest, it’s been way too long.
Baby Update
Air Bag + Face = Pain
I need a new tag line!
Ok so as I let you know on Tuesday (wait that would be yesterday….man my days are getting long), we are no longer the first and only blog focusing on Christians who love beer (and I’m glad). In fact we never were. There have been other blogs around before we came on the scene. And I’m happy about this.
But now the tag line for the site needs to be changed. Here are a few suggestions that I have. Let me know what you think in the comments or if you have one that you think would be better.
- For Christians who love beer.
- We carry a beer in one hand and a Bible in the other.
- Where Christians get together for a nice cold one.
- We like to drink beer and talk about Jesus.
- Jesus and Beer could you ask for more.
- Beer Beer Beer Beer ba Beer
I’m kinda having writer’s block on this one. I need some creative help from all you advertising people out there. HELP!
Reinheitsgebot - The German Beer Purity Law - What’s in beer?
If you eat enough Mexican food, you’ll start to realize that everything is the same four ingredients just used in different amounts and order. Beer is pretty much the same way. You might have someone who will get a little creative and add some fruit, but the basic ingredients for beer is barley, water, hops, and yeast. They might use different quantities of these ingredients or prepare the ingredients in a different. But the ingredients will pretty much always be barley, water, hops, and yeast.
The reason for this can probably be traced back to the Reinheitsgebot. Hang out in the world of beer and it won’t be long before you hear the word Reinheitsgebot. Reinheitsgebot, otherwise know as the German Beer Purity Law, is the oldest food quality regulation in the world. The law defined what ingredients were allowed to go into beer.
The law that was put in place in 1516 stated that the only ingredients that could be in a beer were barley, water, and hops (yeast was later added in the 1800’s when Louis Pasteur discovered the role of microorganisms in the process). The law was actually put into place to help hinder competition between breweries and bakeries for wheat and rye thus driving up the price. It also made sure that hops was used as the preservative for beer and not substandard ingredients like soot.
Now not everyone abides to the German Purity law. You will hear about wheat beer, fruit beer, and other beers that replace barley with the respectable ingredient mentioned in their title. They still fall under the category of beer. They just don’t follow the standard ingredients hence the addition of the added ingredient to the title of beer.
So if you’ve ever wondered what is in you beer, now you know and knowings half the battle.
G.I. Joe!
