Author Topic: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?  (Read 64961 times)

Bob W

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #150 on: July 20, 2015, 01:47:37 PM »
Went to the Costco liquor store this weekend and spent 150$ on a half dozen 1.75l vodka bottles, 2 large rum bottles, and 5 bottles of wine... will report back when im finished!
Kirkland signature vodka +1 (regardless what people say about it)

I'm of the opinion that vodka is vodka.  It's basically a colorless, tasteless, odorless industrial alcohol that someone adds filtered water to in order to make it 80 or 100 proof.  The most significant difference between cheap vodka and really awesome expensive vodka is the really cool bottle it comes in.

The most significant difference between ANY cheap liquor and a more expensive version is the hellish headache I get from the cheap stuff. I don't go crazy expensive or anything, but buying bottom-shelf is something I now avoid, because feeling like I've got a hangover when I only had 1-2 drinks just ain't right.

Has anyone tried the DIY filtering technique to make cheap vodka taste like really expensive vodka? I've never done it, but apparently you can run rotgut vodka through a Brita or charcoal filter a few times and remove whatever impurities the manufacturer didn't filter out and greatly improve the flavor and headache aspect. I have no idea if this would even be cost effective since I don't have a brita, but maybe?

I have not --- I have all the stuff to do so though but I don't think it would be worth the time or effort.  Around here (Missouri)  low cost vodka either triple distilled or quadruple filtered is only 7-8 bucks.   I don't think filtering additionally will do much for you.

Titos is the absolute best vodka IMHO and it runs $18.   It is good not because of filtering but because they discard (or sell off) certain specific gravities of the run.  Probably the first part and last part.    This leaves only the best part of the run.  They probably do this a few times to get just the purest and best parts of the run.   

Still Mccormicks or Burnetts are decently filtered.      If you want to drink the straight vodka in a martini or straight up try Titos. 

If you are paying $8 for a bottle you should average about 20 drinks --- so what? --- 40 cents per drink if mixing with ice and water?   Or $1 if you use Titos.   Pretty cheap thrills and definitely the cheapest way to drink. 

Regarding the headaches as noted above --- pretty much every wine I've ever drank but definitely the reds can lead to this.   Wine purists and snobs usually won't mention this and the French will never ever say anything.  With wine it is most likely the sulfites that are the culprit.   And generally speaking dark spirits are more prone to headaches.  They are essentially vodka and then flavored with all sorts of weird shit including peat (yick!!) and chard woods etc...  Wines on the other hand are flavored with a whole host of other shit like chocolate, pepper, lemon, fruits,  oak etc... 

I find that drinking vodka with water and ice generally doesn't lead to head aches,  probably because of the hydration factor.   I do find that it does lead to drunkenness and this is probably due to not keeping the mix in the 4-5% range and,  well,  drinking it like water.   But hey,  for 4 bucks, I'm a pretty cheap drunk.

Digital Dogma

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #151 on: July 20, 2015, 02:20:07 PM »
Ive experienced sulfites in white wine while cooking with garlic, turns the chopped garlic blue from copper sulfate which is pure blue

milesdividendmd

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #152 on: July 20, 2015, 03:32:55 PM »
Blind taste tests are worthwhile. We all feel we are immune to the effects of marketing. But usually we aren't.

I worked my way through a case of wine a couple of years ago and found that there was no correlation between my enjoyment and price.

http://www.milesdividendmd.com/how-to-drink-wine/


Spork

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #153 on: July 20, 2015, 04:22:55 PM »
Blind taste tests are worthwhile. We all feel we are immune to the effects of marketing. But usually we aren't.

I worked my way through a case of wine a couple of years ago and found that there was no correlation between my enjoyment and price.

http://www.milesdividendmd.com/how-to-drink-wine/

Yep.  In fact, blindfolded we (meaning "those of us that are not paid wine connoisseurs") generally can't tell the difference between red and white wine.  Even as mustacians, we will get some brand snobbery in our heads and it's hard to shake it out.

It's even more so when we mix spirits with sugary fruity stuff.  The nuance of that $50 bottle (which is arguable at best) is really hard to pick out when mixed.

One vodka example (and I suspect you could find similar with other spirits.  Vodka is just easy to pick on.)
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Consumer/story?id=3201973

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #154 on: July 20, 2015, 04:31:20 PM »
Bob W- yeah, Tito's is good stuff. But you mention Burnetts! That's the name of the cheap stuff I was trying to remember up thread. Decent straight and quite nice as a mixer. I can find it pretty regularly for $10/1.75L around here.

Can't recall if I've seen McCormick around my way. Will have to check when we get back from holiday.

Spork

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #155 on: July 20, 2015, 05:14:58 PM »
Average about $20 a month for wine supplies as we make our own. We supply the wine for many of the social activities we participate in and give wine as gifts for weddings, Xmas, etc. It's a great hobby!

We've played with that a little...   I don't think we made it down to that low of a cost.  Are you juicing your own fruit?  Or buying traditional wine juices (Zin, Chardonnay, etc).

We have enough extra blackberries and sometimes blueberries that we can make one or two gallons a year... but not enough to give away.
Use frozen juice for some of the wine. On sale with coupons we can get Old Orchard brand for .50 a can. They actually make a pretty good drinkable wine that everyone seems to really like. Berry blend and anything with cranberry are the favorite flavors. Additives we bought in larger quantities and split it with friends that also make wine. We make a wine kit about every other month - the last three kits we received as gifts. We've also received corks and bottles as gifts so that helps to keep the cost down. We do recycle bottles and have people save them for us as well. Keep watching our blog as sometime in the future we will be posting recipes for wine that we have developed using the frozen juice.

As luck would have it... the next day after you posted this, someone dumped 13 lbs of ripe figs on us... so... Fig Wine is in the works.

firewalker

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #156 on: July 20, 2015, 06:29:07 PM »
I've cut way back, almost to nil. I often muse over the question: How much would our drinking be affected if we discovered a zero alcohol beverage that looked, smelled and tasted just like an awesome drink of choice? It would have the same glass cling, the same finish, everything but the buzz. And as a real test, it sold for a fraction of the cost. Would we be interested in this NA scotch, syrah, bourbon, or stout?

milesdividendmd

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #157 on: July 20, 2015, 06:59:47 PM »

I put off responding because we're on the high side...and...I think I'll still not respond exactly. We each drink a beer OR a glass of wine OR a cocktail many evenings per week, but not everyday. We splurge on some very good wine sometimes. If I taste a wine that rocks my world, I'll buy a case. We did this with a gorgeous rose recently. He buys spirits at the military commissary, decent stuff, but not crazy expensive, but spirits stay in the bar for quite a while. Beer depends in the season, in hot weather I seem to want cheaper lagers, but in winter I like beer with more depth. I buy really great Japanese sake from a place in New York. I'm a certified sake specialist, so I have done blind tastings with sake as part of my certification. I can tell differences at least for sake.
We spend a lot. Maybe someday we'll work on homebrewed beer. Great food and drink are factored into our FIRE plan.

Cool.

Please share your Sake expertise! I'm in Japan now so I'm in a great position to try some of your recs.

I tend to like Niigata style junmai ginjos. I like dry non floral styles and am a big fan of Kubota, but am far from an aficionado.

In wines I really go for distinctive aromas and mouth feels.  Crisp unoaked mineral whites and reds with some grip.

And value is, of course, a big selling point for me, though I will happily pay for the sublime.

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #158 on: July 20, 2015, 10:01:40 PM »
I often muse over the question: How much would our drinking be affected if we discovered a zero alcohol beverage that looked, smelled and tasted just like an awesome drink of choice? It would have the same glass cling, the same finish, everything but the buzz. And as a real test, it sold for a fraction of the cost. Would we be interested in this NA scotch, syrah, bourbon, or stout?

Absolutely. Please start R&D immediately.

FrugalKube

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #159 on: July 20, 2015, 10:48:12 PM »
Maybe $60 a month on micro brews? I usually have a 12 pack at home and go out with friends 1-2 times a month, so $720 a year?

Matt_D

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #160 on: July 21, 2015, 06:48:46 AM »

Regarding the headaches as noted above --- pretty much every wine I've ever drank but definitely the reds can lead to this.   Wine purists and snobs usually won't mention this and the French will never ever say anything.  With wine it is most likely the sulfites that are the culprit.   And generally speaking dark spirits are more prone to headaches.  They are essentially vodka and then flavored with all sorts of weird shit including peat (yick!!) and chard woods etc...  Wines on the other hand are flavored with a whole host of other shit like chocolate, pepper, lemon, fruits,  oak etc... 

I find that drinking vodka with water and ice generally doesn't lead to head aches,  probably because of the hydration factor.   I do find that it does lead to drunkenness and this is probably due to not keeping the mix in the 4-5% range and,  well,  drinking it like water.   But hey,  for 4 bucks, I'm a pretty cheap drunk.

My standard when I'm drinking anything alcoholic is to keep at least a 1:1 ratio between units (glass/bottle/can/etc.) of alcoholic beverages and glasses of water. That way I don't dehydrate (which I do easily) and it tends to reduce the number of drinks I have, which both saves money (assuming I'm paying) and helps make sure I don't overindulge.

That said, even with that plan I get headaches from cheap/bad stuff. For me, I don't think it's sulfites - though I know that's a factor for some people.

skunkfunk

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #161 on: July 21, 2015, 08:05:09 AM »

Regarding the headaches as noted above --- pretty much every wine I've ever drank but definitely the reds can lead to this.   Wine purists and snobs usually won't mention this and the French will never ever say anything.  With wine it is most likely the sulfites that are the culprit.   And generally speaking dark spirits are more prone to headaches.  They are essentially vodka and then flavored with all sorts of weird shit including peat (yick!!) and chard woods etc...  Wines on the other hand are flavored with a whole host of other shit like chocolate, pepper, lemon, fruits,  oak etc... 

I find that drinking vodka with water and ice generally doesn't lead to head aches,  probably because of the hydration factor.   I do find that it does lead to drunkenness and this is probably due to not keeping the mix in the 4-5% range and,  well,  drinking it like water.   But hey,  for 4 bucks, I'm a pretty cheap drunk.

My standard when I'm drinking anything alcoholic is to keep at least a 1:1 ratio between units (glass/bottle/can/etc.) of alcoholic beverages and glasses of water. That way I don't dehydrate (which I do easily) and it tends to reduce the number of drinks I have, which both saves money (assuming I'm paying) and helps make sure I don't overindulge.

That said, even with that plan I get headaches from cheap/bad stuff. For me, I don't think it's sulfites - though I know that's a factor for some people.

It's been shown that even if you hydrate, you still get the other bad effects of bad booze. Inflammation, acetaldehyde, etc. I don't have a source handy, so take that for what it's worth.

 I usually don't get hungover from a moderate amount of beer, but throw in some cheap wedding champagne... well, I may or may not have puked up a few cupcakes the morning after my last wedding gig.

skunkfunk

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #162 on: July 21, 2015, 08:08:36 AM »
Does anybody know how they came up with .08 for driving? I've checked the so-called "BAC calculators" and I'd be stupid to drive when those things say I'm at .08. That's a pretty good buzz. Not enough that I'm seeing double, but bad enough I'd feel like an idiot to get behind the wheel.


mtn

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #163 on: July 21, 2015, 08:22:34 AM »
Does anybody know how they came up with .08 for driving? I've checked the so-called "BAC calculators" and I'd be stupid to drive when those things say I'm at .08. That's a pretty good buzz. Not enough that I'm seeing double, but bad enough I'd feel like an idiot to get behind the wheel.

I believe that it was just found as a good measure through research. This site has some stuff on it: http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Traffic+Techs/current/Presidential+Initiative+For+Making+.08+BAC+The+National+Legal+Limit+-+A+Progress+Report.

Remember, in many states they can and will prosecute lower--in Illinois, they can prosecute down to .05. Everyone is different. Even before I started drinking regularly, .08 was nearly stone-cold sober for me. This was tested by the ruler-drop test (unscientifically, of course). Even a police officer using the finger-eye-test told me that he wouldn't be able to tell I had had a drink. My fiance? She can have 1 drink and be pretty buzzed, probably at about a .03 level. Then Diabetics can blow a .1 without having a drink at all.

Most important thing is education on it. I don't feel dangerous driving at .08, but I also don't drive at .08--I'm not worried about something I'll do, but in almost every car crash my family has had, we were not at fault. 2 people were still brethalyzed. I'm not taking that chance. I'll wait an hour and drink some water and eat some food.

skunkfunk

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #164 on: July 21, 2015, 08:27:33 AM »
Even a police officer using the finger-eye-test told me that he wouldn't be able to tell I had had a drink.

That one's pretty easy to cheat, though.

mtn

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #165 on: July 21, 2015, 08:32:47 AM »
Even a police officer using the finger-eye-test told me that he wouldn't be able to tell I had had a drink.

That one's pretty easy to cheat, though.

Is it? I was under the impression that while it is easy to get a false negative (a sober person can have jerky eye movements), it is pretty hard to fool it the other way.

(I could be wrong, I'd just always heard it was a pretty good measure)

skunkfunk

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #166 on: July 21, 2015, 08:35:51 AM »
Even a police officer using the finger-eye-test told me that he wouldn't be able to tell I had had a drink.

That one's pretty easy to cheat, though.

Is it? I was under the impression that while it is easy to get a false negative (a sober person can have jerky eye movements), it is pretty hard to fool it the other way.

(I could be wrong, I'd just always heard it was a pretty good measure)

I've tried it whilst pretty drunk. Don't follow the finger all the way over. Quit following in a comfortable spot. Give it a try sometime, maybe it only works for me. I have had someone check me where I follow it all the way and then again where I don't. I was told I failed the former and passed the latter.

Bob W

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #167 on: July 21, 2015, 03:29:53 PM »
Does anybody know how they came up with .08 for driving? I've checked the so-called "BAC calculators" and I'd be stupid to drive when those things say I'm at .08. That's a pretty good buzz. Not enough that I'm seeing double, but bad enough I'd feel like an idiot to get behind the wheel.

Wow buzzed at .08?   .08 is 2 beers in 1 hour for me at 230 lbs.   2 beers.    For most women under 120 it is one drink. 


mustachepungoeshere

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #168 on: July 21, 2015, 05:52:01 PM »
It averages out to about $50 per month (not including ordering a drink on the rare times we eat out).

We tend to stock up on sales or on duty-free booze when we travel.

I tend to drink the same thing, my husband has much more varied tastes and we like to drink with friends, so we always have beer, wine, whiskey, rum, vodka, port, Baileys, etc, in the house, plus brandy, Kirsch, etc, for cooking.

Edited to add: I'm a big fan of consumables as gifts, so I'm always thrilled when people gift us our favourite drinks - saves us money and we don't have to store/display/dust it. And it's affordable, memorable and easy to locate. Everyone wins.

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #169 on: July 21, 2015, 06:05:05 PM »
Does anybody know how they came up with .08 for driving? I've checked the so-called "BAC calculators" and I'd be stupid to drive when those things say I'm at .08. That's a pretty good buzz. Not enough that I'm seeing double, but bad enough I'd feel like an idiot to get behind the wheel.
See https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/safety/publications/1992/pdf/mr_10.pdf

We have had a .05 limit for the whole of Australia for many years - from the study it appears to be at least 20.

I don't spend anything on beer, booze and wine.

skunkfunk

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #170 on: July 22, 2015, 01:25:02 PM »
Does anybody know how they came up with .08 for driving? I've checked the so-called "BAC calculators" and I'd be stupid to drive when those things say I'm at .08. That's a pretty good buzz. Not enough that I'm seeing double, but bad enough I'd feel like an idiot to get behind the wheel.

Wow buzzed at .08?   .08 is 2 beers in 1 hour for me at 230 lbs.   2 beers.    For most women under 120 it is one drink.

Yep. I'm 160, and 2 beers in an hour is about all that I can handle.

Lady Fordragon

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #171 on: July 22, 2015, 02:21:37 PM »
My husband and I spend about $100-160 per month on average.  It's much higher than I would like, but unfortunately, most of our after work activities (especially in the summertime) seem to revolve around drinking.  We play co-ed softball and sand volleyball and most of our teammates/friends like to go out to a bar afterwards.  I've been able to curtail some of the drinking expenses by suggesting more drinking be done at someone's house instead of the bars. 

*Most of our friends aren't frugal at all and tend to live more in the now then thinking about their future selves.

Jeremy E.

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #172 on: July 22, 2015, 02:29:42 PM »
My husband and I spend about $100-160 per month on average.  It's much higher than I would like, but unfortunately, most of our after work activities (especially in the summertime) seem to revolve around drinking.  We play co-ed softball and sand volleyball and most of our teammates/friends like to go out to a bar afterwards.  I've been able to curtail some of the drinking expenses by suggesting more drinking be done at someone's house instead of the bars. 

*Most of our friends aren't frugal at all and tend to live more in the now then thinking about their future selves.
When I play Softball or Volleyball, I bring a cooler full of cheap beer with me. My softball league is pretty relaxed though, and I'm not on a volleyball team, just go play with random people at the beach(river bank).

Melody

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #173 on: July 22, 2015, 06:03:51 PM »
I've cut way back, almost to nil. I often muse over the question: How much would our drinking be affected if we discovered a zero alcohol beverage that looked, smelled and tasted just like an awesome drink of choice? It would have the same glass cling, the same finish, everything but the buzz. And as a real test, it sold for a fraction of the cost. Would we be interested in this NA scotch, syrah, bourbon, or stout?
If there was a magic pale ale like this, I'd  be onto it!!!!!! I love craft beers. I have recently  been doing dry july (a month of no  drinking) and find myself clingling to my bottles of non alcoholic ginger beer at parties. I like the full feeling in my stomach and the sweet/not sweet taste. Bonus is it looks like beer, so you don't  have to have that conversation  or keep turning down drink offers. So much of drinking me is the social aspect, so a good social alternative (that also magically makes pizza and curry taste better) would go down very nicely indeed. Of course i would still want the real stuff occasionally  ;-)

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Mrs.LC

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #174 on: July 22, 2015, 06:28:09 PM »
Average about $20 a month for wine supplies as we make our own. We supply the wine for many of the social activities we participate in and give wine as gifts for weddings, Xmas, etc. It's a great hobby!

We've played with that a little...   I don't think we made it down to that low of a cost.  Are you juicing your own fruit?  Or buying traditional wine juices (Zin, Chardonnay, etc).

We have enough extra blackberries and sometimes blueberries that we can make one or two gallons a year... but not enough to give away.
Use frozen juice for some of the wine. On sale with coupons we can get Old Orchard brand for .50 a can. They actually make a pretty good drinkable wine that everyone seems to really like. Berry blend and anything with cranberry are the favorite flavors. Additives we bought in larger quantities and split it with friends that also make wine. We make a wine kit about every other month - the last three kits we received as gifts. We've also received corks and bottles as gifts so that helps to keep the cost down. We do recycle bottles and have people save them for us as well. Keep watching our blog as sometime in the future we will be posting recipes for wine that we have developed using the frozen juice.

As luck would have it... the next day after you posted this, someone dumped 13 lbs of ripe figs on us... so... Fig Wine is in the works.
Fig wine sounds interesting. Tomorrow we are bottling a black raspberry Cabernet kit wine and a lemon wine that we adapted from a recipe found online. Will be starting a peach wine kit and two small juice wine batches. The peach will be a new flavor for us so excited to try that in a few weeks.

Knapptyme

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #175 on: July 22, 2015, 06:34:16 PM »
Didn't read through whole thread to see if anyone else is like me, but my grand total of alcohol consumption and money spent is...

Zero* and $0.

For various reasons when I was young, I decided it wasn't going to be for me. Money was one of those reasons. Possible mind-altering effects was another reason.

*Someone or some establishment may have cooked something for me in something alcoholic which I am not counting here.

slackmax

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #176 on: July 23, 2015, 06:50:09 AM »
The high price of beer these days, $38 a case is a typical price for a 24 pack of craft brew, is just too much for me. Someone is buying it, just not me. It's good but it's not worth it.  If I see some good stuff on sale, like $19.99 for the usual $38 stuff, I'll get it, even if it's old.  But other than the occasional sale of good craft beer, I just get a case of Hamm's or Genny Cream Ale in a 30-pack.  I can get Genny 30 pack for $12.89 where I live.  I used to love Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and was happy to pay $24 a case, but now it's what $38 a case? C'mon, dude. WTF?

Bottom line : I spend about $40 a month on booze, and that's all beer.   

mtn

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #177 on: July 23, 2015, 08:21:42 AM »


For various reasons when I was young, I decided it wasn't going to be for me. Money was one of those reasons. Possible mind-altering effects was another reason.



I'm a little curious on this one--and maybe it is the wording that is getting me. Possible mind-altering effects? I'd say it is certain mind-altering effects. Actually, I'd say that is the point.

Out of curiosity, have you ever tried it?

prudence

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #178 on: July 23, 2015, 08:42:03 AM »
I spend about 20 - 30 a month tops on beer or wine.

Lady Fordragon

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #179 on: July 23, 2015, 02:23:04 PM »
My husband and I spend about $100-160 per month on average.  It's much higher than I would like, but unfortunately, most of our after work activities (especially in the summertime) seem to revolve around drinking.  We play co-ed softball and sand volleyball and most of our teammates/friends like to go out to a bar afterwards.  I've been able to curtail some of the drinking expenses by suggesting more drinking be done at someone's house instead of the bars. 

*Most of our friends aren't frugal at all and tend to live more in the now then thinking about their future selves.
When I play Softball or Volleyball, I bring a cooler full of cheap beer with me. My softball league is pretty relaxed though, and I'm not on a volleyball team, just go play with random people at the beach(river bank).

Unfortunately, we play softball at a city park where alcohol is prohibited, which is why we usually end up at a bar afterwards, although I have been able to (on a couple of occasions) persuade the team to come back to our place to drink.  As for volleyball, we play at a bar that has 9-10 sand courts.  It's actually a really nice set-up and I don't feel obligated to buy drinks there since I've already paid money to play there.  This is definitely one of the few areas that we can cut back substantially on.

TheContinentalOp

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #180 on: July 23, 2015, 02:31:14 PM »
Zero

mm1970

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #181 on: July 24, 2015, 11:41:25 AM »
Blind taste tests are worthwhile. We all feel we are immune to the effects of marketing. But usually we aren't.

I worked my way through a case of wine a couple of years ago and found that there was no correlation between my enjoyment and price.

http://www.milesdividendmd.com/how-to-drink-wine/

Yep.  In fact, blindfolded we (meaning "those of us that are not paid wine connoisseurs") generally can't tell the difference between red and white wine.  Even as mustacians, we will get some brand snobbery in our heads and it's hard to shake it out.

It's even more so when we mix spirits with sugary fruity stuff.  The nuance of that $50 bottle (which is arguable at best) is really hard to pick out when mixed.

One vodka example (and I suspect you could find similar with other spirits.  Vodka is just easy to pick on.)
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Consumer/story?id=3201973
Now this would be a fun test. I like wine (not as much of a connoisseur as some friends), but I'm 98% sure I can tell the difference between white and red, even blindfolded. 

seanc0x0

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #182 on: July 24, 2015, 11:54:51 AM »
I drink a fair bit. Probably more than I should.  But I do keep costs down, mostly by making it myself. 

I'm in Canada, and our local liquor stores are mostly run by the Government (a few private ones have started to be allowed, the last couple years) and the selection is poor and the prices are high.  So I got into making wine years ago.

I've mostly switched to making mead now, though, as I really like it and I can make it very cheaply. A basic traditional mead (just honey) costs between $1.25 and $2.00 per wine-sized bottle (750mL). If I try something more exotic, like a spiced mead or a fruit mead, that adds to the cost.

I make it pretty dry, which is how I have always preferred my wines. Despite being made from honey, it's very low carb. I'm also on a keto diet, and have not been kicked out of keto even with 2-3 glasses.

I just bottled a Bochet (caramelized honey mead), and have a sour cherry mead made from cherries from our tree and a rhubarb mead made with rhubarb from the garden going right now. Can't wait until they're done. :)

Rightflyer

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #183 on: July 24, 2015, 12:54:11 PM »
I just bottled a Bochet (caramelized honey mead), and have a sour cherry mead made from cherries from our tree and a rhubarb mead made with rhubarb from the garden going right now. Can't wait until they're done. :)

Wow, that sounds great...my mouth actually started watering!

Let us know how it comes out.

Erica/NWEdible

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #184 on: July 24, 2015, 12:56:45 PM »
I drink a fair bit. Probably more than I should.  But I do keep costs down, mostly by making it myself. 

I'm in Canada, and our local liquor stores are mostly run by the Government (a few private ones have started to be allowed, the last couple years) and the selection is poor and the prices are high.  So I got into making wine years ago.

I've mostly switched to making mead now, though, as I really like it and I can make it very cheaply. A basic traditional mead (just honey) costs between $1.25 and $2.00 per wine-sized bottle (750mL). If I try something more exotic, like a spiced mead or a fruit mead, that adds to the cost.

I make it pretty dry, which is how I have always preferred my wines. Despite being made from honey, it's very low carb. I'm also on a keto diet, and have not been kicked out of keto even with 2-3 glasses.

I just bottled a Bochet (caramelized honey mead), and have a sour cherry mead made from cherries from our tree and a rhubarb mead made with rhubarb from the garden going right now. Can't wait until they're done. :)

I struggle making mead that doesn't finish really sweet or taste like lighter fluid. Would LOVE to get any recipes you have that are reliable. Thank you for considering!

Quinn

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #185 on: July 24, 2015, 01:21:34 PM »
Zero. I think I'm allergic or highly intolerant. A tiny glass of wine makes my face go red and gives me a splitting headache. I tried a rum cocktail and a whiskey cocktail on 2 separate nights when I was down at N'awlins and I ended with with a headache and full-body rash on both nights.

Needless to say, I'm staying clear of alcohol.

mtn

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #186 on: July 24, 2015, 01:22:56 PM »
Zero. I think I'm allergic or highly intolerant. A tiny glass of wine makes my face go red and gives me a splitting headache. I tried a rum cocktail and a whiskey cocktail on 2 separate nights when I was down at N'awlins and I ended with with a headache and full-body rash on both nights.

Needless to say, I'm staying clear of alcohol.

Are you Asian?

Bob W

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #187 on: July 24, 2015, 01:37:46 PM »
I drink a fair bit. Probably more than I should.  But I do keep costs down, mostly by making it myself. 

I'm in Canada, and our local liquor stores are mostly run by the Government (a few private ones have started to be allowed, the last couple years) and the selection is poor and the prices are high.  So I got into making wine years ago.

I've mostly switched to making mead now, though, as I really like it and I can make it very cheaply. A basic traditional mead (just honey) costs between $1.25 and $2.00 per wine-sized bottle (750mL). If I try something more exotic, like a spiced mead or a fruit mead, that adds to the cost.

I make it pretty dry, which is how I have always preferred my wines. Despite being made from honey, it's very low carb. I'm also on a keto diet, and have not been kicked out of keto even with 2-3 glasses.

I just bottled a Bochet (caramelized honey mead), and have a sour cherry mead made from cherries from our tree and a rhubarb mead made with rhubarb from the garden going right now. Can't wait until they're done. :)

I struggle making mead that doesn't finish really sweet or taste like lighter fluid. Would LOVE to get any recipes you have that are reliable. Thank you for considering!

Yes please share those mead ideas with us all please.  Sounds fascinating.   And the price point is right up my alley, not to mention the whole keto thingy. 

Question --- what is the alcohol content of this mead of which you speak?

seanc0x0

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #188 on: July 24, 2015, 05:51:38 PM »
I drink a fair bit. Probably more than I should.  But I do keep costs down, mostly by making it myself. 

I'm in Canada, and our local liquor stores are mostly run by the Government (a few private ones have started to be allowed, the last couple years) and the selection is poor and the prices are high.  So I got into making wine years ago.

I've mostly switched to making mead now, though, as I really like it and I can make it very cheaply. A basic traditional mead (just honey) costs between $1.25 and $2.00 per wine-sized bottle (750mL). If I try something more exotic, like a spiced mead or a fruit mead, that adds to the cost.

I make it pretty dry, which is how I have always preferred my wines. Despite being made from honey, it's very low carb. I'm also on a keto diet, and have not been kicked out of keto even with 2-3 glasses.

I just bottled a Bochet (caramelized honey mead), and have a sour cherry mead made from cherries from our tree and a rhubarb mead made with rhubarb from the garden going right now. Can't wait until they're done. :)

I struggle making mead that doesn't finish really sweet or taste like lighter fluid. Would LOVE to get any recipes you have that are reliable. Thank you for considering!

Yes please share those mead ideas with us all please.  Sounds fascinating.   And the price point is right up my alley, not to mention the whole keto thingy. 

Question --- what is the alcohol content of this mead of which you speak?

OK, I'll put something up in the DIY forum when I have a bit more time, that way I can avoid cluttering up this thread.

The mead I make usually is in the range of 10-12% ABV.  I find keeping the alcohol down helps it finish drier than if I start with a lot of sugars.

Kriegsspiel

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #189 on: July 24, 2015, 06:29:57 PM »
A bit. But it's for science.

milesdividendmd

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #190 on: July 24, 2015, 06:40:42 PM »

A bit. But it's for science.

Care to share hypotheses? Findings?

Kriegsspiel

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #191 on: July 24, 2015, 06:47:21 PM »
I was performing an experiment to determine how much I could drink. The results, quite frankly, were staggering.

seanc0x0

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #192 on: July 24, 2015, 06:52:34 PM »
For those interested in a fairly detailed post on my mead making, I've got this up in the DIY forum: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/do-it-yourself-forum!/homebrew-mead/

milesdividendmd

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #193 on: July 24, 2015, 06:58:19 PM »

I was performing an experiment to determine how much I could drink. The results, quite frankly, were staggering.

Please post diagrams/tables/charts when you have the chance.

Humanity waits.

Kriegsspiel

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #194 on: July 24, 2015, 07:04:18 PM »
I tried; they exceeded the forum's limitations. You may have noticed the forum acting wonky lately.

Bob W

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #195 on: July 24, 2015, 07:20:55 PM »
For those interested in a fairly detailed post on my mead making, I've got this up in the DIY forum: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/do-it-yourself-forum!/homebrew-mead/
thanks

Piwakawaka

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #196 on: July 24, 2015, 08:04:29 PM »
As of June 14th this year; $0. I've gone sober!
...One especially bad night finally pushed me to kill the binge drinking habit (a fairly standard habit down under). Prior to that; $100 a month at the very least, upwards of $200. Bleugh.

firewalker

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #197 on: July 24, 2015, 08:11:17 PM »
Bravo to Popo La Roux!

milesdividendmd

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #198 on: July 24, 2015, 08:38:54 PM »
Meh. Get back on the horse.

firewalker

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Re: How much do you spend on beer, booze, wine?
« Reply #199 on: July 24, 2015, 08:47:29 PM »
Frank Sinatra jokingly said "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they get up in the morning, that's the best they're going to feel all day long."