Social Drinking

[Worlok]

First off: It's your downtime, and as such it is your choice whether or not you're gonna drink, or what. The entire rest of this post runs on the assumption that you are debating whether or not you should enter the world of beer, and it's mostly just a collection of common entry-level considerations and "strategies".

As a German, my cultural mores might be different, but I do think I know a good bit about beer and the drinking of it. That said, it is generally not considered rude to take your time with the brew - in my experience, that is - as people largely assume you're trying to enjoy the taste rather than the effect - which is a thing with some, after all.

Yes, beer is cheap, and often it is an acquired taste. This, however, is precisely what has made it such a popular "social" drink, in that it clearly marks the experienced party-goers in the eyes of some, and rarely goes too heavy on the wallet as a plus.

It is definitely not considered rude to be nursing one beer through the evening when you spend your time talking a lot, or doing other social-occasion-/party-things, by the way, for interrupting conversation just to knock one down definitely is - with most people and situations in which such comes up, anyhow. And then there are people that simply like to take rewinding slow, which is absolutely acceptable - Should someone give you lip over your supposedly insufficient consumption of it, you can always just give lip back (ironically, this tends to be easier, but also a good bit more volatile after having had about enough) or be like "Well, man, not gonna rush this, I'll catch up." or something of the sort.

Regarding the taste itself, most American beers can be described as - I don't know the word for it - sweet(-ish), as opposed to the more earthy/bitter flavors common in most European brands. As every single brand has its own brewery secrets, though, you'd have to be rather precise with what your poison is for there to be an educated guess.

Speaking of, however, that's a good way to evade the whole deal if you feel like it: It's okay for someone new to it to test out different brands. So try another kind of beer every so often, like, go for Beck's the one night and for Budweiser the next, and if you don't feel like drinking after all, you can always just say that this particular brand doesn't quite appeal to you.

Asking the staff to add a hint of Coke - or other non-alcoholic, flavor-intensive drink - to it, which you can generally do where beer is served, or doing so yourself is a good way to get a buzz on without having to taste the undiluted fury quite as strongly, by the by. I believe Sprite is a common favorite, and mixed drinks, while often vilified, are a tried-and-true staple of all gastronomy.

What you have to remember is that what you're drinking there is, in a way, liquid bread with a built-in brain-disabler, if rarely described that way in polite company. Experiment until you have one that you like, and be open about your doing so. That will generally get you recommendations from more experienced drinkers, which can yield rather surprisingly satisfying results, might jump-start conversations in quite unexpected ways, and if you find that you're just not a beer person, you can just drop the habit and have other things instead - I'd be quite surprised if there would be any trouble to come from that.

Hope this helps a little, and if there's still questions open, just let me know.