Revive my blogging?

So recently I stumbled upon this blog, my old blog. I had initially started this in college as a little side thing to try out and now I was considering picking back up on it. Maybe a different blog altogether though as I am no longer the "crazy college student" drinking every night, though I still do drink a lot just in moderation now. Not sure if anyone reads this blog anyway but if anyone happens to check this out please look back at my blog a bit and let me know what you think. Should I try to revive this and maybe start a side blog as well, or just give up on this one and try a new one?

Beer you need to try

Ok so it may be late for many of you to get the opportunity to try this beer this time but one beer that every person should try as soon as they find it is Bell's Hopslam. This is a temporary beer that Bells puts out a couple times a year and is amazing. Best IPA/DIPA in the world by far, I urge you to try this beer as soon as you can, words do not give it justice and therefore I will not even try, all I will say is get it an drink it. Don't be put off by its higher price, it is worth every penny.

FREE BEER

Ok well it has been a long time since my last post but I am trying to get back into it now. One reason for my time off was from working a lot, now i dont work quite as much due to school but I sure do drink as much beer. One extra source of income that I would like to share that I have found is CashCrate now i could go on for a while about how this site is so easy and what not but all i will say is this. I make $20-$50 a month consistantly with this site and have not spent a single penny to do it, this makes for a few free cases a month which is one thing I love.

Beer Money

Ok well it has been a long time since my last post but I am trying to get back into it now. One reason for my time off was from working a lot, now i dont work quite as much due to school but I sure do drink as much beer. One extra source of income that I would like to share that I have found is CashCrate now i could go on for a while about how this site is so easy and what not but all i will say is this. I make $20-$50 a month consistantly with this site and have not spent a single penny to do it, this makes for a few free cases a month which is one thing I love.

Came upon this, deserves to be shared

Looking online I found a great professor written article about what my last post was, this person also believes the age should be 19 (or 18)

Article Here

Drinking Age?

As a legal drinker in the USA I would like to share my opinions on the american drinking age and the idea of a drinking age in general.

For starters I believe that the American drinking age is too high. College towns in the country have too many cops looking for underage drinkers when they should be more concerned with things like theft and drunk driving. For this reason I believe that if the USA should have a drinking age it should be changed to 19. This age is the same as canada, and would allow almost all people out of high school to drink. After high school is the time when the majority of people start drinking the most (many also drink in high school, as did I. But after HS drinking tends to increase, not in a bad way though). They say college is a time for experimenting, not learning about how to avoid cops for something that is non-violent and not dangerous (if done intelligently, like everything) am I right?

My true opinion though is that drinking ages should not exist. True aboloshing the drinking age abruptly would lead to a lot of young people drinking that should not but that would subside quickly. Insted people would learn about drinking from their parents and most would learn how to drink responsibly at an early age. They would learn what "drunk" is and would KNOW that driving in that condition is a poor choice...before they learn to drive and find out the hard way. Early learning is when things 'stick' best, that has been proven, so why not apply that to alcohol as well?

Underage drinking will happen, and cannot be stopped. To a point it is bad and should not happen but most of the time it is completely fine. In many european countries there is no drinking age and children are allowed to drink wine from when they are very young. Consumption of alcohol is not damaging to the body if done in moderation and thus when people learn what moderation is early in life they become much smarter drinkers. This is why I find the system flawed and plea for change to save the future from having my tax dollers go to prevent something that does no harm to anyone. Why can someone die because of a country and not have a beer before they do it?

All Time Greatest Beer Movies

Because I like 2 things, beer and movies(that is not all but for this it is all that matters), I have compiled a list of the Top 5 Beer Movies. There is no strict definition of what makes a movie a beer movie, you just know it when you watch it.

5) Beer Fest IMDB -- This one is cliche to be mentioned first and really not a good movie at all, but it does make you want to drink beer, and the main topic of it is beer, this makes it good enough to go on the list.

4) American Beer IMDB -- Well this is actually a documentary about friends going around and visiting American breweries, and it is very well done. This movie taught me a lot about micro-breweries and I would suggest that any beer fan watches it as well.

3) Old School IMDB - More of an Animal House for the newer generation but still comes off as great. Frank the Tank will forever be in the Hollywood beer drinking hall of fame.

2)Strange Brew IMDB - If you haven't seen this, then go watch it however you prefer to watch movies. It is maybe the ultimate movie with beer as the topic, though somehow it still doesn't take the #1 position on this list.

1) Animal House IMDB - Classic movie about partying and drinking, and though beer may not be explicitly the topic of this movie, any movie about college partying counts a great beer movie to me. This movie almost makes me like frats. This movie is also more memorable and quotable than any other movie on this list, its just a good movie.


Please feel free to comment on my list and share your favorites as well

How to do a Good Keg Stand

It has been a while since my last post so I will just put this easy informative piece in here for your educative needs, I wish everyone didn't need this but sadly most people have no clue when it comes to the keg stand.

First of all the keg stand is where you grab the keg and people lift you up while someone else puts the tap in your mouth and turns it on so you just can drink as fast as it comes out of the tap. This can be fun with a lot of people, when nobody else is waiting to fill their cup which brings me to my first rule. IF PEOPLE ARE WAITING, FILL THEM BEFORE YOU DO YOUR KEG STAND. Hopefully after reading this there is a good reason for that, you will just be so good that they will be sober by the time you are done.

Keg stands themselves are easy, you just drink, the main problem that people run into that makes them stop is either coldness, or the need to take a breath.
In order to fight coldness, you need to be feeling pretty good before the keg stand. Doing a sober keg stand isn't that exciting, and you will usually suck so just have a couple cups first and you will be a much better person for the job.

The other problem people have is running out of breath, the way to beat that is to BREATH. Simply said but doing it can be a talent, the way to do it is fast and intelligently. First of all you are upside down so if you stop swallowing for a second to take a breath, you mouth will just fill up with beer so you should be ok, just play catch-up after you inhale/exhale. The other key is to do inhales and exhales at different times, that way you wont drown yourself and have to quit.

And as with most drinking feats, practice makes perfect, so don't be afraid to show up the frat boy a few times in order to get especially good at the keg stand.

And to help those who still don't understand a keg stand, here is a good clip. Not too bad but they do count a little fast (count to 45 and the video is only 40 secs long), still a respectable time though.

How to avoid and get rid of a hangover

When you enjoy drinking, and especially enjoy drinking in excess with the techniques outlines below, it is inevitable that sometimes you will get the dreaded sickness know as the hangover. This is one thing that you cannot completely avoid though it is possible to make it more bearable. The first thing that I say before I even get to my list is WATER, drink plenty of it! Before, during, and especially after drinking.

Drinking at least one liter, (or quart for those of you still stuck on the obsolete system.) after drinking, before calling it a night will do a few helpful things for you. First it will put something else in your stomach to "push the rest along" and hopefully make sure there isn't any alcohol left come morning and hopefully will make you be able to eat in the morning. Second it will help to prevent waking up with cottonmouth, which always sucks because you never want to get up to get a drink. Lastly drinking that water will help to flush out your system, so expect to take a long pee at some point during the night, and when you wake up.

Now for a few tricks that I have learned that help sometimes, but as you have heard many times there is no fool-proof method of preventing a hangover.

1) I have found that taking a Vitamin B complex pill before drinking helps enormously with preventing a headache the next day, I have no idea why this works but for me and most of the people I have given one to, it sure seems to help.
2) Always eat something before drinking, every time you hear about someone being super sick they always tell you about how they didn't eat anything all day. Even though you may get drunk more easily and faster, drinking on empty always leads to being sick, so don't be that person.
3) Milk with salt. Pour yourself a nice big glass of milk, and shake a bunch of salt right on the top of it, immediately pound the entire glass. At first the salty milk will taste bad, but by the time you get to then end of the glass, the taste will be gone. This helps for 2 reasons: a major reason for a hangover is a lack of sodium in your blood, so this puts a little extra in(taking in a ton of salt wont help you however, your body will just flush it out, and it will be bad for you) and second the milk contains casian protein, which is very slow dissolving, which will keep something in you all night and help to avoid having a belly full of all beer.
4) If you have to puke, then do it. When your body wants you to puke it usually has a damn good reason for it, in this case there is too much beer in it and you will be even more sick if it has to digest all of it, so just get rid of it the easy way so you don't have to suffer.

Once you already have the hangover then you will just have to suffer. Try to take in as much water as possible and get as much stuff through you system as you can. Taking a hot shower will also help by making you sweat out as much of the bad stuff as you can. Also anytime you need to use the bathroom, do it, its all different ways for your body to clear stuff out. Also if you feel like you are going to need to puke. Try to drink as much water as possible and hold it off for a couple minutes after, but then let it go. This will make the puke less painful, and will help you body with getting EVERYTHING out at once.

Have fun with you beer and I hope that these few tips will help make you next day more bearable, so you can get back to it at night again.

How to beer bong

The next technique that I would like to mention is how to do a proper beer bong, this one is pretty easy and foolproof, regardless, I have seen it done wrong far too many times.

1) get your beer bong, put your hand over end/thumb in end/ close valve. I would also like to add that I am a big anti-valve person, not only is it weak in my opinion, it also hinders the flow into your mouth and some of them can cause foaming.

2) now you fill the bong up with beer, pour it gently into the wall of the funnel trying to create as little foam as possible. more foam means it will take longer before you can actually drink that golden elixir.

3) once the bong is full and there is little foam left in the tube now you want to get the beer as close to the end of the tube as you can, this may mean lifting your hand slightly or venting with your thumb, valves tend to not need this because it is easy to fill the bong without having an air pocket. This is the part that people tend to mess up. any air that is left will be swallowed, and as with shotgunning, air pocket in the belly means beer will probably not stay down there.

4) now that you have this done you are to the easy part, grab the hose, put it in your mouth, unplug it and while someone gets the bong above your head, just let the beer flow down. If done correctly, with 2 beers or less you should be able to take it all down in 3 swallows or less. Experts at this can do 2 beers with one big gulp, keeping the throat open the entire time, it only will take about a second for it all to go away.


And now for a video example

How to Chug a Beer

Of all beer drinking techniques the plain chug is probably the most common for obvious reasons but many people are still bad at it. In my experience I have seen that there are 2 good ways to chug fast, one with a can, and one by pouring it in a glass.

CAN

Often a can is the hardest thing to drink very fast out of because of simple physics, when beer is coming out air must come in so the beer flows in a staggered way and dosen't come out very fast, in order to fix this there is one simple technique that can be done. All you need to do is take a shap knife (be careful with knives when intoxicated) and cut a small hole at the top of the can on the opposite side of the mouth. This will allow air to come in so that the flow of the beer can be smooth and fast.

GLASS

Drinking fast out of a glass is much easier and can be done much faster than a can even with the above trick.

1) First pour the glass as to avoid foam as much as possible, this will make is so you don't have to wait too long until you have to drink it.

2) If the beer is nice and cold then give it a couple minutes to warm up. Though everyone loves their beer cold (at least cheaper beers) it is much harder to chug a really cold beer, and can give you a painful brain freeze. Too warm is bad though too, it will taste terrible and will make a lot of gas while you drink it.

3) Once the beer is foam free and not too cold but still not too warm yet it is optimal to drink. This is pretty intuitive on the technique. Grab the glass, put it to your lips and tilt the glass up. The best way to drink it is to try and swallow just before the beer hits your throat, this way your throat will already be open and the beer will just continue its flow as it goes. Once you master this the only thing to do it just work to keep your throat open as long as possible, some people can do it for the entire glass, others have to take 2 big swallows to do it all, the idea is to learn to do it in one.

There you have successfully chugged a beer nice and fast. While the glass method is much faster, it is not nearly as convenient as the can so just do what you want and enjoy your time drinking. But enjoy intelligently, don't chug yourself to an Emergency Room.

How to Shotgun a Beer Like a Champ

One thing I find that most people are terrible at involving beer is shotgunning, here I will explain the best technique possible to blow people away with you skills.

1) get s beer that is not too warm or too cold. too cold will hurt as you drink it and too warm will make you burp like crazy before you finish it, or possibly cause you to have an air bubble in you stomach which will most likely make you puke it all right back up.

2) hold the beer horizontally but on a slight angle, with the bottom being slightly higher than the top, then puncture the highest point with the tip of a knife/key and let the pressure escape, if you do this right no liquid will be spilled.

3) after the pressure escapes, make you hole bigger, i personally find it best to cut a triangle with the base at the bottom of the can, then push the triangle you made into the can, and remember the bigger the hole, the more beer will be able to come out per unit time.

4) at this point put that hole you just made to your mouth, while having your finger on the tab, put the can topside up and open the beer

5) the secret to a good shotgun comes at this point, granted that you do everything else correct. Take in one large suck like you are trying to chug water out of a bottle. After that gravity will take over and the beer will flow into you mouth and all you have to do is open your throat.

6) once you master the suck and opening your throat you should be able to do this in less than 2 seconds (and kick anyone's ass in a race.

Non-Alcoholic Beer???

Ok so there is such thing, there is even a Busch N.A. My question is why? What is the point of beer without alcohol, yes it is delicious but the alcohol is the real reason it is so popular, and the only reason people would drink something like Busch in the first place. I can understand this stuff if you have a health condition, but most people that drink it I am afraid don't. And I just don't see the point, what good is a gun without bullets? or an engine without gas? If anyone has a good reason why cheap non-alcoholic beers are made I would love to hear it, but until then I will continue my stance on why the stuff is pointless and hope that it goes away. Though I am sure it never will.

So what are your feeling on the stuff? For you does a nice O'douls hit the spot after a hard day of work?

Best Place to Drink a Beer in Myrtle Beach

On my trip to Myrtle Beach, SC, USA of all the places I went to have a beer one definitely stood out among the rest. This place was Bimini's Oyster Bar and Seafood Cafe. Being on the beach we choose to go to a seafood oriented place in order to get good food and we discovered a gem. The place is not very big and was full of people having a good time. It was also nice and loud, not always what you want but it makes the atmosphere perfect here.

When we got there we all got a beer to drink while we waited for our table. The beer selection was not enormous but there was a nice array to choose from. I settled for the southern classic Yuengling as it was suggested to me by a local. One we got our table and sat down we looked over the menu and noticed that it advertised an "Oyster Slammer" which I wish I would have had a camera to take a picture of. We ordered a round and waited to see what it was when they came. It turned out to be a slammer glass with 2 raw oysters, hot sauce, and Bud Light. We all took ours down and to be honest it was much better than I expected. Finishing it by taking down 2 full raw oysters was a challenge but overall it was well worth the dollar I paid for it. I really can't explain the taste of it but I will suggest that anyone interested would give it a try.

The food was excellent. A popular item on the menu, which I split with one of my companions that was there is the Steamer Pot, which consists of 6 oysters, 6 clams, and 6 mussels, 1/4 pound of shrimp and a pound of crab legs, all steamed. It also came with corn on the cob, hush puppies, and cole slaw. A very full meal, even when split by 2 people. This entree would probably go best with a lighter beer, maybe a wheat beer would be perfect, but the Yuengling that I had with it was a good complement in itself.

Overall the experience of Bimini's was a great one indeed and the next time I go to Myrtle Beach I will definitely visit there again. I would also suggest it to anyone who plans on visiting there.

America's Oldest Brewery

Well for anyone interested my trip was awesome. Had a great time and would encourage anyone interested to visit Myrtle Beach, only be warned it is more family oriented than I expected. Still great golf and some good places to have a drink

While on my trip I discovered what people in the southeastern US "the south" love to drink, Yuengling. Yuengling is the oldest brewery in America, established in 1829. It is also quite a large volume brewery, though I never see the stuff where I live in the Midwest. They make around 8 varieties but the only one that you will find without searching is the lager. It is actually quite a good beer too, and down there it is generally cheaper than bud light or other common American beer. It is brewed in Pennsylvania where it has always been located.

My main experience with this medium bodied lager with a clean hop finish was golfing. It was a great addition to golfing as it is satisfying and not so light that you drink so much that you can no longer swing right. When I golf though, I like to have the taste of beer in my mouth a lot, and Yuengling was the answer to that need.

So if you are even in the eastern or southern US I would suggest that your first beer you order at the bar be a Yuengling, as it is the perfect beer to be having there, and at How to Drink a Beer we are always about having the best beer for the situation, or 10. For more information about the brewery visit their website at http://www.yuengling.com/

What are everyone else's experiences with Yuengling, or drinking in the southern US in general? I would love to hear what you have to say.

New posts to come after the weekend, but for now....

Well with my golf trip I am on now and a lot of drinking that I am getting done here I have a few posts that I will be writing soon. I would make one now but this hotel has terrible internet and you don't want to write a post and not get it saved right? But in the mean time I will just post a couple more links for your entertainment. Read up on them and have a beer for me, I will definitely be having one for you.


How to Chug a Beer

How to Drink Beer

How to Shotgun a Beer

Drinking Trip

Well currently I am on a golfing trip in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA. Expect a new post related to this trip soon. It should be up by Tuesday. Have a good weekend everyone and have a beer for me.

How to Drink a Beer News Reel

Top 7 Beer Movies Very similar to the list I made a few weeks ago

6 Stages from Fun to Death Good post from BeerBeer.org about the levels of drunkenness

Beer Sales up in Bad Times An article about how MillerCoors has seen an increase in sales, despite the bad economic times.

Fisker Karma This isn't beer related, I just can't get over how awesome this car is... Anyone want to buy me one?

Blogging Tips and Tricks

Well I now have been writing How to Drink a Beer for 3 months or so now so I felt that I should have a post to reflect on the experience and to share my blogging advice for others to learn from.

From what I have learned people like list formats of things so that is how I will do this.

1) Write about what you like - I like beer so that is why I write about it. Writing about something you do not truly like will most likely cause you to get bored and stop.

2) Don't get discouraged - At first you will find very few readers and it will take a lot of time and work to get your blog out there, but don't give up. Take your time and write interesting content and people will read it.

3) Keep new content up consistently - This does not mean you have to do a new post everyday (though that is good) but don't go a long period of time without a post, even if it is just a short little post your readers will appreciate it and it will help you grow your blog.

4) Don't blog to make money - I use adsense ads on my blog but that is just in hope that someday I will make money, but I do not get many clicks at all and really don't expect to ever get that many, but it would be nice. Still money is not the reason I blog, it is because I enjoy what I write about, you should write for that reason too.

5) Network with other bloggers or guest blog for another blogger - This can get you a good amount of traffic for the day the post is put up and can get you a few legitimate returning readers, which should be your ultimate goal

So those are what I have found helpful with creating How to Drink a Beer. I would love to hear what everyone else has done to help build your own blog. What has been you key(s) to success?

Working on a Post

Sorry for the delay between posts, after moving across the state this weekend I haven't had the time I thought I would to finish my next post. It is in progress though and should be up soon.

In the meantime everyone enjoy your beer and have another. Anybody have any comments or anything about beer they would like to say?

And for now a good pic I found of the Anheuser Busch line