Q: Is the phrase “Beer before liquor, never sicker – liquor before beer, in the clear” accurate, and if so, why?
A:The original advice of liquor before beer is usually given to people who are beginning drinkers or those who drink infrequently. A 120 pound female who drinks for the second time in her life would probably get drunk and sick if she were to drink a few beers and then do a few shots. That is because of the rate of absorption of the alcohol. A common mistake is that while teens or inexperienced people drink, they feel like the alcohol is not doing anything for them. Then, by doing shots or making stronger drinks, they try to “catch up” to their friends. As a result, they can go from a relative buzz to being belligerent because of the amount of time it takes for the alcohol to enter your bloodstream. By then, it is usually too late. The person may have the spins, vomit, black out, pass out, suffer from further alcohol poisoning, or even die.
Experts say that the order in which you drink the two types of alcohol doesn’t matter; it’s the amount you drink that can lead to an unpleasant awakening the following morning. The important factor is how much and how fast you drink, not the act of mixing, although common sense would tell you having a pina colada, gin and tonic, and beer will probably not settle well in the stomach.
Alcohol is alcohol; therefore, whether you’re having beer, wine, vodka or gin, you’re just adding more alcohol to your stomach. The form in which you ingest it doesn’t really matter. Liquor is the purest form of alcohol. Vodka can be made with anything from potatoes to rye, while gin is usually distilled from white grains and juniper berries. Beer, on the other hand, is typically composed of water, malt, sugar, yeast and hops, which gives beer its bitter flavor. There is still some controversy over whether congeners – impurities created during the process of beer fermentation – factor into hangovers. Beer has a bunch of things in it, congeners may have an effect in contributing to hangovers, but it’s debatable. The “beer before liquor” myth is largely perpetuated by drinking games, which the end result in being dangerously drunk or getting sick.
The safest course of action is to abstain, delay your personal use of alcohol until you are older, or drink moderately. Getting drunk is due to your body’s inability to process alcohol out of your system faster than you are putting it in. Drinking games, shots, and funnels all contribute to dangerous drinking for that reason.
