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Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

wsj.com

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Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#201

Post by tevon »

soligern wrote: post #185
quaffapint wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have been on the hunt for the past year in the mid-atlantic area of the US looking for Moosehead for example makes a Moosehead Light for the states at 4%, but they also offer Cracked Canoe which is only 3.2% but not sold in the states (available in the Canada, UK and Costa Rica of all places where I tried it).

What are you talking about? Almost all Pilsners and lagers, even from craft breweries come in under 4%

No chance, next restaurant you're at, 95% chance they don't have a single beer under 4.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#202

Post by veilrap »

thumbuddy wrote: post #31
hash872 wrote: post #7

Wasn't synthetic alcohol part of the Star Trek mythos? It's been a long time since I've watched TNG but I seem to remember it was part of their world, at one point I have a vague memory of someone handing Picard a bottle of 'real' alcohol and him being amazed- 'this is the real stuff??' he asks? Or something to that effect. Maybe that's what Guinan was always serving at the Enterprise 'bar', synthetic alcohol. (Does…

So synthesized ethanol will be the same in every respect as purified naturally sourced ethanol except perhaps down to the balance of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen isotopes. But yes startrek was/awesome regardless.

I’m pretty sure “Synthol” in Star Trek is more of a synthetic alcohol alternative of unspecified chemical composition, rather than just synthetic alcohol.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#203

Post by archi42 »

Nihilartikel wrote: post #122

Reading about this venture to make anf popularize GABA tickling drug without the self limiting ill effects is worrying in the long term. Such things exist, and sure, one is fine.. but one a day for a week and then you are heading for an undescribably hellish withdrawal. I had a brief dalliance with Phenibut for anxiety self medication. It targets GABA receptors, and boy does it work. But read about it in the forums a…

This is also what surprises me: No hangover and no liver damage are great, but doesn't say anything about physiological or psychological addiction. Especially since the lack of any short-term negative feedback loop (alcohol poisoning, vomiting, or at least a hangover) makes forming problematic consumption patterns much more likely.

OTOH, "one a day for a week" is very unspecific: Is that the equivalent of drinking a six-pack or two every day, alone; or gathering with friends to taste a literal sip (e.g. 5ml) of spirit? Do they act equally (not only in strength but also in decay and other factors - maybe the medicament has a booster or some chemical delay). Is there a selection bias among people who (self-)medicate, do they have traits or common environmental factors that make negative outcomes more likely?

I don't want to overly defend this, since in my usual peer-group bringing that stuff to a gathering would feel a lot like "let's do drugs together!" (only few gatherings involve drinking any amount of alcohol) and I personally don't want to figure out empirically that instead of a hangover this triggers even a light depression (or worse) - but the comparison still seems a bit simplistic to me.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#204

Post by thumbuddy »

veilrap wrote: post #202
thumbuddy wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So synthesized ethanol will be the same in every respect as purified naturally sourced ethanol except perhaps down to the balance of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen isotopes. But yes startrek was/awesome regardless.

I’m pretty sure “Synthol” in Star Trek is more of a synthetic alcohol alternative of unspecified chemical composition, rather than just synthetic alcohol.

Ohhhh I see. Well in that case it'd be similar to the article I which case I am a doofus. Yes. Yes. Ignore me :)

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#205

Post by xyzelement »

Not a big drinker but I find that I have a hangover from wine (sulfites?) and beer (carb overload?) but not tequila or mezcal. If I want to have a celebratory drink with dinner, mezcal is the no-regret-tomorrow choice at least for me. Plus being well hydrated.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#206

Post by barbazoo »

thisgoesnowhere wrote: post #143
miduil wrote: post #109

I've been three+ years sober, really can recommend. Life is much different now, things that used to be fun aren't anymore - but I'm making strong connections nevertheless.

I think we are overcorrecting to the extremes. You don't have to be sober or crippling drunk you can have a drink once in a while and it's fine.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with overcorrecting towards sobriety or is there an objective downside I'm missing?

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#207

Post by archi42 »

eatonphil wrote: post #29
1ba9115454 wrote: post #10

I've switched to alcohol free beers. They're a bit sweeter but for me it's fine.

Likewise! I'm trying not to drink much anymore. But I always want something cold and fizzy. So it's a switch between refrigerated carafes of water, seltzer, and zero-alcohol beers. Although I feel incentivized not to have even the zero-alcohol beers since it's still 60 calories. While the seltzers I find are 0. Any beer recommendations? I haven't tried much outside of the locally-supplied zero-alcohol Heineken and Co…

The Bitburger NA with the blue branding is good. Don't be fooled if you don't like the normal Bitburger, imho their NA is much better :P OTOH, if you happen to like Bitburger, they also have a newer "dry NA" variant with green branding, that tastes much more like their alcoholic beer. No idea about international availability, but at least a slight chance.

For wheat beer, the bigger German what beer breweries offer a NA variant these days, and those are quite good. I'm thinking of Erdinger and Paulaner, which are probably your best bet internationally. Don't tell anyone I know, but my secret recommendation however is Öttinger NA wheat beer. Those are cheap and taste very good (fellow Germans: If you don't believe me, do a blind tasting). But don't ever the mistake of buying or even drinking their normal Pilsner/Export beer - those taste like pi... ;-)

If you're ever in Germany, is "Mönchshof Radler Alkoholfrei". Radler is "shandy", a mixture of beer and lemonade. I've yet to meet anyone who likes beer but not this.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#208

Post by Nursie »

bluefishinit wrote: post #4

I love my IPAs but I have to admit that the UK does social beer right. 3% or even 2.5% ales are the way to go if you want to socially drink. We have a concept of a "session" beer in the US, which is lower ABV but the selection of really good, really low gravity beers is the best in the UK as far as I can tell.

Here in Australia there is a distinct section of the market for ‘Mid’ beers at about 3-3.5%, and decent beer places usually have one available. Often brown ales, though there are lagers, pales etc too.

Makes a nice change of pace. Plus you can usually have one (and just one) and still drive.

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#209

Post by clove »

AndyKelley wrote: post #172
nightfly wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's not fun anymore?

* spending the evening playing video games that I've already spent a ton of hours on and am not getting any kind of new experience out of anymore * hanging out at a bar and talking to intoxicated people * house parties In exchange, new things are fun: * skateboarding * learning Japanese * building an arcade cabinet in my basement (I'm a software developer, very little experience with wood working and other hardware s…

* skateboarding

* learning Japanese

* building an arcade cabinet in my basement (I'm a software developer, very little experience with wood working and other hardware stuff)

* waking up in the morning and being excited for the day

I don't know about building an arcade cabinet, but all of these other things are both more fun and more efficient with alcohol. All of the Japanese I have learnt has been due to alcohol. You also are more daring when drunk, so you'll push yourself harder when learning skateboarding.

Sounds like the things that are "not fun" were pointless activities in the first place and you're blaming alcohol for having chosen yourself to waste your time.i

Re: Alcohol without the hangover – scientists are finding ways

#210

Post by wittyusername »

ZBiotics is a really exciting biotech startup that makes a GMO probiotic that digests Acetaldehyde, a byproduct of alcohol consumption that is a large part of hangovers. Personally think they reduce the effect of drinking by about 40%.

www.Zbiotics.com

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