# How much is too much beer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142 "2013-03-06T01:41:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/21 "2013-03-06T16:44:52Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > 1-3 beers a day is good for you > > [http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1088441583.html](http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1088441583.html) I find that site very reassuring, however, since it’s overwhelmingly alcohol-positive I am a bit wary to accept all of its facts as gospel. Is there another side that is not portrayed there? Are there studies that show moderate alcohol consumption to be universally harmful? Preferably not funded by MADD or similar, though… I would love to believe that 1-3 beers a day is not only not harmful, but actually beneficial. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/22 "2013-03-06T16:59:24Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > I would love to believe that 1-3 beers a day is not only not harmful, but actually beneficial. What’s stopping ya?😛 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/23 "2013-03-06T17:13:21Z")
“Too much beer”? 😕 Sorry, I can’t wrap my head around such a concept. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/24 "2013-03-06T17:20:01Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What’s stopping ya?😛 This nagging voice in the back of my head that tells me having alcohol regularly somehow makes me an alcoholic. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/25 "2013-03-06T17:23:07Z")
Your scale doesn’t go high enough so I voted more than 6. Throughout an entire day that isn’t that much. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/26 "2013-03-06T17:52:26Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > I find that site very reassuring, however, since it’s overwhelmingly alcohol-positive I am a bit wary to accept all of its facts as gospel. Is there another side that is not portrayed there? Are there studies that show moderate alcohol consumption to be universally harmful? Preferably not funded by MADD or similar, though… > > I would love to believe that 1-3 beers a day is not only not harmful, but actually beneficial. Here is another reassuring study: [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/27 "2013-03-06T17:57:22Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > This nagging voice in the back of my head that tells me having alcohol regularly somehow makes me an alcoholic. If you hear nagging voices, alcoholism may be the least of your problems.😛 ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/28 "2013-03-06T18:08:35Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Here is another reassuring study: [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html) Thank you! I’ll drink a cold one to that tonight! > [@kayaker](#): > > If you hear nagging voices, alcoholism may be the least of your problems.😛 To be fair, they tend to go away when I drown them in Scotch. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/29 "2013-03-06T18:10:37Z")
My bottles are liter-sized. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/30 "2013-03-06T18:14:15Z")
I voted 1 per week, but I don’t think it’s harmful to my health so much as harmful to my tastebuds. I probably average a beer a year. I just don’t like it and would prefer to consume my calories in a more enjoyable fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/31 "2013-03-06T19:24:42Z")
**How much is too much beer?** These words do not make sense together. Too much beer is like asking when you have too much love, or too much money. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/32 "2013-03-06T20:47:47Z")
The poll’s kind of messed up, really, in that it has beers per day. All kidding about my love of beer, you can never get too many, ha ha, aside, “per day” is not how most people drink beer. Beer consumption is generally done in bursts; even people who do drink beer every day will usually only have one or two, but then have weekends where they drink a dozen. There are exceptions, of course, but that’s generally how beer gets consumed, at least in Canada/the USA. So the answer, like most things, is that it’s too much if your budget, family, job, or waistline can’t handle it. I would say, though, that if you’re averaging more than 3 beers a day, you’re basically adding an extra meal every day; it would take a LOT of exercise to make that back. There’s a reason they call it a beer belly. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/33 "2013-03-06T20:50:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > …“per day” is not how most people drink beer. Per hour? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/34 "2013-03-06T20:56:49Z")
I’m picking up four new trappists on the way home, I’ll tell you tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/35 "2013-03-06T21:25:04Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > I’m picking up four new trappists on the way home, I’ll tell you tomorrow. Like. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/36 "2013-03-06T22:26:47Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The poll’s kind of messed up, really, in that it has beers per day. > > All kidding about my love of beer, you can never get too many, ha ha, aside, “per day” is not how most people drink beer. Beer consumption is generally done in bursts; even people who do drink beer every day will usually only have one or two, but then have weekends where they drink a dozen. There are exceptions, of course, but that’s generally how beer gets consumed, at least in Canada/the USA. I guess the poll is biased since I drink a bottle of beer daily except for the days I workout. Would it make a difference regarding your health if you drink seven beers one day every week or if you drink one beer every day? Maybe one concentrated attack on your liver is worse than a few minor attacks spread apart? ---
**Author:** ![WinterGreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/71c47a/32.png) [@WinterGreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WinterGreen)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/37 "2013-03-06T22:41:47Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > One thing with beer is that even if you’re not drinking enough to have serious health problems from the alcohol alone (yet), that’s a hell of a lot of extra calories. I suppose it’s up to you whether the resulting damage to one’s physique would count as a “serious” reduction in quality of life. _^_ That’s where my head’s @~:smack: Y waste life on Passing Pleasures – Let’s get right down to the satisfying stuff 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/38 "2013-03-06T22:47:01Z")
I voted more than six per day. I certainly don’t _average_ that much per day, but having six in a day, over the course of a day, once in a while, doesn’t seem like an issue to me. A long time ago, Dr. Dean Edell reported on the local TV news that safe limits were one drink an hour, four drinks a day, and 16 drinks a week. That embodies the idea that 16 drinks in a week is different than 16 drinks in a day, once per week (or downing a bottle of vodka in the course of an hour, once per week). ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/39 "2013-03-07T02:43:07Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > 1-3 beers a day is good for you > > [http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1088441583.html](http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1088441583.html) That article had no cites, so I went ahead and did some more research. I found [this article](http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2007/02/just_how_many_drinks_a_day_is.html) from 2007. A little old, but it’s very thoughtful and thorough. I’ll make a summary of it’s findings for those who don’t want to read it: 1. Wine and beer lowers bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol. 2. Wine increases antioxidant capacity. 3. Homocysteine (might cause heart disease) goes up, but it’s canceled out by some of the beneficial effects of wine, which may include B6, antioxidants, increased HDL and increased antioxidant capacity. 4. No serious effect on blood pressure if you drink less than one bottle of wine per day. One 750ml bottle of 13% alcohol wine has 77g alcohol. A 12oz bottle of beer with 5% alcohol has 14g alcohol. Therefore, one bottle of wine equals 5.5 bottles of beer. 5. You’re at risk for pancreatic disease if more than 30% of your daily caloric increase comes from alcoholic beverages, or if you drink around a bottle of wine per day for over 25 years. 6. Wine (and grapes and fruit) has resveratrol, which is good for a lot of shit. 7. **Conclusion:** 50g alcohol a day won’t harm you and might reduce cholesterol. 50g is half a 750ml bottle of wine, or 3.5 12oz bottles of beer. ---
**Author:** ![czarcaztic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@czarcaztic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/czarcaztic)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142/40 "2013-03-07T14:26:30Z")
Too much beer. I am having much difficulty comprehending the meaning of those words in that particular order. 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-too-much-beer/652142.md?page=3)