And here’s the story of the Irish brand. Good old Wikipedia: it doesn’t just help with the nasty things in life.
Magners is a bit on the sweet side; Strongbow and Dry Blackthorn are drier. But in pubs, there’s generally only one cider available. Strongbow, Dry Blackthorn, and Magners are the big three round here.
Drinking those will get you labelled as part of the underclass 
Strongbow or Blackthorn are the two most common draft ciders. These are ‘dry’, which seems to be the only draft cider you can get these days. There is also Westons, normally bottled (and more expensive in consequence) which comes in Sweet and Medium varieties, but also stronger and I can’t keep up with everyone else if I’m drinking it.
Strongbow and the like, yes, but Magners as well? If anything I’d say it labels you as an advertiser’s wet dream.
In case dalej42 hasn’t yet noticed, pub conversation tends to randomly wander from one irrelevant topic to the next 
So you don’t have to know how to make a long island iced tea to pass the bar exam? My lawyer can’t even make a good drink? Then what is he good for?
I love you lot. You’re my best mates. You and me, mate. 'Gainst the world. Yeah?
No, I already said that Magners is socially acceptable.
WhyNot writes:
> I was suddenly VERY popular with the local boys after my third cider.
Lots of men in the U.K. and Ireland are uncomfortable with the notion that a woman can drink more than a man. Some men think that a woman who drinks more than expected must be a slut. Some think that a man who drinks too little must be effeminate.
Also, if you go into the pub with a group, you’re expected to order in rounds, and one person will pay for all the drinks of each round.
I don’t know where you’ve been hanging out, but I’ve never met any.
There was a higher than normal alcohol-content beer (I forget which one now) being advertised with various slogans on the back of Sydney buses several years ago. I’ve forgotten most of the slogans, but they all indirectly said “this stuff will get you completely rat-arsed”, except some Nazi advertising standards mob would get heavy on them if they actually came out and said that, so they needed to imply it. The one slogan I remember was “TELL YOUR MATES YOU LOVE THEM”. Bloody classic. 
jjimm writes:
> I don’t know where you’ve been hanging out, but I’ve never met any.
Look at pages 259-260 (in the paperback edition) in Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour (published in 2004) by Kate Fox. (It’s the section called “You Are What You Drink” in the chapter called “Rules of Play”.) It’s by an English anthropologist who’s an expert on informal rules in English behavior. I’ve talked with native Brits who assure me that this is a very good summary of English life. I lived in England for three years and have been back there on vacation seven times. This matches my observations. I stand by my statement. It’s more true of working-class Brits than middle-class ones.
No, that that is not universally applicable. Sometimes yes, often no.
That may be true, me being middle class.
However, having lived here for 2/3 of my life, I think my observation of the subject might be a little more comprehensive than yours… Also, you can’t count Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or the Republic of Ireland into your book, since the cultures there are markedly different, and the Republic of Ireland is a different country altogether.
Spoken like a true Scotsman.
I suppose for an outsider, it’s more a case of “if you get offered a drink (a) accept, and (b) reciprocate”
jjimm writes:
> However, having lived here for 2/3 of my life, I think my observation of the
> subject might be a little more comprehensive than yours… Also, you can’t count
> Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, or the Republic of Ireland into your book,
> since the cultures there are markedly different, and the Republic of Ireland is a
> different country altogether.
By the same standard, your observations only apply to middle-class pubs in England, right? I gather that the years you’ve spent in the British Isles have mostly been with other middle-class people in Oxford. Is that not the case? I stand by my observation (based not just my own experience, but what various Brits have told me and what I’ve read) that many people in the British Isles believe that women are expected not to drink as much as men and that it’s considered a little odd when women drink a lot and men don’t drink very much.
Struan writes:
> No, that that is not universally applicable. Sometimes yes, often no.
True, it’s not universal. I was oversimplifying to explain things to an American who hadn’t been to the U.K. Let’s just say for now that an American shouldn’t be too surprised if, when he goes with a group to a pub, that ordering and paying will be done in rounds.
And some pubs will give you cashback if you pay for a round with a debit card. Which is very cool, since it lets you get cab & kebab money if you find yourself caught short.
But basically there is no answer to the OP - it’s like asking “What is a New York restaurant like”. There is such a vast number and variety that you just can’t answer. However, you can normally tell within five seconds of walking in the door if you have made a bad choice.
I would suggest that this is a rather antiquated view - certainly true of my parents’ generation (70s) and mostly NOT true of mine (30s and below). It may also be a view that also varies greatly across regions - I don’t where your experience comes from, but it’s certainly not true of mine
SanVito
Hard pint drinking female.
Yeah well you have to remember that we poverty stricken norveners aint as rich as what you suvverners is.
Any dosh left over after buying our bread and dripping for the week is for food for our ferrets, pigeons and Jack Russells.
Tha’ knows 