Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale

Ok, this is more on-topic than off. Oh well. I guess I just hate to see the category neglected. Here's a link to an interesting article in the most recent Ale Street News about professional beer tasting and getting all boozed up.
Enjoy!
http://www.alestreetnews.com/articles/17_1_A17.htm

An interesting point.  I especially like where the writer was going regarding proving beer as a beverage to wine-drinkers.  As if they don't drink wine to get "cheerful."

Incidently, does the whole pink elephant = drunk thing come from the belgium beer Delerious Tremens?  I know they have had the elephants on their labels for a long time and that is one beer that can really impact you.

I don't think the author really "gets it".  "Drinking to get drunk" implies that your primary purpose in consuming the beverage is to achieve a buzz.  Often times (but not always), this means the consumer doesn't really care how the elixir tastes.  Hence the plethora of college kids (just an example, sorry to stereotype here) that drink crappy beer and admit that it tastes like crap, but its fine because they got drunk in the end and had a good time at the party. On the flip side, "drinking to get drunk" also suggests that there isn't really a point in having a pint of beer with dinner.  I guess it depends on whether you think of beer as just another beverage that should sit on the shelves alongside soda and juice, or as a "special" drink for adults to "use".  Even soda sometimes takes on this double persona: on one hand a beverage that goes well with pizza, and on the other hand a caffeine intake mechanism that keeps us going all day long.  The same could be said for coffee. And similarly, I'll make the analogy that decaf coffee and soda tastes about as good as NA beer.  Not because they are missing that special ingredient to get that fix, but because the substitutions don't keep the flavor the same.  All that said, after a rough week or a bad day, do I feel like escaping with the pink elephants.  Sure.  Would I drink yellow water in order to escape.  Getting the taste of that stuff in my mouth could only make my day worse.

Drinking for flavor and enjoyment is foremost, but its no coincidence that at the end of long day we choose alcohol over say, orange juice or seltzer water. Sure we're not looking to get hammered although it may, on rare occasion, actually happen. I tend to look at it like this: beer is pleasurable any way you cut it. From a historical and stylistic standpoint, to a pure aesthetic moment when you pour the perfectly beaded head, to its melange of flavors and aromas, and to the joy of knowing that there's another one waiting in the fridge. This being said, I'm not sure how many folks would drink beer if it didn't include alcohol in its chemical construction. Even if you're not "jolly" or even buzzed, that pint of bitter at dinner does tend to make the day's concerns a bit more palatable.

I agree.  I think the author's point of view is that we should not shy away from the fact that beer has alcohol in it.  In our PC culture, there as been a movement to sort of hide that (which is hard, given the big beer movement).  I also like beer from a lot of different angles, and the fact that it has alcohol, and I enjoy making it, is a factor.