You guys must be heavy drinkers...

[Phil Pascoe]

At least now beer is marked with the ABV not the OSG it used to be. It was taxed on the sugar content not the alcohol content, so we had e.g. Guinness at 4.2% and Mackeson at 2.8% carrying the same tax, one being dry, one sweet. It is still I believe technically illegal to keep sugar on licenced premises as it could be added to draught beer to increase the (untaxed) proof. One of thousands of laws never repealed, another is that it still illegal to buy a round (WW1)

I had an Licenced Victuallers Annual from 1900 and the average proofs for ales and beers (using the normal modern distinction - ale being light beer being dark - rather than the more proper one - ale is hopped, beer isn't (iirc) were 8% and 6% respectively. Watney's Starlight use to be 2.1% ............ very nearly legal to sell to children. Making love in a punt. F***ing near water. Carling - formerly Carling Black Label was advertised as the Country's No.1 lager .......... when it wasn't lager at all, it was a beer - it was top fermented.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Getting back to French wine industry being hard hit by Brexit. The UK was [is?] the 2nd largest consumer of French wine in the world.
What is so attractive about French wine, red in particular, is the drinkability in that it generally not so heavy as new world wines and has lower alcohol levels.

On 2018 figures both Australia and the US export more to us than France. If the attraction of French wine is that it's weaker I'm sure the Australians would have noticed and made wine to suit. The figures are probably skewed by the proximity of France, rather than the quality of the lower end of the spectrum of French wine. The US produces huge bulk - I read some years ago that E&J Gallo turned out more "wine" than the whole of New Zealand.

 

[danst96]

It’ll definitely be Brexit’s fault as is all this snow we’ve had & why my porridge was runny this morning, everything’s brexits fault it says so on Facebook

Oh absolutely,

The statistics here suggest the overall alcoholism rate is only slightly behind the UK. On a day to day level, if college international exchange students are any indication, it does seem like post-dinner pub time is much more common there (or evening drinking) at a level that doesn't affect daily functioning.

We had a few exchange students in mathematics who thought that it was completely unreasonable that you could have assignments that may prevent you from drinking for a week or two. They attempted to ignore the workload (sloshing around after dinner no matter what) and went back to England early. I'm sure if you go up the ladder from the low first tier schools into the ivies, there would be more serious English students who don't drink during the week.

My spouse went to England for a semester (East Anglia? I can't remember the exact name of the school) and mid-week evening drinking was much more common.

The universities here have a lot of virtue signaling rubbish about drinking and often overreach their authority. One of the dumbest things here is sending kids off to college, having a drinking age 3 years later (though I understand the outcomes are better with the drinking age, I don't think it's worth limiting individual freedoms) than the starting college age, and then causing absurd trouble for college students who drink under age and never got remotely close to a car.

Speaking of, I had a Jack Daniels this evening point proved I guess

 

[selectortone]

I always thought they had a way of checking if you were watching television in your home, from a van on the road outside, or was that just a story put out to scare people?

That was in the old days when TVs had CRTs (cathode ray tubes). Detector vans detected the radiation put out by the scan coils that were part of the circuitry, which ran in that part of the circuit at 10kV or more. No more CRTs, no more detector vans.

 

[Rorschach]

That was in the old days when TVs had CRTs (cathode ray tubes). Detector vans detected the radiation put out by the scan coils that were part of the circuitry, which ran in that part of the circuit at 10kV or more. No more CRTs, no more detector vans.

Nope, detector vans were a PR campaign, they never had the technology to see if you were watching TV without a license, it was all made up.

EDIT: The BBC themselves admit that "detector vans" were not used in a single prosecution.

 

[D_W]

Oh absolutely,


Speaking of, I had a Jack Daniels this evening point proved I guess

I didn't know anyone in the UK would stoop to drinking American booze!!

 

[D_W]

At least now beer is marked with the ABV not the OSG it used to be. It was taxed on the sugar content not the alcohol content, so we had e.g. Guinness at 4.2% and Mackeson at 2.8% carrying the same tax, one being dry, one sweet. It is still I believe technically illegal to keep sugar on licenced premises as it could be added to draught beer to increase the (untaxed) proof. One of thousands of laws never repealed, another is that it still illegal to buy a round (WW1)

I had an Licenced Victuallers Annual from 1900 and the average proofs for ales and beers (using the normal modern distinction - ale being light beer being dark - rather than the more proper one - ale is hopped, beer isn't (iirc) were 8% and 6% respectively. Watney's Starlight use to be 2.1% ............ very nearly legal to sell to children. Making love in a punt. F***ing near water. Carling - formerly Carling Black Label was advertised as the Country's No.1 lager .......... when it wasn't lager at all, it was a beer - it was top fermented.

Guinness was always referred to here (while I was in college) as the beer that tastes like it should really make you loaded, but doesn't have that much alcohol in it.

My neighbor drinks bud light platinum - 6% in a light beer. I don't know what their moto is, but it should be "we took the last wee remaining amount of flavor out and replaced it with a little bit more alcohol".

He drinks several cases a week, though, so I get why he drinks what he drinks.

 

[Rorschach]

Guinness was always referred to here (while I was in college) as the beer that tastes like it should really make you loaded, but doesn't have that much alcohol in it.

My neighbor drinks bud light platinum - 6% in a light beer. I don't know what their moto is, but it should be "we took the last wee remaining amount of flavor out and replaced it with a little bit more alcohol".

He drinks several cases a week, though, so I get why he drinks what he drinks.

It's shame you can't get a good quality beer that isn't too strong. I really enjoy beer but even one pint is basically enough to put you over the limit for driving and I wouldn't want to take the risk anyway even if I was technically legal. I'd love to be able to have a pint of beer with dinner and not have to worry if I need to use the car later or in an emergency.

 

[artie]

And they are a real pain, you have a building without a TV licence ? You get non-stop letters reminding you that you need one, you tell them that you haven’t got a tv in your workshop, and then the pressure is put on,

I told them that I don't need a licence and they thanked me very much for letting them know and that they will check back with me in two years.

 

[selectortone]

Nope, detector vans were a PR campaign, they never had the technology to see if you were watching TV without a license, it was all made up.

EDIT: The BBC themselves admit that "detector vans" were not used in a single prosecution.

The technology definitely worked. I trained as a TV engineer in the 70s and I know that for a fact.

 

[danst96]

I didn't know anyone in the UK would stoop to drinking American booze!!

Oh no Jack Daniels is good for the money and nice to mix where you wouldn't mix a decent scotch.

 

[Cabinetman]

I was in Pennsylvania last year up untill July, and like on previous trips I was quite shocked at how much a bottle of wine costs, of course the state imposes taxes, but still from memory it was about $10 a bottle and up – they were the cheap ones. And as was said America produces a vast quantity of wine.

 

[PetePontoValentino]

<SNIP> I don't watch the overproduced rubbish on TV</SNIP>

That says quite a lot about your opinion of American TV.

The idea behind a license fee is that production is funded without the need for advertising so viewers do not spend half of their time watching promotions for toilet brushes and carpet cleaners.

That's the idea, whether you like it or not is another story. Personally, I don't mind as the fee's are not so much money anyway.

 

[PetePontoValentino]

I was in Pennsylvania last year up untill July, and like on previous trips I was quite shocked at how much a bottle of wine costs, of course the state imposes taxes, but still from memory it was about $10 a bottle and up – they were the cheap ones. And as was said America produces a vast quantity of wine.

A bottle of the Glenmorangie limited edition "A Tale of Cake" arrived here yesterday. I am not a big whiskey drinker, perhaps having a small glass every few months. I found this one stunning with three glasses yesterday evening. It's not cheap but I am already considering ordering more so I have a decent supply

 

[Trainee neophyte]

I quite like the Mediterranean approach to alcohol - it is all about the food. Your drink is either an aperitif to get the digestive juices flowing, an important part of the meal itself, or an aid to digestion after the big event. Getting drunk is not the aim of the game, unlike in the UK where " eating is cheating".

Drinking every day is considered perfectly normal, because you eat every day. Drinking without eating is forbidden (it will do colossal damage to your system, and you may even die, I have been informed.)

 

[Rorschach]

The technology definitely worked. I trained as a TV engineer in the 70s and I know that for a fact.

No it didn't.

Is it possible to see whether a TV is on, certainly you can scan for the frequencies emitted. Is it possible to pinpoint a TV in use to a precision sufficient to secure a prosecution? Absolutely not, which is why a prosecution was never made using detector van evidence. It was a scare tactic, nothing more.

 

[Rorschach]

I quite like the Mediterranean approach to alcohol - it is all about the food. Your drink is either an aperitif to get the digestive juices flowing, an important part of the meal itself, or an aid to digestion after the big event. Getting drunk is not the aim of the game, unlike in the UK where " eating is cheating".

Drinking every day is considered perfectly normal, because you eat every day. Drinking without eating is forbidden (it will do colossal damage to your system, and you may even die, I have been informed.)

The Spanish, or certainly the Catalans have a similar attitude. When visiting a friend there he would always produce some food when we had a drink, even if it was just some crisps, cheese, sausage etc. He never had drink unless it was with food or while waiting for food to be ready.

 

[alex_heney]

The interesting part to us as americans is that you can be subject to inspection to see if you are watching any live TV and then fined if it's discovered you are. At this point, it sounds like even if you watch live events on the internet, even foreign sporting events or something, you are violating the license terms.

I do remember from that discussion that you can opt out, but to say the very least, the terms are extremely absurd. You don't want any BBC products? Fine. You can't watch anything from halfway around the world on the internet, either, unless it was taped earlier. Very soviet.

And very not true.

You need a licence if you want to watch anything broadcast over the air or streamed at the same time as it is broadcast. Or if you want to watch anything on iPlayer (the BBC's own streaming service). But you can watch anything else streaming, whether live or not, without any requirement for a licence.

And they can only enter your house to inspect if they get a warrant, for which they have to provide sufficient eveidence for a judge to believe it probable you are watching without a licence.

There are no terms for opting out. You just don't buy a licence if you don't need one. They will occasionally send you letters, to which you don't have to respond, but if you do, and tell them you don't need a licence, then they will leave it a year or two before sending another.

 

[artie]

And they can only enter your house to inspect if they get a warrant, for which they have to provide sufficient eveidence for a judge to believe it probable you are watching without a licence.

Even if they have, and I don't know what possible evidence they could show a judge to obtain one, a warrant to enter your premises what good is it going to do them.
Is anyone going to be daft enough to watch TV in their presence.

 

[Rorschach]

Even if they have, and I don't know what possible evidence they could show a judge to obtain one, a warrant to enter your premises what good is it going to do them.
Is anyone going to be daft enough to watch TV in their presence.

Hundreds of thousands every year are daft enough to incriminate themselves unfortunately.