How to Drink Like a Pro and Maintain Your Professionalism | Hacker News Reader

How to Drink Like a Pro and Maintain Your Professionalism

danleavitt.com

8 pointsDanLeavitt14 comments

<< When drinking beer, keep it classy. You can flush your reputation and any respect you’ve earned down the toilet by ordering a PBR or Keystone Light. Amstel Light is usually a safe choice. >> One could flush their reputation by ordering a PBR but not by Amstel Light? You can't be serious with your advice with stuff like this.

I totally agree. Amstel Light is obviously in the same category as Keystone and PBR. Adjunct light beers are adjunct light beers. Something without rice in it would be a good start.

I dunno, If i saw someone drinking Budweiser I'd be quite judgmental.

ahem, in all seriousness, in my part of the world Drinking is a huge part of the working and business culture. Does that apply in the US too? I work with some partners who pride themselves on getting you the most drunk they can

It does, but not as much as most every other culture. I've worked places where 2/3 or more of the employees would go out drinking 2+ nights a week and others where you'd think everyone was a recovering alcoholic.

I'd imagine positions that require a lot of networking and personal contacts (sales, Executive positions) would have more of this than your regular Joe grunt programmer.

Yea. In the UK this week I have 4 work related drink orientated engagements. Poor liver.

The advice isn't about beer snobbery, it's about fitting in. The author is spot on with his recommendations.

Amstel Light is an extremely common and perfectly respectable choice for the mid-ranking employees of my clients and partners when I take them out to a bar. (Senior decision makers generally get a dinner where it's wine and scotch all round.) Natty light, PBR and Keystone are not acceptable and will lead to comments, raised eyebrows and a sense that you don't quite belong.

Edit: It is, of course, all about branding and not a bit about the beer. Amstel has made themselves 'premium'; PBR did the opposite. If you're a connoisseur, as your profile says, then you can avoid the issue altogether by ordering a good craft beer. That's still keeping it classy. You'll just need to exercise more.

If you're only drinking because everyone else is drinking you're a sheep. People who would seriously judge you by what you do or don't drink are not worth knowing.

The original article, this thread and my comment are all in the context of business functions. Specifically, taking clients out and attending conferences. You may not like your clients, but, at times, you are obligated to spend time with them in order to advance or retain your employment.

Nobody is saying you have to drink light beer, just that if you're going to drink light beer, pick one that isn't associated with daytime drinking rednecks and frat houses.

We are talking about your employers and co-workers here, not your peer group. "Not worth knowing" is probably a bad attitude to have in these circumstances.

I define success in life as not having to worry about shit like this.

This piece leaves out the most important advice for staying respectable when drinking: EAT. There's a huge difference between 4 drinks on an empty stomach and 4 drinks on a full stomach.

One thousand times this. And it doesn't count if you eat after the first drink, and hors d'oeuvres are useless. You need to scarf down a burger, a couple of slices of bread, some rice, pasta, anything voluminous to line your stomach BEFORE that first sip. It makes all the difference.

We can simplify it and just say - get some carbs in your stomach before you take a sip!

I completely agree with the point about eating but I opted to focus on drinking behavior and interactions with the hope that people are smart enough to eat, or not show up dressed like a hobo for that matter. One could argue that the entire piece is mute because a person should not feel obligated to drink. In fact there are several celebrities that don't drink at all - Donald Trump, David Beckham, and Jennifer Lopez to name a few, but that's a conversation for another time. I merely wanted to draw attention to the fact that alcohol consumption plays a pivotal role in many business interactions and you rarely hear anyone emphasize how important it is that a person representing a company understands how to properly approach these scenarios.

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