[morgan814]

> The point of drinking is to get a buzz

Once a week I hit the local pub for exactly one pint. Usually preferring lower ABV. Why do I stop there? Anymore than that gives a buzz that I usually am not in the mood for. I’m sure one drink has some effect on me, but not enough to consciously realize it.

> Most alcoholic drinks taste bad anyway

Speak for yourself. Beer is hands down one of the tastiest damn drinks. I seriously love German and British styles for their flavor and low ABV. They make great casual drinks.

You don’t like alcohol. That’s fine. And, honestly, you’re likely healthier for it. But claiming that people drink just to get drunk - I stopped doing that in college.

[wakawaka28]

I think you're crazy, but I guess there are people who drink piss so why should I be surprised that someone likes the taste of beer?

Seriously, many people who like alcohol have told me exactly what I just said. There are tastier drinks out there if you're after flavor. Alcohol is for getting a buzz, or fitting in with people who like the buzz.

I feel the same way about black coffee. Who would drink that if not for the caffeine? Better drinks are abundant.

[morgan814]

While I certainly drink coffee for the caffeine, black coffee is 100% my preference. Sugar in coffee tastes absolutely horrid to me. Milk is fine but it doesn’t do much for me.

People taste things differently and it’s at least partly genetic. See TAS2R38 for example [0]. It’s fascinating how we all perceive the world a little differently.

Years ago, long before I was of age, a science museum had a little demo on this (not sure if it was related to the aforementioned gene or not) using strips of paper with some chemical on it. Some people were pretty grossed out by the flavor. It didn’t bother other people at all, including myself.

On the flip side of things I’m highly sensitive to sweetness and find anything other than the smallest amounts to be off putting.

[0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6949464/