Can Beer Get You Drunk?

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Different beer consumers are affected differently by the amount they consume. Some hardcore drinkers won’t show any intoxication results, even after their third or fourth beer. So, can beer get you drunk? Read on to find out. 

Can Beer Get You Drunk?

Yes, beer can get you drunk. However, this depends on the amount of alcohol consumed, body weight, food consumption, consumption time, ABV (alcohol by volume), and alcohol metabolism. For instance, you are likely to get drunk faster when you consume a beer with a high ABV value.

Two men looking at their beer bottles wondering if it's strong enough to get them drunk

On the other hand, it might be hard to get drunk on a single beer after increasing your body weight and the quantity of food you consume before drinking the particular beer. Even if you consume the beer for an hour, the alcohol content in your blood system will still rise to 0.08%, and you can be considered already drunk.

How Does the Body Metabolize Alcohol?

Normally, alcohol will slowly pass the stomach when you consume it on a full stomach. This happens because the stomach has much more important work in digesting food rather than alcohol. On the other hand, consuming it on an empty stomach increases gut motility, thus getting you drunk at a relatively faster rate.

In the stomach, the alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, whereby it is distributed to other body organs. The most crucial organ where the alcohol passes through is the liver, where it is also broken down. After reaching the liver, the alcohol is broken down into acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme found in the liver.

Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (another enzyme) further breaks down the acetaldehyde to acetic acid. The body cells further break down this acid into water and CO2, and it escapes the body through breathing and urinating.

Factors Affecting Alcohol Metabolism

Alcohol metabolism in your body is affected by several factors. Some of these factors are explained below.

Man drinking a glass of beer
  • Bodyweight: You will undoubtedly get more drunk faster if your body has less tissue for absorbing alcohol. Typically, a vast body will give the alcohol more diffusion space.
  • Sex: Male and female bodies usually metabolize alcohol at different rates. For instance, females have more body fat which tends to hold the alcohol for more extended periods. In addition, they have less water and few enzymes in their bodies for diluting and metabolizing the alcohol.
  • Age: Metabolism slows down with age. The percentage of body fat increases with a decrease in the amount of body water. This controls how alcohol is processed in your body and its impact on you.
  • Alcohol type: Alcohol percentage is different in different types of liquors. For instance, fizzy and bubbly drinks such as soda mixes and champagne, and high alcohol content liquors and beer can get you drunk faster, because they are absorbed faster into the body.
  • Drinking rate: Taking large gulps of beer instead of sipping increases the alcohol absorption rate, thus getting you drunk faster. If you’re drinking shot after shot, following a chaser, you might not notice how much you’ve already consumed.
  • Food in the stomach: The rate of alcohol absorption slows down when your stomach is full. Typically, alcohol gets rapidly absorbed into the body on an empty stomach, thus making you drunk at a faster rate.
  • Medication: There are certain types of medications that affect how your body absorbs and interacts with alcohol.
  • Overall health: Health conditions, especially on the liver or kidneys, impact how your body absorbs, processes, and eliminates alcohol from your system.

Can You Get Drunk Faster?

Yes, you can. If you want to get drunk faster on your beer, consider applying the tips below next time you are drinking.

Three men sitting on the couch and drinking beer straight out of the bottles
  • Use a vaping tube to smoke alcohol fumes after boiling it. You can alternatively mix dry ice with the alcohol to make the fumes.
  • Drink it faster. Gulping down the beer in large quantities over a short period will undoubtedly get you plastered faster. Drinking a pack of 12-ounce beer cans will definitely make you drunk faster.
  • Take a beer with high alcohol content. Consider drinking the beers with at least 15% alcohol to get drunk faster.
  • Drink alcohol on an empty stomach. The alcohol will be absorbed faster into the blood since the stomach has no other work than to process it.

Related Questions

Most amateur drinkers have a lot of questions as to whether beer gets one drunk. Some of these questions are outlined below, alongside their answers.

What Happens When You Consume Cold Beer?

After taking a cold beer, the blood generates heat and absorbs more ethyl alcohol to optimize the body’s temperature. This gets you drunk much quicker.

What About Consuming a Cocktail?

Adding juice or soda to your alcohol reduces its bitterness while convincing you that you are taking more juice/soda than alcohol. For this reason, you might end up drinking more; thus, you get intoxicated quickly. In addition, some distillates such as spirits increase the alcohol content in your beer.

Can You Mix Tequila With Beer?

Yes, you can. Tequila has approximately 50% of alcohol content. Adding a few shots of tequila into your beer will get you drunk faster.

Conclusion

The ability of a standard beer to get you drunk depends on several factors. Whereas some drinks can be stronger compared to others, excessive drinking such as taking 100 shots successively can lead to intoxication. Drink responsibly and avoid the wheel when drunk.