beer at lunch

[studentofbeer]

i think im going to head over to goose for a quick treat of beer at lunch. its friday after all. what do you all think-- is lunch beer socially acceptable?

[threecb]

Beers on lunch on Fridays used to be the norm for me when I was younger.

Now I abstain from alcohol if I have to go back to work. But I do get tempted from time to time...

[Jeff]

In the United States or should I say the midwest I don't think beer at lunch is very accepted for business folk. Personally I think it is a travesty. I do occasionally have a beer at lunch during work, but only with other coworkers or understand and will have one too. Never with a client or boss.

[Fast_Eddy]

I think absolutely a beer at lunch is fine. On a rare occassion even two is okay.

[Theakston]

Beer at lunch, especially on Friday, was a tradition in England.

Not so in the USA.- it would definitely be frowned on and I have never had one or seen other people I work with grabbing one at lunch in the 14 years I've been living here. In fact my last company had a policy that explicitly forbade it.

Big change in culture. My office building in England had its own private pub for employees! With very good draft cask ales at lower than pub prices! I can't see that happening over here any time soon:mad:

[Wilson]

I spent sevaral years in New Orleans, and it was quite common for people to have a few drinks/beers with lunch, both blue and white collar. Wish I still lived there.

[b3s]

i've never seen what the BFD is about beer at lunch...a good beer, with a decent meal, just seems to be more palatable.

i know, it's not really all that socially acceptable in the good ole US of A...and more's the pity.

that said, yeah, sometimes i'll have a nice ale at lunch...just goes well.

[newportstorm]

My last two employers over the past 5-6 years have forbidden alcohol during work hours. But when I am on the road for the day, a lunch beer is usually indulged in. What they don't know won't hurt them.

Cheers!

[steveh]

I used to have a beer with lunch once in a while, but I just can't do it any more. Beer is my relaxation trigger - I'd get back to work and not want to do a thing. Come to think of it...this board has a somewhat similar effect!!

Billable hours, billable hours...

Cheers!
S.

[brewmonkey]

I would think it would matter on where you work and what the policy is.

[Brownbeard]

I work for a software company as a support tech. We had a lunch last week to celebrate finishing a big server farm transfer. Everyone else ordered soda. I decided to order a pint of Guinness. I was sitting right next to the boss. He just smiled, and everyone else looked really jealous.

[studentofbeer]

well, beer at lunch was good. a pint of cask goose honkers did the trick, and my friend had a pint too. now its back to work, which is ok. its a nice thing to get out, have some food and a pint-- a little relaxation. i agree, this board is probably more responsible for delaying work than a pint or two. alcohol at my job is pretty well accepted-- we knock off early at least once a month for drinks, tho usually not beer. interesting to see what different people in different regions think, though.

[chazwicke]

As an employer of 15, I would prefer that my people do not drink at lunch. I do not prohibit it though. On the other hand I don't either for the reasons Steveh stated. It make me too tired in the afternoon. That said, I do keep beer in the office fridge. Sometimes after work we indulge here in the office. I also routinely give beers to several of my employees to take home and sample. I have also brought growlers into the office. I have to be very careful though as an employer because If something happened as a result of an employee drinking at work, I could possibly be held liable. All of that said, My employees know of my passion for beer and my office walls are covered with framed lithos and posters of breweries. I just counted 30 of them. They know of my collection of breweriana and my need to travel for beer. They often bring me beers they have found in thier travels. We have a laid back atmosphere here and I have very loyal, long term people so I would not punish them for a beer or two at lunch.

[Richard English]

Can I just check my understanding here?

Are you saying that, in the USA, there are people around who don't go to the pub for a pint at lunchtime?

I didn't realise that there are people around who live such impoverished lives!

[Brownbeard]

I rarely have time to go anywhere for lunch. I take 30 minutes to eat and get back at it. On those rare occasions when I do go anywhere but fast food for lunch, I get a pint. I would never indulge in more than one, because I would be sleeping at my desk if I did. The US is very different than many countries when it comes to lunch time, vacation time, and time off work in general. I have several EU friends who think it is crazy that 2 weeks vacation a year is normal for us. We work too much in this country and relax too little. Gotta be the best ya know. (noting sarcasm in case it was not noted by the reader) I for one am a believer in the siesta.

[Saint Patrick]

... the only problem I see with having a beer at lunch (outside of the some obvious reasons) is that its always hard to just have one .. kind of like potato chips. ;)

[Saint Patrick]

Brownbeard, my boss would have smiled as well -- although, he probably would have been having one along side of me. Cheers!

[b3s]

well, i've never seen the harm of a pint with lunch, like i said...and i've done that many times in the past...but i agree with brownbeard...as a species, americans are so uptight about relaxation. i've never understood that. one doesn't have to work 3,000 hours in a year, have ulcers, and die an early death to be competitive!

heh, and if one did...i guess i'd rather not compete!

[ron]

At my last two jobs, 2 beers at lunch was acceptable, even encouraged, to keep us techie-types happy and productive.

However, my new company is considerably more conservative and, while they all love to drink after hours, alcohol is not allowed on lunch.

My opinion: beer, in moderation, is acceptable on one's lunch break.

[hops99]

Yeah, I don't see the problem with having a pint or two at lunch, depending on the situation. But, I get a kick out of employers who'll let their employees smoke a pack of cigs through the day, or even allow them to chew tobacco, but beer is off limits. I don't smoke, but I'd have to think that excessive amounts of nicotine doesn't exactly make you think clearer as the day goes on. Hell, what about the folks who guzzle 10 cups of highly caffeinated coffee a day? More power to them, but that much caffeine, to some, is a detriment.

Now, having said that, I also agree that I'd have a hell of a time staying awake at my desk if I had a pint or two mid-day. I don't think it would bother me if I was working outdoors, though.

[skahtboi]

Originally posted by Brownbeard
I have several EU friends who think it is crazy that 2 weeks vacation a year is normal for us.

Hell! I think it is crazy that 2 weeks a year vacation is crazy!!! Of course, that was one reason why 12 years ago I gave up the "big bucks" of the private sector and became an educator!

[Saint Patrick]

I think we've got a case for "beer discrimation" .. heck it might make some people at work more a little more friendly and less tightly wound. I agree with the coffee and cigs deal ... my co workers go about this all day ... it may be different at some of your work places ... but sometimes I feel as though I should get a longer lunch ... in leiu of all the coffee and butt breaks they have. ;) They are good folk though, work can be nutty sometimes, sometimes its their way of getting away from the madness.

[chazwicke]

That's why I am a figurehead. Ever wonder why I have so much time to post here? And I live for travel. Travel for me always involves beer.

[chazwicke]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Saint Patrick


By the way St. Pat, What are you drinking tonight? I'm having Coniston Bluebird. You having Harp?

[Saint Patrick]

chazwicke, you guessed it, and I've got plently coolin' in the crisper of my frig - should get me through the weekend.

http://adianelanefan.com/irish/harplager12.gif

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Saint Patrick
chazwicke, you guessed it, and I've got plently coolin' in the crisper of my frig - should get me through the weekend.



St Pat - I have to say - use some imagination man...enough already with drinkin Harp all the time. Buy some Guinness or Beamish or Murphy's, if you have to keep it Irish.

MY tastebuds are getting bored with the beer your drinking :rolleyes:

[Saint Patrick]

I guess I am a creature of habit Fast_Eddy ... but I will take your advice and give some others a try this weekend ...

As for your tastebuds being bored with my beer ... tell them not to worry ... YOU have spoken to me and I will right the ship ;)

[Bryant]

Originally posted by studentofbeer
i think im going to head over to goose for a quick treat of beer at lunch. its friday after all. what do you all think-- is lunch beer socially acceptable?

I personally would never drink any alchohol at lunch. I am a technician that has to repair industrial machinery if it fails and I need 100% of my mental capacity. Of course, if my job weren't as demanding, I don't see a problem with one or two with a belly-full of food.

Bryant

[Richard English]

Interestingly, though, in the UK we work the longest hours and have the fewest holidays (both public and personal vacations) of any EC country. Maybe it's something to do with speaking English - a thing we have in common with the USA but with only one other European country.

We also have some of the best beer - so there's a compensation!

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Richard English
Interestingly, though, in the UK we work the longest hours and have the fewest holidays (both public and personal vacations) of any EC country. Maybe it's something to do with speaking English - a thing we have in common with the USA but with only one other European country.

We also have some of the best beer - so there's a compensation!

Richard, what's the opinion of the English about having a pint for(with) lunch? Assuming a non-dangerous type job...

[Richard English]

It's very common here (although maybe less common than it was but that's just a guess). Pubs are always packed at lunchtime and there is no stigma attached to social lunchtime drinking.

Drunkenness at work is frowned upon and would usually be a sackable offence. In certain jobs (such as public transport) alcohol consumption is forbidden and any drink or drugs detected (random screening takes place) is ground for instant dismissal.

[Summer]

In Finland it's not common to have a pint at lunch. It's not forbidden by employers (I guess), and I remember when I was a child, people used to have beer with lunch more often (like my dad). Nowadays if you have beer with lunch someone might disapprove it.

I used to work in Ireland, and there it was very common. Especially my older colleagues had a pint or two at lunch. I had couple times too, but I noticed it makes me a bit tired, so I don't do it anymore. And, of course, I'm back in Finland...

J.

[Stodbrew]

It's funny because my wife and most of our friends all work in high tech. Drinking at lunch is frowned upon. In fact, they can get fired for it. Sometimes, they'll come into the pub to have lunch with me and I'll be sure to make them jealous by having a pint or two with my lunch. After all, it is technically my job!:D

Cheers!

Steve

[barley ben]

I drive Tractor trailers locally for a living, so I guess that's why my employer may frown upon having a pint or two at lunch time. D.O.T. isn't a real big fan of it either!!!

[unkle bik]

None for me, thank you.
1. It's my employer's time, not mine.
2. I need both of my brain cells functioning to work (or post here).
3. Funny, the times I have, it made me sleepy. At home, I have no problem drinking a beer @ lunch & remaining attentive.
4. If I can't go 8-10 hours without one, then I must have a problem.

[Martyartie]

For British journalists, the long liquid lunch used to be almost obligatory (the UK satirical magazine Private Eye invented a Fleet Street journalist called Lunchtime O'Booze to epitomise the national newspaper reporter) but the arrival of the computer changed it all for ever - you can still fly a manual typewriter after several pints, but any more than about a pint and a half (Imperial) at lunchtime and I can feel my performance at the computer deteriorate when I get back.

[chazwicke]

It tended to make me sleepy as the afternoon wore on. I have not done it in years. I do recall one Friday lunch back about 1992 or so a co worker and I discovered hurricanes at a local New Orleans style restraunt. they tasted so good and cold going down that we ended up drinking 6 each. We were so smashed when we got back to work that he lost his job over it. (He worked for a different company than I did) My boss at the time laughed and told me how she had done the same thing one time a couple years earlier. Needless to say, I learned not to drink hurricanes at lunch.