XPost: alt.beer 
 From: dgs1300@hotmail.com 
  
 NYC XYZ wrote: 
  
 > Yes yes I know I'm just basing my opinions on stereotypes... 
  
 Yep.  A little lame, too, without the benefit of experience.  Even 
 within a given country, there can be a range of experiences.  The pub 
 and drinking culture in, say, Munich, is quite different from the pub 
 and drinking culture in Bamberg, yet both are cities in the German state 
 of Bavaria. 
  
 > but there 
 > just isn't the same "reverence" for alcohol in some cultures as opposed 
 > to others... 
  
 It isn't about "reverence."  It's about traditions, whether developed 
 over a very long time - as in much of Europe - or adopted more recently 
 by settlers from elsewhere, as in North America. 
  
 > China is only, unfortunately, just adopting a "bar culture" 
 > now, but still casual conversation is about good places to eat, not 
 > good places to get blasted (which I would agree may mostly be an 
 > American phenomenon). 
  
 East Asians like the Chinese don't have similar drinking traditions as 
 the West for a variety of reasons.  One of them is that excessive 
 drinking is frowned upon, partly because the same genetics that give 
 most eastern Asian native peoples their appearance also contribute to 
 how they process alcohol.  Nearly half of all have a mutation in the 
 gene for aldehyde dehydrogenase, for instance, and this has an effect 
 on how their bodies process alcohol. 
  
 > So I'm not talking "descriptively" as much as "culturally"... 
  
 Cultures vary.  You might, for instance, note that there is a rather 
 significant proportion of the earth's peoples who have virtually no 
 alcohol tradition at all, due to religious proscriptions. 
  
 > I 
 > certainly don't mean that I'd bet money any given Irishman is a drunk 
 > compared to any, say, Korean 
  
 To even consider that, you'd have to look at rates of alcoholism and 
 compare between the two countries (and cultures).  Fact is, per-capita 
 alcohol consumption in Ireland is substantially higher, particularly 
 when it comes to beer drinking.  Per capita, Ireland is one of the top 
 ten beer-drinking nations in the world.  China and Korea aren't any- 
 where near the top ten, and even if beer consumption continues to 
 increase in China, it will probably never be a top-ten per-capita 
 consumer.  (Aggregate consumption is another story, as should be 
 expected given a population of 1.2 billion.) 
  
 Got Google? 
  
 >  or some African, say (is alcoholic consumption 
 > "revered" in any of those cultures?)... 
  
 Some African cultures have their own indigenous traditional fermented 
 beverages, but they're not very well-known outside their home 
 territories. 
  
 > all I mean is that Jack 
 > Daniel's, Budweiser, etc., probably do more business per capita in 
 > northwestern Europe than they do elsewhere, for "cultural" reasons.... 
  
 Um, no.  The likes of JD & Bud do more business per capita in North 
 America than anywhere else.  The Europeans have plenty of their own 
 local brands to consume, although Bud does a fair bit of business in 
 the UK and Ireland.  If you go into a bar in Germany or Austria and 
 see a "Budweiser" beer on the list, it's the one from the Czech 
 Republic.  The Anheuser-Busch product is considered a useful beverage 
 for those who don't actually like the taste of beer. 
  
 > Anyway, another thing I've noticed which seems a bit odd is that places 
 > with hot climates tend to serve the spicest cuisines... 
  
 *sigh*  And when the Europeans first stumbled upon the Americas, they 
 found people eating things like tomatoes, various varieties of peppers 
 (capsicums), potatoes, and maize ("corn"). 
  
 > now I 
 > understand, of course, that may spices originated in more tropical 
 > locales... 
  
 Um, gee, like, duh? 
  
 > but still, even these days, I think an European thinks 
 > "spice" means "black ground pepper" -- so to speak. 
  
 Which "European" would this be?  The Brits have taken Indian-style 
 curry as one of their own, so, no, they don't just think "spice" means 
 "black ground pepper."  There are other European cultures with similar 
 indigenous flavors, but as you go farther north, plant varieties start 
 to diminish.  Wotta surprise, eh?  You can't easily grow, say, cumin 
 and cinnamon spices in cool climates, but it isn't hard to grow, say, 
 fennel and caraway. 
  
 > It seems that the 
 > countries with the "richest" or "most varied" cuisines are in hotter 
 > climes, and those which employ spices a whole lot more. 
  
 Gee, that wouldn't have anything to do with that fact that those are, 
 generally, *indigenous* ingredients, would they, and that hotter 
 climates *sometimes* encourage the growth of a wider range of 
 harvestable food plants? 
  
 > Any good history of food books to recommend? 
  
 Hey, lookie!  That Google thingie again! 
  
  
  
 Have fun. 
 -- 
 dgs 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)