Gout was more responsible than anything for my quitting drinking. It was over a yer before I had the nerve to even try one drink and even then I looked for the cleanest, least likely to provoke another bout. Very painful, no desire for a repeat. I chose a good filtered vodka with tonic and lime. That’s been my go-to ever since although I’ve never come anywhere close to the consumption that I had before. Brown liquor is more of a potential irritant than clear, so my beloved scotch is a very rare treat. I just don’t drink beer anymore at all, which is a shame with all the cool microbreweries that have opened locally and regionally over the past decade. But, I’m free of it or at least have been. Worth it.
I confess that, though I do have a beer every once in a while, I cut it out dramatically mostly because of the calories. But if I do have a beer, it is a single beer and always a microbrew.
I actually switched to the hard stuff because of calories. I can milk an ounce of scotch a LONG ways.
I wonder if there would be a difference between effects of commercial beer and chemical additive free micro brews with whole grains and other completely natural ingredients. My husband used to make his own with brown rice or whole wheat, honey or malt syrup, yeast and hops.