Alcohol, my permanent accessory Alcohol, a party-time necessity Alcohol, alternative to feeling like yourself Oh Alcohol, I still drink to your health "Alcohol" by The Barenaked Ladies

Alcohol is in beer, wine and liquor, and often just refers to those beverages in general. It can be found in bars and retail locations. In the very distant past, it was found in saloons until banned by law. Up until the early 1980s it was impossible to buy alcohol outside of bars in Davis. For more on this, see Town History. The California Penal Code Section 172 has some convoluted language about where various forms of alcohol can be sold in geographic relation to universities. In 2002 Davis passed an open container ordinance, banning consumption of alcohol from most public areas.

In January 2012, DPD Police Chief Landy Black proposed an ordinance (Minor Alcohol Preclusion Ordinance.pdf) that would make it illegal for any minor to have a blood alcohol level of 0.01% or greater. This was proposed to fight the "culture of drinking" that some think is spreading across the country, and more specifically in response to the ongoing problems with Picnic Day revelry.

Read on for the scope of tasty and/or intoxicating libations in Davis:

What Happens When You Drink

Alcohol: the solution to and cause of all of life's problems. Love it like your mother and blame it for your problems like you do your father.

Places To Enjoy Alcohol

Sources For Alcohol

Activities

  • BYOB
  • Drinking games
  • Davis Trinity
  • Gambling
  • 40 ounce Meal Plan
  • Drunk Dialing
  • fun activity: go to the fast and easy mart in the morning, about 5 minutes before they start selling alcohol (6am??). You'll see a group of strung-out people just itching to get their morning fix - tired grad students calling it a night, drunk undergrads, local alcoholics, etc. And you'll occasionally run into someone who's just been released from the drunk tank and is exceptionally bitter. Great drinking buddies. And then offer them a gin sling, and watch them look confused for a second.

Drinking Holidays

Drinks and recipes

Here are some of the definitive drinks in the Davis boozing scene. Consult other websites for comprehensive recipe books.

See also: Cocktails

Davis Favorite Beers

Add your favorite beer, so that others might venture forth from the depths of Natty Ice.

  • MichaelGiardina recommends Sudwerk Hefe Weizen Wheat Beer.
  • RobRoy suggests Red Tail Ale from Delta of Venus.
  • Carl enjoys Asahi, a dry beer (available at SF Market).
  • AlphaDog suggests you enjoy a pint o' Guinness and a toast! Ah, the liquid pork chop...
  • JulieEickhof is one of the few to appreciate a nice cold Heineken.
  • AlexLubinski loves anything from the New Belgium Brewing Company, most often Fat Tire.
  • KenjiYamada swears by Sudwerk Doppel Bock, the beer that doesn't fuck around.
  • ZacharyNorwood knows, with objective certainty, in accordance with the dictates of logical positivism and scientific foundationalism, that genuine Belgian, Trappist ales are the best of all beers. If after tasting a quality Trappist ale—Chimay, Westvleteren, or Westmalle, for example—you gag and grimace with disgust, then you're announcing to the world that you have an unrefined palate on account of habituating to beer's bottom-tenth, namely, Bud, Coors, MGD, and Heineken! But not to worry, good citizen. If you were to develop a liking for this type of beer, you'd soon run out of money, for it's too dang expensive to enjoy regularly unless you enjoy the profligate benefits of bourgeoisification. For now, I'll have to stick with comparatively cheaper approximations, such as La Fin Du Monde, even though it's slowly driving me into debtor's prison.
  • JudithTruman enjoys Peach Lambic, a nifty wheat beer with peach juice. It undergoes a secondary fermentation with wild yeasts, and thus has a sour taste that harmonizes with the sweet fruitiness of the peach. Opening a bottle requires both a bottle opener and a corkscrew. Lambics can be found at Nugget in peach, cherry, raspberry, and blackcurrant variations.
  • CarlosOverstreet would suggest any one of Paulaner's hefeweizens if you can find them.
  • KyleAmbroff loves Stone IPA. Unfortunately it is hard to find in Davis. Nugget usually has a bomber available.
  • CaseyBarc has many favorite beers. A list of these beers is found here
  • JoePomidor is a sucker for Blue Moon.
  • WilliamLewis likes Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout.
  • ascapoccia enjoys a nice Sapporo or a hefeweizen on a hot day, and a Guinness, black and tan (half Guiness, half Harp), or a Murphy's on a cold day. Belguim beers are really nice as well.
  • parker loves winter beers! Try to get down on Lagunitas Brown Shugga or Samuel Adams Winter Lager.
  • ScottMeehleib highly recommends Pliny the Elder from Aggie Liquor or the locally based Doppel Bock from Sudwerk.

Alcohol Awareness and Health

What You Should Do If You Get In Trouble

If You Need Help With Alcohol Addiction

Closing remarks

If the glass is full drink up, drink up this may be the last time I see this cup. If God wanted us sober he'd knock the glass over so while its full we drink up. -Jason Webley, "The Drinking Song"

I need alcohol Because it opens my blood I need alcohol because it empties my head I need alcohol I need alcohol I need alcohol I need alcohol

— Swans, "Alcohol the Seed"

My baby taught me how to be My baby taught me how to fight My baby taught me how to die Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol, alcohol!

My baby taught me how to smoke My baby taught me how to breathe My baby taught me how to hide My baby taught me how to leave Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol, alcohol!

My baby taught me how to choke My baby taught me how to eat My baby taught me how to fuck My baby taught me how to be Alcohol, alcohol, alcohol, alcohol!

— Nirvana

Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy. — Benjamin Franklin. Source: Isaacson, Walter. Benjamin Franklin: An American Life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003. p.374.

Comments:

You must be logged in to comment on this page. Please log in.

2005-08-02 16:58:16   What happens if the various police organizations catch you drinking? Is there a super nasty fine that will tap into my alcohol cash flow?!?! —JasonBickford

Depends where, if you're drunk, and what's your age. Just having alcohol (a simple beer can) when underage can grab ya a 'Minor in Possession' - $250. —ES 2005-08-02

2005-09-21 09:51:44   "In heaven there is no beer, that's why we drink it here" —RocksandDirt

2005-10-01 09:44:20   This page should have something about the dangers of alcohol, help programs, and maybe warning signs to note. -ES

2005-11-15 23:40:29   Question: How true is it that low-cost alcohol can make you puke or get sicker than costly liquor and when you drink low cost alcohol in excess it terrible hangovers that aren't associated with high price alcohol? Is this 100% true? If so, why exactly? Tannins and such? Besides taste, what's really the difference between the $37 bottle of gin and the $6 bottle? —MichaelGiardina

  • A more expensive bottle of gin will usually have less impurities such as sugar in it... the main cause of a "hangover" is dehydration which sugar is sure to cause —DqQuez
    • How does sugar cause dehydration? - arlen 2006-01-25
      • It doesn't; otherwise we'd have Coca-Cola hangovers. Alcohol interferes with Anti-Diuretic Hormone, so more of our body's water goes into the toilet than we can spare (it isn't just the liquid you drink that makes you go to the bathroom a lot). Then you add in the differences in electrolytes and enzymes and such, plus any water lost from dancing or breathing through your mouth while passed out, and you're really short on water in the morning. There is some indication that 'impurities' have something to do with hangovers BUT sugar isn't one, and these impurities aren't from cheapness but from taste-related byproducts seen in red vs. white wine or bourbon vs. vodka, so even expensive brandy would have more than cheap vodka. I suspect that low-cost alcohol would be drunk more quickly and afforded in greater quantity; it also is less likely to be savored or had with food. The price difference is largely taste, quality of ingredients and process, and marketing. A lot of the price in famous brand alcohol is advertising and 'prestige.' In vodka, which is supposed to be tasteless, you're drinking more advertising than alcohol. —NotTires
        • Surprisingly I know this, yet I don't even drink. —TusharRawat
  • It certainly has a correlation, but I have a feeling there is no causation. People buying cheap hootch do so to get drunk hard and fast. That gives you a hangover. People buying an expensive bottle of anything — from your $37 gin to a $400 bottle of scotch — are generally buying it to savor rather than get drunk. They drink it more slowly and in smaller amounts, and that will prevent a hangover. Doing the same with a $6 bottle of gin would work, but most $6 bottles of anything aren't exactly worth savoring. —JabberWokky
    • Beware of anything in a plastic bottle is my credo. I have had bad experiences with $9 handles. Ughhh —ChrisWaterstraat

2006-07-16 15:30:06   Does this mean if I drink water between each alchoholic drink I won't have any adverse affects? —SharlaDaly

  • It depends on how much you drink, how much food you've eaten, and how much water you drink; if you drink a *lot* of alcohol, even if you've had a lot of water you'll probably still have a hangover but it won't be as bad as it would have been if you hadn't had water. If you drink alcohol on an empty stomach and don't drink any water, chances are higher that you'll be hungover later. The best way to avoid "adverse affects" is to not drink too much, but water and food will also help. A good rule of thumb is drink on a full stomach and follow each alcoholic beverage with a glass of water.

2006-10-20 00:56:55   There's a CHEAP place at Travis Air Force Base next to the mini-mall. Most of the prices will be cheaper than stores outside the base, but there are rarely any more expensive because everything is tax-free. There's also a huge selection to choose from :) Of course, you'd need a military ID card to get in..... —RitchieLee

Add tags