read up son!

http://www.40ozmaltliquor.com/blog/the-story-of-the-forty/

I first remember the 40 from the late '80s, which fits in nicely with the article. Because I clearly remember those commercials with Billy Dee. But again, when I was a kid in the '70s and we drank beer in one of the parks or school yards, the biggest available bottle was the Budweiser quart. And we rarely drank those anyway.

We used to chip in and get those beer balls. The deposit on the tap cost more than the beer itself. Schmidt's made them back then, and I guess they were pretty awful. But when you're 18 years old and drinking in the park, what's the difference?

Ok when Italian Harlem was turning into Spanish Harlem. The puerto ricans win drink beer, get sick and throw up and piss in the hallways.

So when I got home the smell of puke, piss and beer would hit me like a ton of bricks. That puerto ricans that were doing it.

So now I can't drink a beer without getting the smell of puke and piss and beer in my head, hence I can't drink beer.

We used to sneak beer balls into our freshman dorm in our laundry bags and by the end of the night the beer was flat and warm. I can't and won't drink certain beers on tap. Some of the beer commercials I remember were Gerald Fords brothers beer, the miller lite "tastes great, less filling" ones, and the "head for the mountains of Busch..... Beeeer" ads. That guys voice was great, Sam Elliot possibly.

Wrong President. I think you mean "Billy Beer," named for President Carter's brother Billy .

Yes sir, that's the one. Did I mention earlier I was getting a history lesson?

On a Friday and Saturday night in England most people under 21 are out on the town binge drinking.

Re. Puerto Ricans and beer: F&M Schaefer Brewing Co., a NYC brewery, did the market research that proved that Puerto Ricans were the biggest per-capita consumers of beer. So, they launched a marketing blitz aimed at them: "Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one" (attention: SC and PB!); ran lots of ads on Spanish-language radio; sponsored winter baseball in Puerto Rico, etc. They were doing fine.

Then some genius drilled down on the market research and found that Puerto Ricans like to drink their beer very cold. So, he figured, the company could cheapen the formula (by using cheper hops), and the drinkers wouldn't notice it because their taste buds were numbed by the cold. Disaster: within a month, sales fell off by 40% and the brewery folded a couple of years after that. NEVER scew with loyal customers!

BTW: through the Fifties in NYC, you referred to Hispanics as Puerto Ricans because virtually every Hispanic in the city was a Puerto Rican. Now, according to the latest census, Dominicans and Columbians are the largest Hispanic groups in the city.

my home town newcastle upon tyne is the drunkest city in england by a long way

I agree with cocooma most definitely!!

That's so true. I've been lucky enough to spend time in both those cities. I stayed at Zero Duval St on December 31, 1998. I remember sitting at the hotel bar outside when it turned midnight and "party like its 1999" by Prince was played. Unfortunately my father made plane reservations back to New England for Jan 1.

I don't have any statistics, but Toronto Canada has to be way up there. Canadians seem to drink more beer than anyone, and some of their beers are great ie: Molson's Golden and Labats

New Orleans during Mardi Gras. Montreal has a lot of heavy drinkers. Miami, Florida, Reno Nevada, Wahington D.C. It would be a toss up between Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Norfolk, Virginia for being America's drunkest city, especially on a weekend leave in Norfolk. Boston, Chicago, and New york would rank pretty high, but Boston being the drunkest? No way.

They did this whether it was beer or liquor and preferably in elevators.