There was one issue I noticed when watching beer before liqour episode. When ever I or anyone I've talked to drinks, the first time you drink and have drank in a while you always get a worse hang over. That being said on the second part of the test the had already drank a few days before so automatically their hang over wouldn't have been as bad anyways. I think the myth should be redone with this fact in mind.

I agree with the different posts about this myth. the second test should have been done atleast2 days later to ensure that the previous alcohol consumption was completely out of their system. and test exactly which one should be drank first the alcohol then a couple of beer or vice-versa. While just drinking beer does give you a nasty hangover the real question is which one should be drank first to avoid such a hang over.

The myth is actually not beer and liquor never been sicker. But actually which you drink first "beer before liquor never been sicker" "liquor before beer your in the clear" basically if you start drinking beer then later on mix liquor in you'll be sick compare to starting out with liquor then moving to beer

I agree with both I have tried mixing both and found that if I mix I am much more likly to feel worse then if I stick to just one. I really have not tested the hangover because I usally never get hangovers and hardly ever drink

I never heard that saying. I always heard "Beer on whiskey is risky, whiskey on beer, in the clear"

I had always heard don't mix the grape with the grain. Mixing wine with either beer or liquor. I have seen some people get really sick that way.

They tested just beer, and then beer with liquor. The test needs to be first drinking beer followed by drinking liquor, and then the opposite, liquor then beer. I can personally attest, haha, that drinkin the booze early, then the beer works much better than the other way round

In addition, I think they need to review the background of the myth. I personally don't think that it has anything to do with drinking the same amount of alcohol. I think maybe the saying comes from the fact that... after you have had several beers, you are less likely to pace yourself when you start drinking liquor. Therefore, you end up drinking much more than you can physically handle. The other way around, and by the time you start drinking beer, you won't end up consuming as much actual alcohol.

another variable that was never mentioned was alcohol tolerance. i think grant mentioned that he was not near the level of intoxication that he was on beer.(same amount of alcohol was consumed) and if this was done just a couple of days after the beer... tolerance could have been a factor. There is also a myth around some ethnic groups having a higher tolerance then others

I think there were two huge mistakes regarding this myth, although i can't confirm the second. The first is what I consider a reoccurring problem with the shows methodology, particularly with booze related myths. They always have their test subjects do the order (sober, buzzed, then trashed or in this case sober, just beer, beer and liquor) in the same order. I think they should have had one person do it in reverse, to avoid the "learning curve" of both alcohol tolerance and just learning how to perform the tests better or any environmental factors (a hotter day, for example will lead to quicker dehydration and a worse hangover).
The second problem is regarding alcohol quality. I know they never show brand names, but my guess is that they used a very cheap beer (like budweiser) because good beer doesn't come in cans, and a better quality of liquor. Many top shelf liquors won't leave you with a bad hangover because they have removed most of the impurities. But in my experience, when you start ordering shots in a bar when you are already wasted, its usually the worst/cheapest stuff possible. Sugar content is also a big factor, and different beers definitely have different sugar contents.

Liquor Before Beer Never Fear, Beer Before Liquor Never Sicker...
or some regionally determined equivalent is the phrase that I have heard all my life. I agree with almost all of the complaints I have read here and would also like to point out that not only did they not follow the well-known idiom, it appears that they mixed types of liquor as well. I saw shots of whiskey, tequila and vodka being poured. This will also produce a more severe hangover. Sloppy work guys.

I think the biggest mistake was that they drank until it was time to go to bed(drunk. but with the hard alcohol they consumed and then had time to play before bedtime. this means the alcohol was processed through the system more completely. there by reducing the amount sitting in the stomach over night slowly being processed by the body. also once people start drinking shots you have a tendency to reach a point where you will consume more than you normally would have.

The entire myth is:

quote:

"Beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear."

As a resident of Wisconsin, having a strong Irish heritage, and as somebody who had attended college at the University of Wisconsin, I have heard a LOT of myths on the do's-and-don'ts of drinking. My uncle owned a bar/supper club, in which I worked in the kitchen from age 13-18 and heard many myths regarding drinking. While in college, I worked as a bouncer in a college bar, am friends with the owner of a college bar, and have several friends which work as--or have worked as--bartenders. So I can attest--with some authority--on the actual version of this myth; this is the version I have heard all of my life and is the only version I have ever heard.

This is not exclusively limited to shots of liquor, but also applies to drinks mixed with liquor.

I believe the reasoning for this myth is due to the rate of which the alcohol is drank, their perceived level of intoxication, and the yet-to-be-absorbed alcohol in their digestive system. My hypothesis is that people tend to consume beer at a quicker rate than mixed drinks, due to their lower alcohol-by-volume percentages (ABV%) and less-sweeter taste than mixed drinks. In order to reach a same blood alcohol content (BAC) in the same period of time, one would have to drink a larger quantity of beer at a higher rate than if drinking mixed drinks. So when somebody starts off drinking beer and then switches to mixed drinks, this quicker rate of consumption is carried over to the mixed drinks. The initial impairment from the beer to one's ability to perceive their level of intoxication from the beer, combined with consuming higher ABV% mixed drinks at the same rate as beer results in a net increase in alcohol consumed over time, often resulting in the feeling of getting drunk all at once. Another theory is that the higher sugar content of the soda or other beverages mixed WITH the alcohol result in the worsened feelings post-drinking, both that night as well as the resulting hangover.

Related Alcohol Consumption myths:

• You get intoxicated faster from mixed drinks when drank through a straw vs. drank without a straw. (The theory I was told was that the alcohol is denser than the mixers so it tends towards the bottom of the glass, and you drink the from bottom of the glass when you drink with a straw. My theory is that you consume larger quantities per "drink" vs. without a straw, partly because of the ice floating at the top of the glass.)
  
• Liquor mixed with diet cola "gets you drunk faster" (or increases the rate at which alcohol is absorbed into the system, compared to drinking an identical ratio of a regular cola to alcohol.) There is supposedly scientific research and studies done which confirm this and the reason is attributed to an ingredient used as sweetener found in diet sodas but not in regular sodas.
  
• Related to the above, it's said that scientific studies also have warned against mixing a sport drink (like Gatorade) with a liquor, such as Vodka, because the "electrolytes increase the rate of absorption."
  
• Mixing clear liquors with dark mixers (like a cola) or dark liquors with a clear mixer (like Sprite) will cause you to get sick (both that night and the next day)
  

On a related note, you could also test other hang-over cures, such as:

• Commercial hang-over cures which you are supposed to take before/when drinking which is said to prevent a hangover the following day.
  
• Other OTC general remedies, such as Alka-Seltzer, aspirin, etc.
  
• Drinking 8-16 ounces of water following a night of drinking before going to sleep will prevent the the hangover in the morning.
  
• The morning-after Bloody-Mary (a.k.a. "hair of the dog that bit you")
  
• The morning-after greasy cheeseburger ("the greasier, the better," it is said.)
  
• The morning-after one or two raw eggs cracked into a glass and drank (a-la "Rocky")
  
• Other food with the reputation as hangover cures and helpers... A Midwest pizza-chain which is specifically aimed towards college aged consumers, Toppers, has a specialty pizza named the "Hangover Helper," consisting of Canadian Bacon, onions, green peppers, potatoes, bacon bits, and mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.
  

i would agree that the lines that i have always heard from traveling all over the states for the military is "beer before liquor never sicker. Liquor before beer in the clear."

And as some have stated that it's usually because when you start off with liquor you take it a little easier, but if you notice when you mix your own drinks after the 2nd or third one the level of alcohol you poor compared to the first is a lot less. So maybe it should be a test on the persons ability to tell how drunk they really are in each situation. Let both subjects drink beer, and then beer proceeded by liquor, and then a third situation of liquor and then beer and after a while of drinking they should then evaluate if they are at the same level of intoxication. Then test actual level of intoxication and compare to perceived levels and then test the hangovers the next day.