40. Why Do Brits Drink So Much?

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[00:00:00.810] - Oliver (Host)

Welcome back to another episode of English and Beyond: The Advanced Version of the Podcast. As always, you can read the transcript for this episode online, or you can use the vocabulary flashcards that we provide to practise the most difficult words that we have in the episode. Have you heard of the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde? It's a famous novella by Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevenson, telling the story of a man transforms from a respectable gentleman into a reckless, uninhibited alter ego. It's an exploration of the idea that we humans can have contradictory forces operating within us at the same time. The author wrote the book inspired by the horror that he felt when he sat through the trial of a friend who had murdered his own wife. Stevenson was shocked and appalled that his good friend was capable of these murderous acts, and the combined Jekyll and Hype is one of the most famous attempts to explain why seemingly kind good people can do truly dreadful things. Now, this is going to sound extremely melodramatic, but I think this duality mirrors British drinking culture to an extent, particularly when we, Brits, are abroad.

[00:01:20.240] - Oliver (Host)

In particular, many Spaniards that I talk to complain that Brits will often appear polite, reserved, and well-mannered, sticking to social norms like queuing making small talk. But once alcohol has evolved, particularly in holiday hotspots like Spain, Greece, or Prague, an entirely different persona can emerge. There is a polite and sober Dr. Jekyll tainted by the presence of a drunken lout, Mr. Hyde. Why do we, Brits, have this terrible reputation for binge drinking? To tackle this question, I'm going to talk a little bit about my own experiences clubbing and how British culture contributes in a practical way to our infamous alcohol problem. When I was around 18 years old, my Friday nights revolved around a club night in central London, near Kings Cross, called Pop Stars. Despite the name, the music was a mix of pop and indie, and getting there was a weekly ritual. Coming from a small town just outside London, my mother was understandably nervous for me to be going into the centre of the city. Kings Cross in the mid-naughties, still had a rough reputation, and I was far from streetwise. I had virtually no street smarts. At 16 or 17, I wouldn't have dared to hang out even in the local park late at night.

[00:02:42.460] - Oliver (Host)

At 1: 00 AM on a Friday night, you would have found me hunched over a computer, bent over the computer, that is, playing the Sims, not getting drunk with friends in public. But somehow, the second I turned 18, I thought nothing of getting a train into central London and drinking myself silly, as is typical for us Brits. The night always felt like an epic and sometimes gruelling adventure, not least because the club closed at about 3: 00 AM, but the first train's home didn't start running until 6: 00. That I spent a long, cold wait, fighting off exhaustion or nausea on the platform and hoping not to sleep through my stop once I finally got on the train. Then came a 40-minute walk through misty fields before I finally could collapse into my bed. Looking back, I'm struck by the sheer commitment I had to clubbing at that age. The effort, the waiting, the exhaustion, none of it seemed to matter because the night itself felt worth it. But one of the things that was curious about it was the amount that I drank, that everybody drank. Partially, it was because it felt necessary to drink that much to get through the night.

[00:03:55.240] - Oliver (Host)

First off, I felt like I needed alcohol to get the party started. Because I was travelling from outside London, I'd end up getting to the club quite early. I'd aim to be there not long after dinner, and certainly before 11: 00 PM to avoid queues and take advantage of the two-for-one drink offers. Then at the other end of the night, I felt I needed more alcohol to get through the tedious boredom of waiting for the train to arrive once the club had shut. In the years that have passed since then, my relationship with alcohol has definitely changed. I actually took 15 months off alcohol completely, and I didn't really miss it at all. Nowadays, I don't really binge drink. Binge drinking, as defined by Wikipedia, is drinking alcoholic beverages with the intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of this alcohol over a short period of time. It's a style of drinking that is very popular in the UK. But now that I'm living in Spain, I don't binge drink myself and I don't see other people binge drinking as much. This isn't because I have seen the light, and I think that binge drinking is a social evil now, and it's not that Spaniards don't like to party.

[00:05:09.410] - Oliver (Host)

But part of the reason that I drink less is because of the timing of drinking and nights out in Spain. I simply can't cope with that amount of alcohol. As I said, I used to arrive at the club in the UK as early as I could, generally around 11: 00 PM. And by midnight, the place would be packed and the night would be in full swing, wrapping up around 3: 00 AM. In Spain, the timetable is very, very different, and I actually find myself missing the UK hours sometimes. Here in Valencia, by 3: 00 AM, things have barely gotten started. Arriving at a club before 2: 00 AM is pointless. Many don't even open before that time. When you go out in Spain, it's a big commitment. You might not even have gotten to the club by the time that the Brits would be going home. Why do nights out in Britain start so much earlier than in most of Europe? The truth is, unless British people changed a lot about how we go out, Brits would really struggle to start a night out clubbing at 2: 00 AM. The chief reason for this is that by that time, most of us would be simply way too inebriated too far gone to be allowed into a club.

[00:06:18.960] - Oliver (Host)

So how did we end up with nights out beginning at 10: 00 or 11: 00 PM and ending only a few hours later? The answer, as it turns out, has surprisingly deep historical roots, and But I think it also partially explains why we binge drink more than our continental neighbours.

[00:06:35.640] - Oliver (Host)

The UK has always had a somewhat contradictory approach to alcohol. On the one hand, it has a rich drinking culture, with pubs being a cornerstone of social life. When foreign friends used to come to visit me in the UK, visiting a traditional British pub was often near the top of their list of things to do. On the other hand, British authorities have historically viewed alcohol as something that needs strict regulation to prevent excess and disorder. Compare this to continental Europe. In many countries, alcohol is something you add on to the rest of your evening to complement the dinner or snacks that you're enjoying, for example. But in Britain, sometimes and I hasten to add not always, the alcohol is the point of the social activity. It's partially for this reason that you get phrases in British culture like, eating is cheating. The idea that if you line your stomach with food, if you eat something earlier, you'll get drunk less easily.

[00:07:33.690] - Oliver (Host)

So instead of cheating by eating a sensible meal before going out, many Brits will skip straight to the alcohol to save money and time. Why do we contribute to this feeling of needing to drink as much as possible as quickly as possible by having everything begin and end so early. One of the biggest reasons for Britain's early nightlife shutdown dates back to World War I. In 1915, the government introduced the Defence of the realm Act, which drastically cut pub opening hours to ensure that workers, especially those in factories and munitions production, were sober enough to contribute well to the war effort. Before this, many pubs had far more flexible hours, and in some cases, alcohol was available 24/7. Under the new rules, however, pubs had to close by 10: 00 PM or earlier, which transformed British drinking culture into something more hurried and intense. I can imagine that anyone drinking because of stress during a wartime period was not going to cut back on their drinking because of shortened opening hours. They were just going to drink themselves senseless over a shorter period of time. By the time World War II arrived, Britain had already normalised the idea of pubs closing early and strict licencing laws continued for decades after.

[00:08:55.390] - Oliver (Host)

The UK also saw several waves of moral panic over alcohol consumption, often driven by the idea that drinking led to social decay and crime. By the 1950s and '60s, Britain's drinking culture was dominated by pubs rather than late night bars or clubs, but most of these establishment still had to close by 11: 00 PM, reinforcing the idea that a night out was something that needed to be wrapped up, that needed to be ended, fairly early. In theory, things should have changed in the 21st century. The Licensing Act of 2003 allowed bars, clubs, and pubs to apply for 24-hour licences, meaning they could technically stay open much later. The idea was to create a more continental drinking culture, where people wouldn't feel the need to binge drink before an early closing time, and the government also believed that staggered closing times would reduce the infamous 11: 00 PM chucking-out-time rush where everyone is forced to leave at once, causing fights, noise complaints, and overwhelmed public transport filled with drunken people. But in reality, this didn't change much. Most pubs and bars didn't apply for extended licences, either due to local council restrictions or because they didn't see the financial benefit.

[00:10:15.640] - Oliver (Host)

Furthermore, the British drinking mindset didn't change overnight. Many people still started drinking early in the evening, meaning that by the time clubs opened, they were already well on their way, which means to drunkenness. In practice, most places where you can buy alcohol still close by 2: 00 to 3: 00 AM at the latest, and only a handful stay open past that. A huge reason why British nightlife ends so early is because of the dominance of pub culture. In Spain, social drinking is more associated with bars and terraces, and in Germany, beer halls and clubs both play an important role in nightlife. In the UK, pubs have historically been the main drinking venues, and they're not designed for all night partying. They're social spaces where people go for a drink after work or in the evening, but they aren't meant to host people until sunrise. And although clubs exist in the UK, of course, the cultural expectation is that the night revolves around pubs first. People often start drinking early in the evening, meaning that even if clubs are open later, many people have already peaked by midnight. So when we look at Britain's drinking habits, it's clear that they're shaped history, regulations, and cultural norms.

[00:11:33.230] - Oliver (Host)

Unlike in Spain or Germany, where drinking is often leisurely and social, the UK has long favoured a short, intense approach, reinforced by early closing times and binge drinking culture. This contrast isn't just between countries, it's within us, too. There's the reserved, well-mannered Dr. Jekyll, and then after a few drinks, Mr. Hyde takes over. Not everyone drinks this way, of course, but it explains why Brits abroad often stand out. Would things be different if our nights out lasted longer, if we didn't feel pressured to drink so quickly? Maybe. But for now, this is the Britain that we have built, for better or worse. Cheers.

[00:12:17.490] - Oliver (Host)

So, César, you spent a long time living in the UK, a long time living in Spain. Do you notice a difference in the drinking culture?

[00:12:25.040] - César (Guest)

When I first moved to the UK, I noticed very quickly how different it was. As you mentioned in your monologue, I feel or I felt at least, that British people drink to get drunk. Whereas for Spanish people, some people do as well, have that intention, but we drink while we eat. So if we go to have a pint, to have a caña or beer, we always wash it down with some food, some tapas. Whereas for British people, sometimes it's just like pint after pint after pint. That's what I got when I was working for companies in a more corporate world where you went for some drinks on a Friday afternoon with your colleagues. And I was like, "Why don't we get some food? We're going to get drunk. And it's 6: 00 PM in the afternoon. I don't want to get drunk." So yeah, you mentioned the history about the timings and all that. I found it very interesting, but I also thought that maybe I always forget the order of this phrase, upper stiff lift.

[00:13:42.650] - Oliver (Host)

Stiff upper lip.

[00:13:43.910] - César (Guest)

Stiffed, Upper lift.

[00:13:45.380] - Oliver (Host)

Stiff. We're going to go on two digressions. Firstly, I love that you said, I found it really interesting how you talked about the history because César actually said to me, I think you should delete that bit about the history from the podcast.

[00:13:57.420] - César (Guest)

No, that's not true. I didn't say that. I said, I I think it's a bit too long. Maybe you should... It's interesting, but not that long.

[00:14:04.060] - Oliver (Host)

It's interesting, but not that interesting. That's the first digression. The second thing about the order of adjectives, I think it's, you can actually find lots of very interesting videos about, and it's a very advanced topic, about how the different adjectives have to be ordered. But I think essentially, the general rule is something that goes more to the essential nature of the noun, that means that that objective will be closer to it. In this case, you can't... Basically, whether a lip is stiff or not, whether it's not moving in an emotional way, is not as essential as the fact that it's the upper lip. So the upper lip has to go closer to the noun than the stiffness. Does that make sense? So it's a stiff upper lip because it's always an upper lip.

[00:15:00.980] - César (Guest)

Okay, stiff upper lip. But anyway, explain what it means.

[00:15:04.830] - Oliver (Host)

It's just basically not getting overcome with emotion, not being very emotional, basically, but being stoic in times of difficulty.

[00:15:15.210] - César (Guest)

So my theory is that because of this stiff upper lip culture, maybe some British people need the alcohol to unblock all these emotions and show what they need to show, all the emotions, raw emotions.

[00:15:31.720] - Oliver (Host)

Yeah. I mean, one thing I haven't spoken about, which I think is relevant, is also the weather. I think that a lot of the places which have a more relaxed drinking culture are Southern European or have nicer weather in general. And then as you go up further north to Britain, the Nordic countries, Russia, I think that there is more of a problem with hard drinking, isn't there?

[00:15:56.230] - César (Guest)

Interesting.

[00:15:58.030] - Oliver (Host)

In lots of places in, with the colder it gets than the heaviest spirits that they drink as well. So I think it's partially a weather thing, the reason that we do it.

[00:16:09.520] - Oliver (Host)

But I know that you can't talk about only anecdotal experience, only personal experience. But here, where we live in Valencia, we live just above a bar which is frequented by Spanish people, not so much tourists.

[00:16:26.090] - César (Guest)

No.

[00:16:26.750] - Oliver (Host)

And when I was writing this episode, I actually - there was so much noise that even through our double glazed windows, I went out to have a look, and it was basically a group of Spanish guys shouting at each other. It was very, very drunken, and it was totally Spanish.

[00:16:43.210] - César (Guest)

I think that place, that restaurant in particular, is quite specific in the sense that it's not a family restaurant. It's not a fine dining restaurant. It's somewhere where you go with your friends to a stag-doo or a hen-doo, if you are going to get married. People do the Christmas company parties and things like that. People who tend to go there, they want to get drunk, they want to have a good time, they want to eat and drink lots. It's a very specific place to get drunk. It's probably very cheap as well. They probably have an open bar where you can basically drink as much as you want that you don't get in many restaurants normally.

[00:17:29.870] - Oliver (Host)

I mean, I suppose the point that I'm trying to make in general is that in the same way that when you arrived in the UK and you noticed a difference in drinking culture, being in Spain now, I do see more drunkenness, and I also see more drugs in Valencia here than I expected to. Yeah. And especially with drugs, actually, they seem to be everywhere.

[00:17:52.760] - César (Guest)

I mean, I'm not saying that Spanish people are healthier than British people. I think British people probably drink the same amount of alcohol or use the same amount of substances in one night, but in a shorter period of time.

[00:18:09.290] - Oliver (Host)

Maybe. I think we probably are worse. No, I think we definitely are worse because there's a reason why we have this reputation more than any other country.

[00:18:17.430] - César (Guest)

Also, you probably drink more when you are abroad because it's cheaper.

[00:18:22.410] - Oliver (Host)

Well, I was going to say that, and therefore, other people see it more. But then when you think about nights out, especially nights out in the north, it's infamous, the photos and the videos that you get at New Year's Eve, people running around in, like men and women running around in very small T-shirts or skirts in incredibly cold weather in the middle of the winter, because we have our "alcohol coats". We don't need actual coats.

[00:18:57.760] - César (Guest)

It just came to mind this a photo that was taken in New Year's Eve, two or three years ago. Do you know which picture I'm talking about?

[00:19:05.000] - Oliver (Host)

The one that looked quite like a renaissance painting.

[00:19:08.170] - César (Guest)

Yeah, you should put it on the video for people who are watching. That was very representative of that kind of night you're talking about.

[00:19:15.860] - Oliver (Host)

You can see that every time you go in Clapham in South London, walking from the station to the club that we used to go out at, you're walking past gay bars and straight bars, and it's just a mess, Clapham High Street, every weekend.

[00:19:33.920] - César (Guest)

It's also very interesting going to McDonald's at 5: 00 AM in the morning, where 95% of the people are quite drunk, and I feel sorry for people working at McDonald's at that time.

[00:19:51.210] - Oliver (Host)

Have you ever had that experience yourself, César, of being extremely drunk in McDonald's at 5: 00 AM?

[00:19:55.400] - César (Guest)

No. I actually - my worst night, and I actually I learned the lesson, but in New Year's Eve, actually 10 years ago, I was invited to a party on New Year's Eve, and I don't know how I got extremely drunk. I think it's because I mixed champagne with wine, with other things, and I lost count of drinks. Now, I normally drink, I'm like, "Okay, I had one drink, I had two drinks. Okay, get some water, César. Now, eat something." But I got completely drunk. I started vomiting. I remember half of the things that happened. But two girls, actually, they were very nice. They didn't know me, but they were at the party and they took me home. I was in the Tube of London, New Year's Eve, packed with people, and I vomited in the Tube. Really, really embarrassing.

[00:20:51.620] - Oliver (Host)

That is embarrassing.

[00:20:53.520] - César (Guest)

They took me home and put me to bed and, obviously, the following day, I had the most horrendous hangover. I did something that made it worse, actually, because I didn't want to eat anything. I went to Starbucks and got an americano, which is the worst thing you can do with a hangover because coffee actually dehydrates you, and you need water and things that hydrate you. Anyway, I learned my lesson and now I'm way more conscious. I don't binge drink, basically, because I don't like being hangover. I don't like being wasted.

[00:21:36.850] - Oliver (Host)

Being hungover is horrible. It's a horrible feeling.

[00:21:39.080] - César (Guest)

And being wasted as well. You feel so vulnerable as well.

[00:21:42.740] - Oliver (Host)

I think with being very drunk, I think it can go one of two ways. And it depends what drunk you are, because some people are happy drunks and some people are not so happy. They can get very sad or they can get very violent. And so I think it depends on individuals and their relationship with alcohol as well. But it's certainly a stereotype of the UK. It's one that... I think one of the reasons I think it's an interesting stereotype is because it's completely at odds, it completely contradicts, a lot of the other stereotypes of the UK. But it's also a stereotype that has a lot of evidence. And in fact, when you look at the figures, they are really bad for the UK in comparison to lots of other European countries. So, thank you, César, for talking to me about your experiences with alcohol.

[00:22:36.140] - César (Guest)

Would you like a glass of wine?

[00:22:37.830] - Oliver (Host)

Well, it's 11: 00 AM, of course. It's a very American housewives thing to say, but it's always 5 PM somewhere.

[00:22:46.750] - César (Guest)

Yeah, exactly.

[00:22:48.180] - Oliver (Host)

Thank you very much, César. Thank you. Until next time. Thank you, listener. Oh, remember, please do rate us, subscribe. Anything else?

[00:22:59.230] - César (Guest)

Recommend.

[00:22:59.980] - Oliver (Host)

Recommend.

[00:23:00.500] - César (Guest)

To other people.

[00:23:01.580] - Oliver (Host)

Thank you very much for listening. Bye-bye.