Wait, am I a grownup yet?

[ursula]

If you happen to work at the grocery checkout where I am buying coffee, beer, and parsnips, and you find me so youthful that you address me as "hon" at the end of each sentence . . . don't you think you should card me? Or is there some unwritten law that no-one under the age of twenty-one will ever buy stout?

Comments

[nobu.livejournal.com]

actually, it is the parsnips. they are like salmon or oysters... no one under 21 would buy them ;)

[ursula]

Except that, of the set {salmon, oysters, parsnips, stout}, the only element that I actually purchased before I was 21 is parsnips.

[nobu.livejournal.com]

well, no accounting for taste :P
not to mention... you are hardly a NORMAL chunk of the younger population. so...meep!

[ursula]

Well, parsnips are certainly the most affordable . . . : P

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Short answer: yes. I almost never get carded when I order a Guinness. In fact, I can't remember if I ever have been.

[ursula]

But where were you buying Guinness? In my experience, the state (and the type of establishment) matters more than the type of alcohol. Oregon has relatively draconian and relatively well-enforced carding laws, so I was particularly surprised. The only time I remember being carded in Pennsylvania is when I bought gin at a liquor store near Swat, and the really bored employees spent something like twenty minutes analyzing my out-of-state license, while completely ignoring my underage friend.

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I've certainly bought Guinness in restaurants, bars, and stores (if you count Swat Pizza as a store). Not sure about states; definitely PA, probably NY, probably no others. Definitely not Oregon, as I've never been there.

[ursula]

My experience is that the East Coast in general is much more lax than the Pacific Northwest . . . However, we make up for it by having actual microbrews : )