My 15-year old son got this beer glass at a recent school Science field trip… to the Hong Kong “Back to School” craft beer brewery.

I kid you not!

They weren’t allowed to taste the beer (the drinking age technically is 18 here in Hong Kong), but they spent the afternoon learning about the biochemical reactions to convert barley to sugars, which then converts to alcohol. They talked about historical context when in the Middle Ages, for ex, due to poor sanitation drinking beer was safer than drinking water. And they got to taste the hops and other ingredients that go into making the brew (hops is apparently quite bitter. His entire Science class went to this informative, engaging and fun event and he says it was cool to see how what they’re learning in school about biochemical reactions are applied in real life. 

I can’t help but imagine the backlash that would have ensued, had a high school in the United States offered a similar outing.

The relationship with alcohol is drastically different around the world, and a reflection of the culture and values that these countries imbue.

In a place like Switzerland, for example, while there’s a legal purchase age of 16 for beer and wine, it is not illegal for a minor to consume alcohol in public. Here is a country that takes great pride in freedom of thought and independence. They value honesty and responsibility. Their motto is “Unity, yes. Uniformity, no”.  People kind of do what they want within reason, understanding that the pursuit of their desires stops when it may begin to impinge on the freedoms of others.

In many Muslim-majority countries, on the other side of the spectrum, alcohol prohibition is pretty strictly enforced: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and more (though exceptions are regularly made for foreigners, at least in practice). Many believers of Islam understand the Koran and the Prophet Muhammad to prohibit alcohol. In some countries the punishment for imbibing is quite severe; 80 lashes in the case of Iran, for example. For some in these communities, not drinking has become part of the backlash against the decadence of the West, where alcohol is associated with loose living and dangerous behavior.

I spent many years as a young adult living in so-called “integrated drinking cultures” such as France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Unlike ‘ambivalent’ drinking cultures, where one needs a reason for drinking, these Mediterranean-style havens consider drinking to be a morally neutral element of normal life and requires no justification. There is little or no disapproval of drinking, and therefore no need to find excuses for drinking.

Americans may be shocked when beer is served in cafes at 10am, for example. Hey, what are we celebrating?! During lunch, abundant wine is served. What’s the occasion?! The bars are open all afternoon and people are drinking. What a riot! Pastis is served at 6pm, more wine with dinner, after-dinner digestives. These people certainly know how to celebrate! And yet – unlike the Americans and Brits and Germans, the cultures don’t tend to get drunk in public as a societal rule. When the festive, episodic drinking cultures meet a daily drinking culture, they often end up “celebrating” all day long and  find themselves thoroughly pissed by the end of the day (and we don’t mean angry).

I’m grateful to have the opportunity to raise my kids in cultures that don’t make a big deal out of drinking and see it as a natural, enjoyable part of everyday life (or however often one choses to imbibe).  It just feels healthier. It’s almost always associated with luscious lingering meals around a large table with good friends, invigorating conversation, perhaps a bit of music, and a whole lot of joy.

I’ll drink to that!