What are the drinking laws in your state/country? And how do people bypass them?

Oh and at grocery stores and gas stations they can only sell 3.2 beer and the cut off is 12am until 6am? I think. Cant remember

>no alcohol on Sundays

What the fuck?

Yeah I know you can get more variety if you're hell bent on driving 2 hours to the regional "wine warehouse that doesn't completely suck" but here it's everywhere (unless you live in Canarsie or something)

My mother lives in CA and it's completely awful, even the stores you describe sell the interesting stuff at a huge markup, like 25% or more which essentially means your wine is downgraded unless you have unlimited money. It's like a reality distortion field where either it's a California "varietal wine" (now with up to 29% unlabeled varietals blended in) or prepare for anal rape if you want a decent import

And forget about American AVAs other than Napa, Sonoma, RRV, Santa Cruz, or Santa Barbara

Finger Lakes? What's that, this is an *fine wine* shop you pleb, we don't sell that here

Leave the east coast/utah

Finland

Everything over 4.6% is sold at the gov owned monopoly Alko

You need to be 20 to buy alcohol above 21% or so

The cigarette laws are more retarded and ive never even tried.

Young cashiers will ask me for ID, the instruction is to ask for anyone who looks under 30

Puritan laws from hundreds of years ago, that never get changed because of retarded MUH STATUS QUO politicians, and then a vocal minority of people who are also MUH STATUS QUO faggots gets outraged when the suggestion is levied.
This is why I hate when people say "Well your representatives made these laws" Fuck no they didn't they're just too much of faggots to change prohibition era or older relics

The restrictions seem to be quite harsh in some US states.

You can buy alcohol in any discounter / super market / etc. in Germany.
Beer and wine if you are at least 16 and booze if you are at least 18.
Bars and night clubs sell alcohol as long as they are open.

Indiana
No cold beer in grocery stores/convenience stores only liquor stores can sell cold beer.
Alcohol sales are allowed only between 7am and 3am.
No alcohol sales on Sunday except on premises in bars and restaurants.
Any place that serves alcohol by the drink (eg beer or wine by the glass/mixed drinks) must serve food.
No happy hour or ladies night discounts.

KY here, The laws have gotten better in the last few years. We used to not be able to buy anything on sunday, now we can. Only restriction is liquor is 1-9 sunday. 230am for bars. To bypass, its probably like any other place. You "hey mister" or find a shady place that doesn't care to sell underage.

I used to live in Nevada, and they pretty much have no laws for booze.

pretty sure its 8/9am qc user

Yee-haw, came here to post this.

There is a Hoosier Sunday-loophole though, you can still but takeaway alcohol from wineries and breweries.

>Virginia’s alcohol laws let persons of any age under 21 drink in a private residence. A spouse, parent or guardian must be present. They also let those under 21 have alcohol as a guest in the house of another. A parent, guardian, or spouse who is age 21 or older must be present.

Neat

Tu as raison.

Texas
Drinking age 21
Liquor stores generally close at 9, not open on Sunday
No liquor at grocery stores
Can't by any alcohol before 9AM on Sunday

That's pretty sad compared to Illinois. Sorry, buddy.

All alcohol sales permitted 7am to 3am Mon-Sat. 12pm to 3am on Sunday. You need to get an extended hours permit, but loads of places have one. Grocery stores have really upgraded their beer selection.

I work at a Binny's, a warehouse sized liquor store. Or prices are low, and there is always some sort of sale going on that beats even Costco prices. Great selection of imported beer, wine, and liquor. If we can get a distributor for it, we'll get you anything you want.

Cook County ain't all that bad.

Counterpoint: you have to be in Virginia

Counter-counterpoint: I'm a 22 year-old in the Navy.

PA here, and of course everything is overpriced, I took a trip to DC during the summer and everything there was pennies compared to what we had to pay.

Can buy beer and wine at 16, other (distilled) alcohol at 18, drink at a restaurant with a parent at 14.

This is for buying, drinking is never illegal. Alcohol is sold pretty much everywhere and around the clock, also bars can be open as long as they want.

People bypass it (if they are underage) by either trying to buy it anyway and hoping nobody asks (works mostly in big cities), or having someone else buy it.

Germany is pretty gud for alcohol.

Are there alot of alckies in Germany?

Wait so can groceries sell beer that's not refrigerated? What?

Yes, they can sell beer but it has to be room temperature sitting out on the shelves. So they pretty much only sell like 6 packs/12 packs/cases.

>California here, we're able to get stuff till 2 AM
Isn't that the whole of the united states. They do that here in Arizona as well

18 for beer and wine, 20 for spirits. Beers under 6% is sold in stores between 10 am-8 pm during weekdays, and 10 am- 6pm on saturdays. All else has to be bought at government liquor store between 10 am- 6pm in weekdays and 10 am - 3pm on saturdays. No alcohol sale on sundays except for in bars/pubs and restaurants. You have to be 23 or older in order to drink at most bars which makes norway a shitty place to party it up.

The liquor stores closing at 10 pm on Sunday kinda pisses me off. Get your religious morals out of my life.

18 years, you can kill (be in army so you can drink). When you want booze you just ask older friend to buy, or some bum, thye buy you booze for 1 beer extra.

Sweden:
State monopoly for sale of beverages with more than 3.5% alcohol.
Drinking age of 18, but have to be over 20 to shop at the government-owned store.
The store is closed on Sunday and after 15 on Saturday.
Massive alcohol taxes, especially for spirits.

>State monopoly for sale of beverages with more than 3.5% alcohol.
What?

No, I'm in New York and I can buy beer and malt liquor (and some shitty wine since only gas stations keep these hours) 24 hours here but liquor can only be purchased in liquor stores that have strict hours (I believe 11 am to 10pm).

That's retarded! How does the refrigeration change anything?

Only the government-owned store is allowed to sell drinks containing more than 3.5% alcohol.

Wow, that's interesting.

So basically, only government-owned stores can sell alcohol. I don't know of any beers that are less than 3.5%; maybe a shandy.

Why not just tax the sales from privately-owned companies?

Fucking hell bums in the US usually steal your money or don't give you the booze after they buy it unless you beat the shit out of them. Maybe that's just because I grew up in the suburbs and the bums here are weird.

I wonder what drug consumption is like in Norway. What other drugs do people do?

>So basically, only government-owned stores can sell alcohol. I don't know of any beers that are less than 3.5%; maybe a shandy.
We produce a lot of beers at about 2.2% and 3.5% alcohol that are sold in regular stores.

>Why not just tax the sales from privately-owned companies?
It's believed that it will lead to more excessive alcohol consumption. The government's stores have shitty opening times, are spread very sparsely and are designed to limit impulse purchases etc.

Is this accurate? blogs.transparent.com/norwegian/the-dark-side-of-norway/

Immediate consumption. I have some people get pissy at my job because we can't keep everything in the cooler. We have a massive cooler but it's half full of cheap shitty beer water. The rest is good and our craft and import stuff is top tier, but we don't carry 40oz for image reasons.

Some people really care about immediate consumption. I don't get it, since many beers are better at around 50 degrees, but I guess it's a way to say "hey! We're totally against people just buying booze and sucking it down!" It's an image thing.

not that user but I'm guessing it's because people in the US tend to only drink beer cold, so maybe the legislators think selling warm beer is a safeguard that people won't just chug it right away.

But true addicts aren't gonna give a fuck and neither are college age binge drinkers, ie the people who are at risk. Plus you can just throw them in a pot with ice and dump salt all over it and it gets cold in like 15 minutes.

>You can buy 14 bottles of liquor and drink yourself stupid on your own at 20
>but in a restaurant where the waiter or bartender can stop you from getting too fucked up you have to be 23
Wow your legislators should all commit ritual suicide. As stupid as I find the 21 age here in the US, it's at least consistent.

I haven't been following this thread, but changes in temperature (leaving cold beer out/refrigerating warm beer) = skunking
>Drinking by yourself at your residence is the same thing as drinking in public around strangers
Also bars are liable for your safety, no shit they're not going to let you drink yourself to death.

minnesota here.

drinking age is 21. they are very strict about checking ID, but kids must still be able to get it somehow because I've known quite a few people who started drinking, developed a drinking problem, and went through rehab all before they turned 21. you can drink underage if your parent or guardian is around.

bars can serve from 8am to 1am and can apply for a special license to keep serving til 2. you can buy by the drink ("on sale") on sundays but not by the bottle ("off sale"). I guess you can also get a separate license from the city if you're just going to sell 3.2 beer or something.

not that anybody cares but I had to look up the state laws anyway to refresh my memory, so here's the link:

dps.mn.gov/divisions/age/forms-documents/Documents/2016 LIquor Laws Handbook1.pdf

I should note that minnesota has one of the highest alcohol consumption rates in the country, probably because there's fuckall to do here except watch soybeans grow and watch the twins suck each other off. I routinely see towns that have as many (if not more) liquor stores as churches.

In Michigan alcohol can't be legally sold before noon on sundays

The cutoff is 4,7% to be exact.

But the worst thing with Finland is not where alcohol is or isn't sold but rather the high taxes that makes everything insanely expensive if you want something slightly tastier than the lowest common denominator malt liquor and macro piss beer.

Believe me, I know. I try to offer up our wine cooler, which would get any can or bottle cold in 6 minutes, but they never want to use it. Most of the time they'll be reasonable and, more often than not, a woman will say "we can just stick it in the freezer/put it outside (in winter)" but sometimes someone will just be a pure asshole about it and take their misdirected anger out on me.

Like I said, it's probably an image thing for those who make the rules. It doesn't have to make sense.

Also PA. Beer distributors couldn't even sell six packs until a couple months ago. Alcohol laws are strange here

No minimum age for consumption
15 to buy anything up to 16,4%

Freedom feels good

Jesus, no wonder the Midwest is so fucked up with all their old ass puritan traditions.

Norwegians are pretty big on MDMA nowadays

Not very, afaik. We have heroin addicts, but most of them are in their late 40s early 50s. Most young adults and teens afaik. The author's Finnish roommate sure does sound Finnish though

Most young adults and teens stay away from the stuff*
Sorry, had a brainfart lol

>Victoria BC, Canada

Drinking age is 19
Other than pubs bars clubs and events, only sold in private or provincial liquor stores
Most stores close around 11pm
Fucking expensive, most 12 packs cost $13 Canadian
Taxes on liquor go towards medical services
New law just put through says businesses like barbers and libraries can apply for liquor licences
Can't buy in supermarkets
No drinking allowed at all when driving

Ohio

Liquor can be served by a licensed business from 5:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Monday - Saturday and from 1:00 p.m to 2:30 a.m. on Sundays (with a special Sunday license.)

Off-premises, licensed retailers may sell liquor from 5:30 am – 1:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1:00 p.m to 1:00 a.m. on Sunday (with a Sunday license.), although most liquor stores where I live close at 9:00 p.m.

Beer and wine may be sold by grocery stores, drug stores and other licensed retailers. Liquor is only available in Ohio from a State Liquor Store (although some of these are located within grocery stores.)

t is illegal to possess an open container of an alcoholic beverage in a public space. An individual who breaks this law can be prosecuted and punished by a fine of up to $500 and/or up to 90 days in jail.

Counties and cities can vote to ban liquor sales from their areas. (For instance, parts of Adams County in southern Ohio and New Albany near Columbus are dry.)

Texas stops selling all alcohol at 12 unless youre at a bar its til 2. Liquor stores all closed on Sundays I think

As someone with a wine shop within a mile of a NYC Whole Foods I appreciate your thought immensely.
*I think recent legislation allows for brunch spots to serve from 10 or 11 a.m. but it is a new thing.

Missouri
Pretty lax for the region. Last call for bars is 3 AM. Stores can't sell liquor after 1:30 am but can start again at 6 am. No laws against having an open container in a car but the driver can't be drinking.

You reminded me of a great New York allowance:
Parents can offer their kids wine (I suppose any alcohol) in restaurants from age 12 and in your own home there is legally no minimum within reason. You can't get your kids drunk but if you're a European family who gives watered down wine to your kid at dinner it's no prob

Florida, USA

our particular county, 7AM-2AM
but nobody actually sells before 8AM, and stores don't sell after midnight, so it's really 8AM-Midnight

Sundays it's 11AM-10?PM
It's retarded, there should be no restriction on any fucking alcohol sold at all, it's just a hold over from some religious shit.

Minimum age of 18
Heavily taxed, with the tax rate increasing with the ABV, making it one of the most expensive places in the world to get drunk
Retail outlets can only sell alcohol between 7 am and 10.30 pm
Public consumption between 10.30 pm and 7 am is banned, so if you fancy a drink you'd best be at home with your own supply, or getting overcharged at shitty bars
Two major districts where poor people and migrant quasi-slaves live have additional bans on public drinking (7 am Saturdays to 7 am Mondays, eves of holidays) and retail sale (7 pm to 7 am weekends)

I think I saw that happening in Beijing, no idea if that's a law over there.

TN
No liquor sale but beer and some malt liquor on Sunday.
No open containers allowed.
Hard liquor and liqueurs must be bought at a liquor store, and there are none in my county, but they're usually priced fairly and aren't expensive. Until recently only beer could be bought in grocery stores, but now there's wine.
Purchase time ends early out of what I know.

its like that in canada too in quebec/newfound anything above 20% is at gov stores only alberta is free from gov own booze stores and even in large cities stores are far a part

I was about to go "is it _____" and then I started losing count in my head of how many wine shops I know of within a mile of a Whole Foods

Yeah if they changed the law it would be like a neutron bomb, those shops would be toast

>Japan
>it's dirt cheap
>available everywhere (vending machines, convenience stores, drug stores, supermarkets)
>bars are open until 8am usually
>drinking in public is encouraged
>most bars have a couch area so if you pass out in a bar the staff get you a blanket, water and let you nap there a couple of hours
>drinking age is 20 but no-one ever checks ID, it's just a "well you wouldn't be in here if you weren't 20+ so we'll just assume you are" trust system
>only places that check IDs are nightclubs but nightclubs are kinda shit anyway

All alcohol is for sale until 2AM

Getting a DUI with 0.01% Blood Alcohol level or higher is mandatory 3 month license suspension and 5 days minimum jail time.

I won't confirm or deny past the following teaser but suffice it to say Brooklyn

Georgia
Grocery stores cannot sell anything stronger than beer or wine
No booze on Sundays until 12:30pm (none off-premise in Atlanta or Savannah)
Bars open until 2:30am except on Sundays (12:30pm-midnight)
Breweries have to sell "tours" with a certain number of "free samples"; can't buy alcohol directly from the producers. The limit is 36oz of beer on site and 72oz that can be taken home.

Hungary
Drinking age is 18
Basically anyone can sell booze.
End of alcohol sale is under the control of the town councils, but in most cases you can get booze in shops til 10pm.
Pubs can still sell booze till whenever the fuck they want to close (usually 4am).
Drinking in the street is prohibited, you can get fucked because of that.
DUI means a license suspension. Theyre extremely cautious about that.
You can get away with riding a bike after drinking as long as youre in a "reasonable condition". It's the cops' duty to decide what reasonable means.
Booze (except the import stuff) is cheap tho, if you know what to look for, wines have a great price/value rate.

Man russia sounds shit, i thought slavs drank harder than this?

>>Japan
>>it's dirt cheap

Visit central Europe sometime

Germany, bavaria.
You can get alcohol pretty much in any store at age 16, but all stores close at 8:00 pm. Afterwards you better are ready for a trip to the gas station and ready to pay ~175% of what you usually would.

Checked.

Also surprised, thought japs would be more strict about alcohol.

I live in a 3rd world country so nobody cares, but the """"""legal age"""""""" here is 18+

>but it want until last year that grocery stores could sell them.
grocery stores have been selling beer for years in pa. they've only been able to sell wine for the past year.

it seems as pa has been loosening the alcohol laws that selection has been decreasing. i should probably stock up on liquor before the liquor stores are privatized.

>changes in temperature (leaving cold beer out/refrigerating warm beer) = skunking
no, exposure to light causes skunking. temperature changes can affect the flavor, though.

>Atlanta
>Savannah

mate are you retarded

I'm a pretty liberal guy but having the government control all higher percentage drinks would drive me insane.

South Dakota

Bars are open until 2am (I live right on the border of the Mountain/Central timezone so I can cross a bridge and go to bar if I want to drink till 3am).

Beer and wine can be sold at grocery stores, gas stations, etc. Liquor is only at liquor stores.

You can buy booze at 18-20 if you're accompanied by someone 21 or older (though I doubt many stores know this because I've gotten hassled for it before).

No weird rules about only selling room-temperature beer or anything like that.

I can buy alcohol at any time since I was 18. Drinking in public is frowned upon, probably illegal. But on Australia day I was down at the beach in Melbourne with my mates and he life guard came around with a bucket for our empty bottles.
Awesome bloke, gave him a beer and he chugged in in 10 seconds flat.

FL is different by county though. Here I can't buy liquor on Sundays and they stop selling beer from gas stations at 2 am.

They actually go away pretty easily if you arrange some people to petition for it. My buddy's dad decided to do this on a whim while grilling with his friends. They changed the policy in less than a year.

I live in California but the liquor laws are always a mess because of city ordinances and the leeway the cities have on liquor licenses. For example my local Wal-Mart is allowed to sell wine but has to stop an hour before closing as part of their deal with the city. They tried to get a license to sell beer as well but the city refuses claiming there are already too many liquor stores in the area (even though it might actually put some out of business). A few miles away another Wal-Mart sells beer, wine, and hard liquor until closing. It's a fucking mess.

>shopping at Walmart
>actually wanting them to put small businesses out of business

Kill yourself

Savannah chiming in
>In the Savannah Historic District of Downtown Savannah, Georgia, city law allows possession and consumption on the street of one alcoholic beverage in an open plastic container of not more than 16 ounces. Because Georgia has no state public open container law, the city law governs.

Alberta, Canada
>drinking age 18
>only liquor stores can sell products with more than 1% alcohol
>liquor stores must be a separate building from grocery stores, and owned by a separate company (i.e. Costco Liquor is a separate corporation from Costco Canada)
>sales allowed from 10am to 2am, bars must close by 3am
>all alcohol wholesale is through the liquor control board but sold by private retailers (until recently all retail was run by the AGLC as well)
>bars cannot offer two-for-one or all-you-can-drink specials
>buckets of beer cannot be discounted against buying the bottles individually

It was an example, and the "small business" liquor stores are all fucking ghetto shops run by middle-easterners who pay their staff under the table, buy cases that "fell off the back of a truck" and cater primarily to people who buy Colt 45 and bum wines and sit outside their front doors drinking them. I have to go to Bevmo just to get a fucking can of Brownslane.

Those are sihks user. Sihks are not middle eastern they are often Indian or Pakistani.

And it's not their fault Americans sit around all day drinking beer in public.

No, they're not. I'm talking about the Persians.

>Live in Sask
>SLGA has started selling off stores and letting groceries (Sobey's, Co-op, etc) sell booze in the store

The future is bright.

Oh well fuck Perisa tbqh

Austrian here (Le ebin Austrialia-joke can fuck off)

Laws are pretty based here
Some "states" let you get anything at the age of being 16
others are: 16 years for wine and beer, basically "soft" alcohol, the rest at 18
In vienna it's 16 for everything
Drinking is allowed in public and in parks, you don't have to hide your alcohol in a bag
Beer tastes godlike since Austria has a huge tradition of brewing beer

How can other countries even dream to compete?