Beer and Pipe Smoking

[madox07]

How do you guys feel about having a beer together with a pipe bowl. I really enjoy both, but I did notice that if I have more than a couple of beers and a couple of bowls it accentuates my tongue bite, and diminishes my taste of the tobacco - regardless of what blend I smoke. Have you had that happen to you?

 

[pagan]

I usually have a beer with my after work smoke, some times a few more with no ill affects

 

[jazz]

Tongue bite only really happened to me when I started and I rarely get bit anymore. I have always smoked when I have been drinking and can't really say that I noticed it making the bite worse. It can certainly affect one's ability to taste, though. This is proven by the fact that after a skinful I can often be seen shoving forkfuls of the filthiest and most greasy doner kebab between my salt starved lips. This is something you are very unlikely to see if I'm sober.

 

[ray47]

When I did drink beer with my pipe I found it caused the blend to turn too bitter to suit me. Now that I can't drink anything with alcohol in it, due to my gall bladder being removed, I stick with coffee or tea when I have a bowl.

 

[fitzy]

I prefer a nice oolong tea with my pipe.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Tea or liquor here. I save the beer for steak or a pizza.

 

[cossackjack]

No beer or wine with a pipe for me - too acidic.

I prefer dark distilled spirits, water or tea.

 

[jabo]

Never noticed any problems. I conquered the tounge bite issue by switching to "quality" tobaccos.

 

[northernneil]

A nice creamy milk stout with heavy roast and full body works great on a cold winter evening with a light to medium english / latakia blend. Also, during the warmer months I was really digging saisons with a peppery yeast paired with a straight virginia flake or VA/Per. I found the flavors very complimentary of each other.

 

[jackswilling]

I prefer no alcohol when smoking as it sends the cancer rate through the roof. To each their own. Keep your smoking within the guidelines and it keeps you right at the non-smoking norm.

 

[weezell]

Beer and Pipe Smoking

Is that like eating and breathing(Same to me)...

 

[ophiuchus]

I just posted drinking green tea in another thread, then added a half-shot of brandy in reaction to the sub-zero cold outside (and not "good" high-end brandy, just a little Christian Bros.). Bad dog.
Anywho (and remember that we've all got our own ideas of the perfect combo), I prefer cigars with beer, cigarettes with wine, and smoke-cured pipe with distillation product. For the pipe forum, Latakia with whiskey and Kentucky with rum and brandy. There's no custom involved and it's all a matter of taste, no method to madness. I'd be an asshole to impose dogma on best combinations of drink and smoke. So would anyone else, so careful searching this info on discussion boards on the 'net.
If I'm swilling beer all night (and in making suggestions for those of you fellow fools who know you're going to have more than a couple on a given evening), I like to start with whatever fancy shit I'm really digging on a given week, and have two bowls of something mild-to-medium and cheap as I continue (like Carter Hall or Prince Albert) that I won't burn my mouth out on.
Dumb party tips.

 

[madox07]

Not burning your mouth is a big thing ... I am not all that experienced with pipe smoking, so when I have that extra glass or pint, well I do tend to smoke a bit faster. I was a cigarette smoker for many years, and I suppose that when I drink a bit more than I should, I go back to old habits. So smoking mild when partying is actually not as dumb as one may think ophiuchus ::

 

[shutterbugg]

Alcohol strips the oral mucosa of protection against oral diseases associated with smoking, so I prefer not to combine the two.

 

[foggymountain]

Beer is good, but I prefer a Campari & soda with the juice of at least 1/4 lemon, with a pipe.

 

[mso489]

Beer feels like it coats my mouth, so that might make me puff harder to get flavor from the pipe, then cause tongue bite. I like a crisp IPA with a pipe, but beer bloats me like a beach ball, so I don't drink it much. I like hot and iced tea, ice or chilled water, the rare soda (watching the sugar and avoiding the non-sugar sweeteners). Coffee I drink with a little milk, and that coats my mouth too. With a pipe, I want the beverage to cleanse my pallid, and not impart too much flavor.

 

[toobfreak]

I haven't had beer in years, but frankly, I don't think I'd want to drink it during the smoke. I think it interferes with my ability to taste the tobacco. I might have a cold beer after.

 

[instymp]

I think the Germans/Europeans have been doing it for a couple of years.

Do what tastes good to you.

 

[jefff]

I was a beer geek long before it was cool. I brewed my own 30 years ago so I have some experience here.
While I greatly enjoy a hop forward... VERY hop forward beer, I find IPA's unsatisfactory with a pipe.
If I am going to have a beer at home with a bowl, I choose Guiness, in the can. The nitrogen they use is much smoother, less carbonation equals a more rewarding smoke for me.

 

[sdcowboy]

Two of my favorite things...a beer and a pipe. I've never noticed an increase in tongue discomfort. I think it depends on the brew and smoking cadence more than the tobacco. Lighter lager beers tend to be a little bit more crisp on the palate than darker full-bodied beers. When enjoying a pipe, I like to pair it with something dark such as Sam Adams or Michelob Amber Bock. The fuller tasting beers tend to enhance the taste of certain tobaccos, while the lighter beers tend to compete with the flavors.
It's similar to pairing coffee with a pipe. The rich coffee flavors tend to complement the blend I'm smoking rather than compete with it.