Hey Fido, want some beer?

[quamp]

Story here

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - After a long day hunting, there's nothing like wrapping your paw around a cold bottle of beer. So Terrie Berenden, a pet shop owner in the southern Dutch town of Zelhem, created a beer for her Weimaraners made from beef extract and malt.

So does that mean that a dog has to be 21 in human years or dog years in order to drink?

Berenden consigned a local brewery to make and bottle the nonalcoholic beer, branded as Kwispelbier. It was introduced to the market last week and advertised it as "a beer for your best friend."

Non-alcoholic!? That takes all the fun out of it...

Now male dogs won't have an easier way to get laid.

The beer is fit for human consumption, Berenden said. But at euro1.65 ($2.14) a bottle, it's about four times more expensive than a Heineken.

Would you pay $2.14 for a non-alcoholic beer? I don't think so.

While feeding animals alcohol isn't new (For example, the Japanese have been doing it for centuries with Kobe beef,) feeding them a non-alcholic brew seems... well... pointless. Your dog can now have a beer gut without getting sloshed!

[EveKnight75]

The legal drinking age in the Netherlands is 16 if the alcoholic content is under 22%. If it's 22% or over, you need to be 18. There is no minimum age requirement if you drink in private with a parent/guardian present. 21 is the maximum ever stated, and it's in very few countries.

So really, the dog could be a newborn pup and drink the beer in Amsterdam, as long as its' owner is there. Maybe the beer is non-alcoholic because Berenden wants to steer clear of any animal-rights activists that may be lurking nearby.

If I had a dog and I wanted to give it a nice cool beverage, I'd give it a nice dish of cold water. Maybe I'd give it milk, lemonade, or iced tea. But I would never waste money on alcohol-free beer (if I did like beer) for myself, so why on earth would I do so for my pets (if I had any)?

[quamp]

True, but that's what it is here in the U.S.A. I know most other countries have a lower drinking age. However, in the Netherlands, I wonder if a dog has to be 16 in human or dog years in order to drink this.

While we're on the subject, did you know in the USA it's illegal for anyone under 21 to buy or consume a NON-alcoholic beer?

I don't understand why either.

[dazzledfirestar]

While we're on the subject, did you know in the USA it's illegal for anyone under 21 to buy or consume a NON-alcoholic beer?

I don't understand why either.

you folks have some funny ideas about the evils of alcohol, that's all I'm saying. Of course, the funny thing when hubby and I were in Austalia was all the American exchange students who suddenly found themselves legal (drinking age in Austalia is 18, as it is in most of Canada)... boy those were some funny times! Watching these lovely little California girls discover the joys of having your friend hold your hair back while throwing up in an alley.

Anyway, yeah, beer for dogs... hmm... well, the Belgian people take their beer very seriously (Its like the french with wine) so if it was going to happen anywhere, I'm not surprised.

[quamp]

[pedantic mode]Uh... Dazzled... Amsterdam is in the Netherlands, not Belgium...

[/pedantic mode]

The people who are most serious about beer though, have to be the Czechs. I'm part Czech, and whenever I've got to a Czechfest, the beer flows like water... a literal tsunami.

[Guest .:Deathbringer:.]

Wow... what's next? A Dog Gone Porn and a pack of Puppy Smokes? O_O;;;

[redsliver]

Beer's like a glass of bread. Without the alcohol its actually quite the meal.

[dazzledfirestar]

I apologise for my slight geographical error Lets just put in the Prego Stupids catagory and forget about it!

But yes, beer is quite a meal. And it has been prescribed to breast-feeding mothers as well... Don't believe me? Guinness is good for you! http://www.macrobiotics.co.uk/kidspage/breastfeeding.htm It's number under number 5 on the list.