Is it just me or does everyone have this problem.Usually when I go out I take one of my whistles with me,more often than not I would partake in a few alcoholic beverages (just to be sociable).With one or two drinks I play fine,with three or four I seem to get better,but then from there on in it goes down hill 
to the point where I can’t even start a tune 
. Now I’m not talking about 15 pints of Guinness or anything like that,it just seems to be that after a certain stage that’s it.
A friend of mine actually gets better as the night goes on 
Well I’ve never put this to the test with a whistle (only been playing a short while and never been to any sort of session) but I’ve always noticed a drop of ability when playing the flute (which I’ve been at for a few years now) after only one beer My fingers seem to start to stumble (more than usual 
) and I very soon find it best to give up. As a result I’ve never tried to play after more than 2 beers. It just seemed not to work for me. 
EDIT: Oh I just remembered I did try once after quite a few wines and some jollying along by my family … a complete rout is probably the best description and I can see why I banished it from memory 
Yeah, with the third Guinness my fingers forget the notes. I might as well sit out the rest of the night.
Alcohol is very toxic to the human body.Luckily the human body is capable of some self repair.It eventually is permanatly damaged by high volume consumption though.Kinda like adding a bottle of Draino to the cars gas tank every few days.But Stout tastes better. 
Living in a rural area, I have to drive pretty much everywhere to sessions etc, so never go past the second drink. There are a lot of hills and bends, and to lose my license would be disastrous.
Also, with the band, it’s not worth the risk, although “our leader”, a fiddler, improves measurably after her second glass of wine 
So…I feel I get better as the evening wears on…relatively to some others, and to the ears of those part-slumped over their instruments.
It’s strange, music provides the buzz that alcohol maybe did once 
Trisha
i drink 5 and a half pints of guinness every night, but i couldn’t drink more than that, so i can’t get drunk.
if i can’t play whistle after 4 pints won’t bother me at all, i’ll be singing anyway 
Despite my screen name, I’m a real lightweight when it comes to drinking: more than two and I’m likely to doze off, so I’ve never had the opportunity to see how I’d play a whistle with more than that in my belly
After a few pints I tend to get a bit silly, trying to start polka sets all the time, and refusing to end them again, for instance.
I also have a sneaking suspicion that while those pints make me feel like Matt Molloy on one of his better days, in reality my playing might just be a wee bit sloppier than his.
/Jens
Wow, I was thinking about that combination (whistles and beer) just this morning on my way to work (as I was listening to the East Durham foofaraw).
I’ve decided that if there’s any chance that I might be drinking and getting carried away, I really should leave my whistle at home… There’s no point in even trying to play after three pints!
I don’t know… after i partake of a couple pints, it seems to me that the playing of everybody else in the session improves dramatically!
This is a topic that I’ve wondered about quite a bit too. I can usually manage after one and will still play after two, but three and beyond and I really can’t play very well any more.
Although, I have found a scheme that seems to work (assuming you’d like to drink more pints and still play). Alternate pints of beer with cups of coffee. This seems to work for me. Or, skip the beer altogether and just have cups of coffee with a bit of Irish whisky in them.
-Brett
Right around my 6 Black & Tan everything I play on the whistle sounds fantastic and its time to cut an album…LOL
On a serious note…I drink one to two Bass or Guinness when I play which is almost every night. After a while my fingers just start floating over the whistle. I also tend to play a heck of a lot louder with a pint or two.
I like to have a couple of drinks sometimes when I play but I find that beer makes me burp to much and I don’t have the breath control. A good glass of whiskey or scotch seems to do the trick without the interruptions.
‘Beer and Whistles’ sounds like a recipe for a happy life!
Or it could be a band name - Celtified ‘Guns ‘n’ Roses’ anyone???
or the name of an ‘Oirish’ Pub!!!
Keith-You probably do play louder when you’ve had a few-Alchohol consumption affects the hearing-which is why pubs tend to get noisier as the patrons get sloshed!
I’m glad that it’s not just me 
though I might have to try the Irish coffee…just to see if it works or not
AAAHHHHHH!
Two of my favorite subjects! BEER! WHISTLES! BEER! WHISTLES! BUURRPP!
The courage to play is sometimes found in the glass, to forget about yourself, and concentrate on making music. It’s a fine line for optimum benefit vs impairment, but sometimes, it’s worth researching. It works the same with dancing. Partaking brings the courage to get out on the floor, being able to move with the music, but if you go too far, you become the one everyone is pointing at!
Beer has it’s benefits and drawbacks like everything else. But I still don’t know why it keeps tasting better after each glass!
It’s time to celebrate-Oktoberfest beers are starting to show up about now, one of my favorite times of the year!
Aufwiedersehn!
I know what you mean Barry,there definitley is a dividing line between being able to play…and thinking you are brilliant …and then making a complete ass of yourself,which I have done on a few occasions
Just a shame I can’t tell when that line is about to be crossed…probably something to do with the drink 
And they look better too
My “Drug” of choice is Coffee! I find that 6 or 7 pots help my speed on those jigs n reels that seem to get faster and faster as the night goes on! (of course the added sugar is a bonus).
COFFEE RULES! BEER DROOLS!
Of course,another drawback of the beer and whistle combination is the tendancy to lose a whistle which I have already done
I still haven’t taken my Overton out of the house yet