Beer Before Liquor: Does Drinking Order Really Make You Sicker?

The age-old saying “beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you’re in the clear” has been passed down through generations of social drinkers. This popular phrase suggests that the order in which you consume alcoholic beverages can determine whether you’ll suffer from a hangover the next day.

But does this folk wisdom hold up to scientific scrutiny? Many people firmly believe in this rule and plan their drinking accordingly, while others dismiss it as nothing more than a myth. Understanding the truth behind this saying can help you make more informed decisions about alcohol consumption and hangover prevention.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll examine the scientific evidence, explore what actually causes hangovers, and reveal the real factors that determine how you’ll feel after a night of drinking.

The Origins of the Beer Before Liquor Saying

The exact origin of this popular drinking proverb remains unclear, but several theories attempt to explain how it became so widespread in drinking culture.

One prevalent theory suggests that people typically start their evening with lower alcohol content beverages like beer or wine, gradually moving to stronger spirits as the night progresses. When they wake up with a pounding headache and nausea the next morning, they naturally attribute their misery to the last drinks they consumed—the liquor—leading them to believe the drinking order was the culprit.

Another explanation centers on the difference in alcohol content between beer and liquor. Beer typically contains 4-6% alcohol by volume, while distilled spirits contain 40% or higher. The theory proposes that consuming high-proof liquor at the end of the evening can rapidly elevate already-high blood alcohol levels, pushing drinkers over the edge into hangover territory.

Conversely, the saying suggests that starting with liquor and ending with beer might moderate the rate at which blood alcohol levels rise throughout the evening, potentially reducing hangover severity. However, as we’ll explore, this logic doesn’t align with how alcohol metabolism actually works.

What Science Says About Drinking Order and Hangovers

Despite the widespread belief in this saying, scientific research tells a different story. The order in which you consume different types of alcohol is unlikely to have any significant impact on whether you experience a hangover.

Here’s why: Alcohol absorption begins almost immediately when it enters your stomach, and continues as it moves through your digestive system. Regardless of whether you drink beer first or liquor first, your body processes all the alcohol you’ve consumed over the course of the evening in essentially the same way.

By the time a hangover sets in—typically several hours after you stop drinking—all the alcohol from the previous night has already been absorbed into your bloodstream. The sequence in which different types of drinks entered your system becomes irrelevant at this point.

Research Evidence

A study conducted by researchers examined whether drinking order affects hangover severity. Participants were divided into groups that consumed beer and wine in different orders, with controlled amounts of each. The results showed no significant difference in hangover symptoms based on drinking order alone.

What mattered most was the total amount of alcohol consumed, not the sequence of consumption. This finding supports what physiological understanding of alcohol metabolism would predict: it’s quantity, not order, that determines hangover risk.

What Really Causes a Hangover?

To understand why drinking order doesn’t matter, it’s helpful to know what actually causes hangover symptoms. Hangovers result from multiple physiological processes triggered by alcohol consumption:

Dehydration

Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it increases urine production and leads to fluid loss. This dehydration contributes to many common hangover symptoms including headache, dizziness, and thirst.

Inflammatory Response

Alcohol triggers an inflammatory response in your body, which can cause physical discomfort, difficulty concentrating, and mood changes.

Stomach Irritation

Alcohol increases stomach acid production and can irritate the stomach lining, leading to nausea and stomach pain.

Blood Sugar Disruption

Drinking can cause blood sugar levels to drop, resulting in fatigue, weakness, and mood disturbances.

Sleep Quality Interference

While alcohol may help you fall asleep initially, it disrupts sleep cycles and prevents restorative deep sleep, leaving you feeling unrested.

Factors That Actually Affect Your Hangover Risk

If drinking order doesn’t matter, what does? Several well-researched factors genuinely influence your likelihood of experiencing a hangover and its severity:

Total Alcohol Consumption

This is the single most important factor. The more alcohol you drink, the higher your blood alcohol concentration rises, and the more likely you are to suffer hangover symptoms. There’s a direct correlation between quantity consumed and hangover severity.

Drinking on an Empty Stomach

When you drink without eating, alcohol passes more quickly from your stomach to your small intestine, where it’s absorbed rapidly into your bloodstream. This causes faster, higher spikes in blood alcohol levels. Eating before and while drinking slows alcohol absorption and can reduce hangover risk.

Drinking Frequency and Tolerance

Regular heavy drinkers tend to reach blood alcohol levels that lead to hangovers more frequently. Interestingly, some research suggests that repeated heavy drinking may actually worsen hangover severity over time, contrary to the notion that frequent drinkers build up tolerance to hangovers.

Genetic Factors

Your genetic makeup plays a significant role in how your body metabolizes alcohol. Genes influence enzyme production for alcohol breakdown, affecting how quickly your body processes alcohol and eliminates it from your system. Genetics also impact how alcohol affects your sleep patterns, hydration levels, and blood vessel responses—all factors in hangover development.

Congeners Content

Congeners are chemical compounds produced during alcohol fermentation and aging. They contribute to the flavor, aroma, and color of alcoholic beverages, but they also contribute to hangover symptoms. Darker liquors like whiskey, bourbon, and red wine contain higher levels of congeners compared to clear spirits like vodka and gin. This is one case where the type of alcohol matters, though it’s about the congener content, not the drinking order.

Hydration Status

Starting your drinking session already dehydrated increases hangover risk. Alternating alcoholic drinks with water throughout the evening can help maintain hydration and potentially reduce hangover severity.

Smoking

Research indicates that people who smoke while drinking are more likely to experience hangovers compared to non-smokers who consume the same amount of alcohol. The combination of tobacco and alcohol appears to amplify negative after-effects.

Age

Many people find that hangovers become more severe as they get older. This may be due to age-related changes in body composition, liver function, and overall metabolism.

The Exception: When Drinking Order Might Matter

While the sequence of beer and liquor doesn’t physiologically affect hangover development, drinking order can matter in one indirect way: if a particular drinking pattern consistently leads you to consume more total alcohol, it may increase hangover risk.

For example, if starting with beer makes you feel fuller and limits how much you drink overall, while starting with liquor leads you to drink more throughout the evening, then your drinking order indirectly affects your hangover by influencing total consumption.

Similarly, some people find that certain drinking orders affect their ability to recognize intoxication levels. Starting with beer might make it easier to pace yourself, while beginning with strong cocktails might impair judgment more quickly, leading to overconsumption.

Effective Strategies to Prevent Hangovers

Now that we’ve established what doesn’t work, let’s focus on evidence-based strategies that can genuinely help reduce hangover risk:

Moderate Your Intake

The most effective hangover prevention is limiting alcohol consumption. Moderate drinking is generally defined as up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.

Eat Before and While Drinking

Consuming a substantial meal before drinking and snacking throughout the evening slows alcohol absorption and helps maintain more stable blood alcohol levels.

Stay Hydrated

Drink a full glass of water between alcoholic beverages, and have another before bed. Proper hydration can significantly reduce hangover symptoms.

Choose Lighter-Colored Drinks

If you’re concerned about congeners, opt for clear spirits like vodka or gin over darker options like whiskey or dark rum.

Pace Yourself

Your body metabolizes roughly one standard drink per hour. Drinking faster than this rate causes alcohol to accumulate in your bloodstream, increasing intoxication and hangover risk.

Avoid Smoking

If you drink, try not to smoke, as the combination increases hangover likelihood.

Get Adequate Sleep

While alcohol disrupts sleep quality, getting as much rest as possible helps your body recover more effectively.

Interesting Facts About Hangovers

Research has revealed some fascinating insights about hangovers that challenge common assumptions:

• Immunity exists: Approximately 23-25% of people who drink alcohol report never experiencing hangovers, regardless of how much they consume. Scientists don’t fully understand why some people are naturally resistant to hangovers.
• No proven cure: Despite countless folk remedies and commercial products claiming to prevent or cure hangovers, no treatment has been scientifically proven consistently effective.
• Gender differences: Research suggests women may be more susceptible to hangovers than men when consuming equivalent amounts of alcohol, possibly due to differences in body composition and enzyme levels.
• Hangover severity varies: Even in the same person, hangover severity can vary significantly from one drinking episode to another, influenced by factors like stress, sleep deprivation, and overall health.

When to Seek Medical Advice

While hangovers are generally harmless and resolve on their own within 24 hours, certain symptoms warrant medical attention:

• Severe confusion or difficulty staying conscious
• Vomiting that persists for more than 24 hours
• Seizures
• Slow or irregular breathing
• Signs of severe dehydration
• Symptoms that seem disproportionate to the amount consumed

If you find yourself regularly experiencing severe hangovers or feel unable to control your drinking, consult with a healthcare provider. They can assess whether you might have an alcohol use disorder and discuss appropriate treatment options.

The Bottom Line

The popular saying “beer before liquor, never been sicker” is essentially a myth with no scientific foundation. The order in which you consume different types of alcoholic beverages has no direct physiological impact on whether you’ll develop a hangover or how severe it will be.

What truly matters is the total amount of alcohol you consume, how quickly you drink it, whether you eat beforehand, your individual genetics, and various lifestyle factors like smoking and hydration status.

If you choose to drink alcohol, focus on proven prevention strategies: eat before drinking, pace yourself, stay hydrated, limit your total consumption, and avoid mixing alcohol with tobacco. These evidence-based approaches are far more effective than worrying about the order of your drinks.

Remember that the only guaranteed way to avoid a hangover is to abstain from alcohol entirely or drink in true moderation. Understanding the real science behind hangovers empowers you to make informed decisions about alcohol consumption and take control of how you feel the next morning.

Sources:

• National Institutes of Health – Alcohol Metabolism and Absorption
• PubMed Central – Hangover Characteristics and Risk Factors
• National Institutes of Health – Factors Influencing Hangover Severity
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Alcohol and Public Health