When you’re playing your match, what do you drink?
Does it matter if you want to win? Or are afraid to lose? Or are coasting through the moment?
When I want to win: Earl Grey Hot. Just like Picard, I like a contemplative beverage. The bergamot stimulates without clouding your judgement.
When it feels like 50/50: Canadian lagers, such as Labatt’s Blue or Molson Canadian, are a staple in my house. Takes the edge off of a work day then eases you in to a competitive mindset.
When you know you’re going to die, badly…: Bell’s Two Hearted IPA Ale. At 7% ABV it’s the right choice when balancing humiliation against false hope. Plus, it has bitter grapefruit tones softened with a hint of sweetness. (honorable mention: DogFish Head IPA, also excellent)
Cool refreshing water. Unless it’s casuals, in which case a nice light beer! Something like Bud Light. For some reason I can’t imagine having an amber or dark beer while playing Yomi.
Almost always water. Nonalcoholic ginger beer if I have it in the fridge for some reason. (I rarely do as I don’t buy it that often and when I do it doesn’t tend to last.)
Just water for me. I don’t drink alcohol, and I’ve never really been a fan of soft drinks, so the only time I bother with anything that takes more time/cost than water is if I have a sudden craving for hot chocolate or apple juice (the latter in particular became a favorite of mine when I found out that it’s really good for soothing a sore throat).
I occassionally drink Redds Apple Ale. I am actually undefeated when I have a few drinks. It is a small sample size, but I am too old to create a sample size large enough to be statistically significant.
Not infrequently, a dark and stormy. But frankly, my Yomi match conditions are rarely conducive to strong concentration (which I think my Elo demonstrates).
Mostly nothing, as I play on nights where I work the next morning a lot, but if I don’t its a good Bloody Mary or White Russian. When I play a single day tournament I almost always get a bit toasted beforehand, and my record in those is phenomenal. Realize this: if you have lost to me chances are that I may very well have been either drunk or on the toilet (not both).
Water water water. My drink bottle never leaves my side.
Though I have also been known on occasion to have some tea or ginger beer, I haven’t while yomiing for quite some time.
Normally water or tea; I’ve taken to saying what fancy loose-leaf tea is in my pot if I’m doing a live commentary as I’m playing. If I’ve got some beers lying around (unusual) they tend to get drunk whether or not I’m playing Yomi (which is why I tend not to have any spare…) and those are typically bottles of ales, often something local from one of the fancy off-licences nearby, or even my homebrew. I haven’t paid much attention to my winrate on beer vs water/tea; I suspect it’s not an improvement.
I always hydrate with water before hand, but during the match its self I like redds, tequila shots, or a good stout/porter/dark ale. I don’t always drink during matches, but when I do I win two tournaments.
The sweet orange nectar that is Barr’s Irn Bru Xtra. (The marketing rule was one vowel per word apparently)
Irn Bru (pronounced Iron Brew) is a Scottish soft drink that makes us one of only a handful countries in the world where a soft drink outsells one made by Coca Cola. Imagine a vaguely orange soda crossed with a cream soda and you’re somewhere in the right ball park.
I generally prefer the pepsi-max equivalent because it means I can save my sugar intake for cake.
Color me intrigued. I enjoy a good orange cream soda every so often. I’m actually about to experiment with homemade root beer, but it sounds like I need to try orange sodas too.
Be careful, the causal relationship between “being Scottish” and “drinking Irn Bru” has not been fully investigated, and we are not yet sure which one causes the other.
Holy carpe, , that sounds hecka good! :o I want to try that sometime!
As for what I normally drink during a Yomise, there is a little water, but I drink a lot more fruit juices! Simply Lemonade is one of my favorites & I also like to mix it with cranberry/cherry juice! I’m basically a sugar-aholic, so I’m drinking that as often as is possible!
(Sometimes, though, I’m not drinking anything… Even when I have a glass or my water bottle nearby!? )
I usually have some kind of squash (usually Ribena) next to me, but sometimes when I’m in after work and need some energy to pick me up I’ll have something like a Lucozade Orange. I’m not a hot drink person, so I remain a disgrace to my English heritage by never drinking tea, and I’ll have about 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks a year.
I’m kind of surprised. Not a lot of beer drinkers here. Thought we’d have some people touting their local micro brews. I went to the wine country and north on my honeymoon where I was introduced to Anchor Steam and Callistoga Red. Both good memories.
Orange Cream Soda seems to be trending. I’ll have to give it a try. Probably not for use during matches though.
, that sounds hecka good! :o I want to try that sometime! 
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