The Netherlands is known for their relaxed public attitude in regards to drugs and prostitution. Another example of its liberal approach to weaknesses (or just human traits) is set by the clinic, Centrum Maliebaan, in Amersfoort, which is the first European institution to offer a Canadian beer therapy  for curing alcoholism.

At the moment, 19 patients are being treated and each one gets to drink up to five liters of beer a day. The clinic’s psychiatrist, Eugene Schotten, refers to this treatment as controlled drinking. Patients have to wait one hour before drinking another half a liter of beer. The purpose for this scheduled drinking is to stretch the alcohol intake, thereby keeping the patients from getting drunk.

This program is intented for patients with severe alcoholism, such as the ones gulping down a bottle of Martini or Port before breakfast.

With this controlled drinking, patients keep their blood alcohol at a constant low level. This enables them to be seen by the doctor, by the psychiatrist, they can shower on their own, and behaviour is at a normal rate. To reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms, their diet is supplemented with vitamins and medication.

At first, clinic staff found it hard to get used to this new form of treatment. But success in the treatment has been noted – patients start drinking less and their physical wellbeing improves.

Personally, I believe this might work. People, addicted to hard liquor, might find beer an easier companian to live with. Of course, this is coming from a German who grew with beer. Look at the German Biergarten in summer time filled with beer drinkers, as early as noon time. Some might chuck down a few liters a day.

In the early 80s, while while working for one of the major steel industrial companies in Germany, I noted many men stopping by the beer vending machine (there was one on each floor) just before we started work. I usually got to the office a bit before 7 a.m.  While I was craving another cup of coffee, some guys wanted their first bottle of beer. I remember asking my boss about this, stating I could not work if I had beer that early in the morning. He just replied, “Frau…. , they could not work WITHOUT beer that early in the morning.”   So they did work, the beer did its job, and the company was doing well. Maybe these guys practised controlled drinking as well and limited their intake to, say, five bottles a day.

To some people , drinking up to 5 liters of beer a day might seem horrendous, to others it might seem like a holiday (go to the Oktoberfest in Munich), and to the rest, drinking this much might seem like a cure for alcoholism. It all depends on your chemical balance and drinking culture.

The German post can be read on Mit der Bier-Therapie gegen die Alkoholsucht