its purely placebo at that point. how ethanol is metabolized is based purely on weight, so the only difference between a 15 year old drinking and a 30 year old drinking is weight and tolerance to taste. no way any 15 year old would willingly endure the disgusting taste of non-flavored alcohol. mead maybe. but beer? no.
I agree with you completely that beer is disgusting it's literal piss.
But it's definitely not all placebo since body weight has alot to do with it, but not having morphed from low body weight to huge I can't speak for that personally I can however say that tolerance, the amount and frequency that you drink has an enormous effect as well as what and how much someone has eaten beforehand
watering down vodka: it tastes just as bad but you now have to drink more
Honestly when I run out of soda I just shoot 50/50 vodka and water and I swear it almost has a sweet flavor
Of course I chase it with more water but it's not that bad at least if like me youre just going for getting intoxicated and not necessarily going for the most enjoyable taste on the planet
But I wouldn't really want my drinks to taste like roast beef I don't think