I know this topic is supposed to be more about beers than just alcohol itself but I have to ask, why does the US have a drinking age of 21 and everyone else has from like 16-19?
im sure it had something to do with driving laws and how they both evolved over the years.
when my mom was a kid they could drink at 18, while you could get a drivers license at 16 by simply paying 20 dollars and having your picture taken at sears. no regulations, it was JUST an ID basically.
and much longer ago of course there was no age limits to drinking or driving.
much longer ago the states had to decide the legality of driving drunk. this was the days before car insurance was required. and became required when there were a crazy 2cars per household and the state couldn't handle all the public repairs and emergency help.
so in the end, its a gay middle ground to where the states feel they dont wanna pay X amount anymore. the statistics of how old drivers are when they are commonly in accidents, and booze (was) heavily used and driven on.
i guess if the US didnt have a huge head start in automobile usage over the world, laws might have evolved differently.