Alcohol

In paying a little extra for the amenities, we get access to the free cocktail hour from 6:00 to 9:00. The wines and liquor seems to be all right but the beer selection sucks. It was clearly chosen by someone who doesn't actually drink alcohol but knows the most popular brands in the world. They have Heinekin, Budweiser, Fosters, Amstel Light, and Corona, pretty much what you'll find in any hotel bar around the world. My wife and I keep making the mistake in asking about the various wines and beer because we forget that we're asking the staff to describe something that they have no experience with.

Because 3 hours of free booze isn't enough for us, we had a drink in a nice little pub / sports bar in the basement of the hotel that has a reasonable selection of beers including Guiness and Kilkiney. Pricing wasn't bad and was comparable to what you could expect to pay for a pint of the same beers in Japan. I ordered our beers and we found a table and sat down. Two things about the waitress bringing our beers amused me: 1) she had to tell us which was Guiness and which was Kilkiney (obvious to anyone who drinks beer based on the color) and 2) she automatically place the darker beer next to me when in fact that was my wife's order. Later, I asked for a Bloody Mary which was better than any I'd had in Japan but was clearly made by someone who has a list of ingredients but has never had one.

Another concern of mine is that I need to have my visa before I can get my license to buy alcohol. While it is easy to get, I will need a week or two before I can get one. I guess that it comes down to proving that I am indeed not Muslim and that I know better than to buy booze for Muslims. I don't seem to know enough to not ask them for advice about beer so I hope I can qualify.