I'm sure the UK have adopted a policy of
1/ Can they afford to drink
2/ Do they look like they can handle their drink
3/ Could they possibly be over the age of 18

Answer 'yes' to those question and most pubs seem to operate a 'no questions asked' approach.
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:19, 1 reply, 15 years ago)

This was the case ten years ago when I first started drinking in pubs and clubs etc
it's not the case any more. At least, not in any kind of classy establishment. It's not worth the fine if you get caught serving underage, especially as the person who serves you is liable for it.
(berk, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:21, Reply)

this
maaaaaaaaaaajor fines over here, plus you could get jail time

my cousin was 17 and he died at a party, they brought charges against the guy that bought the alcohol
( Lisette von Falcon, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:23, Reply)

Over here, drinking is a huge, huge part of the student lifestyle
if none of you guys can drink until you're 21, what the fuck do you do for shits and giggles when you go to college?
(berk, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:25, Reply)

they do it anyway
but they were high school kids, not college kids

it'd be better to teach kids about moderation than to say NO OMG etc
( Lisette von Falcon, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:31, Reply)

Many many times this
they tried that here, along with adjusting the opening hours of bars to make it more of a 'café culture' (ie, don't go out at 8pm and get hammered in 2 hours because the bars shut at 11pm) and it just hasn't worked. Not at all.
(berk, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:34, Reply)

I think all parents should get their kids so wasted that they're puking their guts out
so that they think "If I drink, I will die"
( Lisette von Falcon, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:40, Reply)

Yeah, but I've gotten so wasted that I've puked my guts up and thought I'd die
I still drink, and I still get drunk. Just...more sensibly so than on that occasion.
(berk, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:41, Reply)

exactly
but when you're a KID
like 11 or so
it'd be the best for everyone I think
( Lisette von Falcon, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:43, Reply)

You were 11 when you started drinking!
Well, you look younger than you are!
( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:24, Reply)

good work, there, Jeff

( Citizen Cavy Admires your passion for conformity, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:25, Reply)

7 or 8, actually
my dad worked in a brewery, and got free booze. Occasionally he'd bring home a crate of some shit-awful alcopop which I would nick bottles of. It tasted like lilt and nail varnish remover.
(berk, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:26, Reply)

My folks were big into 'home brew' when I was a lad, so there was always drink to be nicked.

( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:30, Reply)

Oh, my dad tried that a couple of times as well
being the raging alcoholic that he was. I remember elderberry wine that was like rocket fuel. Nasty shit; I think my sister and I 'rescued' most of that when it was thrown out and used it to set things on fire with.
At least he never sank as low as Special Brew. Kestrel lager, yes, but not Special Brew.
(berk, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:33, Reply)

Both of those are rank.

( Davros' Granddad a voice of calm reason in a world of spastics., Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:35, Reply)

Just after payday it would be vodka martinis, very dry
mid-month, he'd have downgraded to Carling. Then at the end of the month, when we had quite literally no money at all, it'd be Kestrel lager. Or White Lightning, very occasionally.

Bleurgh. And once again: bleurgh.
(berk, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:38, Reply)

and yet you grew to be a productive member of society
well done
( Lisette von Falcon, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:41, Reply)

I am rather making it sound like I had a really trailer-trash upbringing, aren't I?

(berk, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:42, Reply)

noooooooooooooooooooooo
not at all
( Lisette von Falcon, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:44, Reply)

More static caravan I'd say.

( JeffTheDogFucker Can you dig it?, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:44, Reply)

*to the tune of I Wanna Be a Billionaire*
"I wanna live in a caravan sooooooooo freakin' baaaaaad"
( Lisette von Falcon, Wed 8 Jun 2011, 19:47, Reply)