Beer.

[dead ben 0]

Add beer.

Calms nerves

Helps thirst- maybe half of that with water Drink too many short term - blurry vision

Drink to many long term - build tolerance with a chance of becoming addicted - gets the shakes.

[Jester. 6]

I think whiskey would be more suitable, since there are already whiskey bottles.

[Skippy (DayZ) 9]

Alcohol actually removed water from your body, not adding it I believe...

Also Russia is full of drunks; thus the empty cans. Even while undead, they keep up their drinking habit.

[dead ben 0]

I'm fine with whiskey and maybe a threshhold to how many drinks help your thirst before hurting your hydration.

[oktyabr 53]

I guess the bottles might be more locale "correct"... vodka?

Anyway, speaking as an... uhhh... "experienced" drinker ;) I can tell you that beer would be great! It also does less to dehydrate you than soda, which is also full of sodium and much more sugar. Drinking a lot of anything, even water, will deplete your body of electrolytes (as you pee them out) and you will dehydrate faster as their levels fall. Given the choice between an unopened can/bottle of beer, a sugary soda or a canteen full of dirty pond water or worse, ocean water, I'd take the beer every time.

Hard liquor will dehydrate you much faster due to the body using extra water to process it and get rid of it. Technically alcohol is a poison, a hang over is really "alcohol poisoning"... That said and more to the topic at hand it IS a sedative, especially important if any sort of morale system is ever incorporated, can act as a temporary pain killer, although the side effects might be worse than the pain, and in it's strong, distilled form (i.e. vodka, whiskey, whatever) makes a good antiseptic for treating wounds, and can be used as improvised fuel and weapons.

[Jimmy James 18]

I'd take beer every time, too (of course), but does soda really dehydrate you faster than beer?

[oktyabr 53]

I'd take beer every time' date=' too (of course), but does soda really dehydrate you faster than beer?

[/quote']

Well... it's open to debate. Sodas with caffeine in them can act as a mild diuretic (making you pee more) in "large enough doses" and that's what the argument is about. It used to be thought that it worked as such regardless of the amount but now some researchers say it requires a certain amount for the effect to be significant... 500-600mg a day seems to be rough agreement... three or four cups of coffee a day, or maybe two or three of those fancy ones, maybe ONE of those energy drinks in a can, etc.:

http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database

And of course your body needs water to process carbs (that "sugary" bit)... most non-diet sodas can be four to five times higher in carbs than a beer (40-50 vs. around 10): http://www.beer100.com/beercalories.htm

Sorry for the detour....

I LIKE THE BEER IDEA!! :)

[SixPackAbs 13]

i'd go with beer because it is Delicious and not full of 40+grams of sugars :D