Drinking Made Easy is a pub-crawl

Pub crawl

A pub crawl is the act of one or more people drinking in multiple pubs or bars in a single night, normally walking or busing to each one between drinking.-Origin of the term:...

 television series which premiered in 2010 and airs on HDNet

HDNet

HDNet is a men's interest television channel in the United States, broadcasting exclusively in high-definition format and available via cable and satellite television...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Comedian Zane Lamprey

Zane Lamprey

Zane Lamprey is a comedian, actor, editor, producer, and writer for television and movies. He grew up in Syracuse and attended SUNY Cortland in Cortland, New York where he majored in fine arts and minored in theatre.He has had a varied career in entertainment...

 hosts a humorous bus trip around the United States, exploring the local drinking culture of various cities in the country. In each episode, Lamprey samples popular or original cocktails and beers from bars and breweries in the area.

Season two will premiered with an hour long episode on October 5, 2011 on HDNet.

Format

Each episode begins with an overview of the highlights of the episode. Throughout the show Zane and his friend Steve McKenna visit popular bars, breweries, and distilleries where they sample different offerings from the establishments. At bars, Zane is typically behind the bar interviewing the bartender, as well as making cocktails with the help of the bartender. At some point during the episode, McKenna (and sometimes Lamprey) will engage in an eating challenge where he attempts to eat a large portion of a signature dish from a restaurant in the area. Sometimes McKenna is trying to set a record at the restaurant, othertimes he and Zane are racing to finish first or eat the most.

Another segment found only in season one is an interview lead by Marc Ryan. He typically visits a brewery or distillery on his own, and tries to learn the history and story of the business, as well as sample what they produce.

Zane and Steve hold a competition in each episode called the "Six Six-Pack Challenge" where Lamprey and McKenna face off in some sort of game and bet each other six six-packs on the outcome. The games are usually inspired by the location of the episode or the bars they visit.

Cast

• Zane Lamprey: Host.

• Steve McKenna: Sidekick to Zane Lamprey. He typically accompanies him to all of the bars and breweries, tries the drinks Zane mixes, and participates in the food challenge and six six-pack challenge.

• Marc Ryan: Corespondent who does his own interviews. Only in season one.

• Wes DuBois: Wears the Pleepleus costume in each episode.

Drinking game rules

The show also doubles as a drinking game, introduced after the first commercial break in each episode. The rules are as follows:

1. The first person to see Pleepleus in a shot can make someone else drink.
2. The first person to notice a continuity error can make someone else drink.
3. Whenever Zane and Steve compete during the show, pick a side. If you lose, you drink.
4. When Zane burps, the last person to make the “Good Burp” sign (putting your thumb to your forehead) has to drink.
5. When Marc touches someone the first person to say "touché" can to make someone else drink.

Eating Challenges

In each episode Zane challenges Steve to an eating contest. This usually involves Steve trying to finish a restaurant's specialty or Zane racing Steve to eat the most of a certain food. The eating challenges were discontinued after the first season.

Episode	Location	Challenge	Result
S01E01	Phoenix	Steve has to eat a 5 pounds of Tater Tots Tater Tots Tater Tots, a registered trademark for a commercial form of hash browns made by Ore-Ida, are a side-dish made from deep-fried, grated taters. Tater Tots are widely recognized by their crispness, cylindrical shape and small size....  in an hour at Chuey's Mini Bar.	Not clear
S01E02	Sante Fe	Steve takes the Fireman's 10 LB Burrito Challenge: a burrito with 10 eggs, 2 lbs potatoes, 0.5 lbs bacon, 0.5 lbs sausage, 0.5 lbs pork, 0.5 lbs beans, 0.5 lbs red chili, 0.5 lbs green chili, 0.5 lbs cheese, and 3 tortillas at Cecilia's Cafe.	Fail
S01E03	Austin	Steve tries to break the restaurant record of 9 breakfast burritos at Juan in a Million.	Fail (6.5 burritos)
S01E04	Dallas	Steve has to eat 10 lbs chicken fried steak with 5 lbs of potatoes at the Cowtown Diner.	Fail
S01E05	New Orleans	Steve and Zane race to see who can eat 100 Cajun spiced crawfish first at Tony Moran's.	Zane (100-79)
S01E06	Florida	Steve has to eat the "Kitchen Sink" (4 heaping scoops of ice cream, covered in multiple syrups, whipped cream, bananas, nuts, and maraschino cherries) at Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor.	Fail
S01E07	Atlanta	Steve tries to break the restaurant record of 14 peach cobblers at Gladys Knight & Ron Winans Chicken & Waffles	Fail (9 peach cobblers)
S01E08	Virginia	Steve tries to eat eight Stupid Wings at Caliente.	Fail
S01E09	Philadelphia	No eating challenge.	-
S01E10	New York	Zane tries to eat 30 oysters and drink a pint of Guinness in two minutes at Tracks.	Success (1:05)
S01E11	Boston	Steve tries to eat two quarts of Clam Chowder.	Success
S01E12	Chicago	Steve and Zane race to finish a deep dish pizza at Giordano's Giordano's Pizzeria Giordano's is a pizzeria that specializes in Chicago-style pizza. The company started in 1974 after the owners, brothers Efren and Joseph Boglio, Italian immigrants, were discouraged at the lack of authentic pizza available in the Chicago area... .	Zane
S01E13	Milwaukee	Steve and Zane challenge each other to eat the most scorpions at Bad Genie.	Zane
S01E14	St. Louis	Steve and Zane race to eat the most fried ravioli in twenty minutes at Blueberry Hill Blueberry Hill (restaurant) Blueberry Hill is a restaurant and bar located in the Delmar Loop neighborhood in University City, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Legendary performer Chuck Berry performs there for one hour on a single Wednesday each month, downstairs in the Duck Room.... .	Zane (26-22)
S01E15	Kansas City	Steve, Wes and Zane race to eat three BAR-B-Q Sundaes (6 oz pork, 5 oz coleslaw, 6.5 oz beans) at B-B's.	Zane
S01E16	Denver	Steve, Wes, and Tabor (owner) race to eat the most rocky mountain oysters in ten minutes at the Wood Cellar Bar and Grill.	Tabor
S01E17	Salt Lake City	Steve and Zane race to eat the most Jello cups in ten minutes.	Zane
S01E18	Boise	Steve and Zane race to eat the most french fries in ten minutes at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine.	Zane
S01E19	Portland	Steve and Zane race to eat the most hazelnut butter and marian berry sandwiches in two minutes.	Zane
S01E20	Napa	Steve and Zane race to eat the most stuffed grape leaves.	Zane
S01E21	San Francisco	Steve and Zane race to eat a sourdough bread bowl and cup of New England Clam Chowder.	Zane
S01E22	Las Vegas	Steve paired with Ryan (from the restaurant) race against Zane to eat the most fried Oreos in one minute at Aces and Ales.	Zane
S01E23	San Diego	Steve and Zane race to each the most fish tacos in ten minutes at Pacific Beach Shore Club.	Zane
S01E24	Los Angeles	No eating challenge.	-

Six Six-Pack Challenges

In each episode Zane and Steve challenge each other to a contest. The winner gets six six-packs. Marc always chooses a side before the game begins.

Season 1

Episode	Location	Challenge	Winner
S01E01	Phoenix	Miniature golf Miniature golf Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,... .	Zane
S01E02	Sante Fe	Keg foot (keg walking).	Steve
S01E03	Austin	Billiards Billiards Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards... .	Steve
S01E04	Dallas	Field goal kicking.	Zane
S01E05	New Orleans	First to finish a frozen drink.	Zane
S01E06	Florida	Golf ball driving for distance.	Zane
S01E07	Atlanta	Keg throwing.	Zane
S01E08	Virginia	Bar shuffleboard Table Shuffleboard Table shuffleboard is a game in which players push metal-and-plastic weighted pucks down a long and smooth wooden table into a scoring area at the opposite end of the table... .	Zane
S01E09	Philadelphia	Race up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Rocky Steps The 72 stone steps before the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania have become known as the "Rocky Steps" as a result of their appearance in the triple-Oscar-winning film Rocky and four of its sequels, Rocky II, III, V and Rocky Balboa, in which the eponymous... .	Zane
S01E10	New York	Beer checkers Beer checkers Beer Checkers is a two-player drinking game, played on a standard checkerboard , using cups of beer in place of the regular checker pieces .-Equipment:... .	Steve
S01E11	Boston	Batting cage Batting cage A batting cage is an enclosed cage for baseball players to practice the skill of batting.It is usually made of netting or a chain-link fence and rectangular in shape. A batter stands at one end of the cage, with a pitching machine at the opposing end... .	Zane
S01E12	Chicago	Go kart racing Go-kart thumb|A [[Kart racing|racing kart]] at the [[Commission Internationale de Karting|CIK-FIA]] European Championship 2008A go-kart is a small four-wheeled vehicle... .	Steve
S01E13	Milwaukee	Bowling Bowling Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule... .	Zane
S01E14	St. Louis	Darts Darts Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules... .	Steve
S01E15	Kansas City	Beer pong Beer pong Beer pong, also known as Beirut, is a drinking game in which players throw a ping pong ball across a table with the intent of landing the ball in a cup of beer on the other end. The game typically consists of two two-to-four-player teams and multiple cups set up, in triangle formation, on each side... .	Zane
S01E16	Denver	Hockey shoot out.	Steve
S01E17	Salt Lake City	Alpine sled racing Alpine slide An alpine slide is a long chute on the side of a hill, usually built by ski resorts to supplement summer income. A wheeled cart is used to navigate the slide. The ride is similar to a bobsled ride, except that it rolls over a smooth track—generally cement, stainless steel, or fiberglass—rather... .	Zane
S01E18	Boise	Sack race Sack race The sack race or gunny sack race is a competitive game in which participants place both of their legs inside a sack or pillow case that reaches their waist or neck and jump forward from a starting point toward a finish line. The first person to cross the finish line is the winner of the race.Sack... .	Zane
S01E19	Portland	Washoos.	Zane
S01E20	Napa	Bocce Bocce Bocce is a ball sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire... .	Steve
S01E21	San Francisco	Backwards keg roll racing.	Steve
S01E22	Las Vegas	Blackjack.	Steve
S01E23	San Diego	Gold fish racing.	Steve
S01E24	Los Angeles	No challenge	-
Wins:	Zane: 13, Steve: 10

Season 2

In season two, the challenge was changed to simply the "Six Pack Challenge".

Episode	Location	Challenge	Winner
S02E01	Maui	Bike race down mountain.	Zane
S02E02	Kauai	.	Zane
S02E03	Monterey	.	Zane
S02E04	Key West	.	Zane
S02E05	Miami	.	Zane
S02E06	Tampa	.	Zane
S02E07	St. Augustine	.
S02E08	Savannah	.
S02E09	Washington D.C.	.
Wins:	Zane: 6, Steve: 0

Season Two

Taping is currently underway for season two of Drinking Made Easy . As of 10 June 2011, 13 episodes had been taped and the season is expected to premiere in the fall of 2011. The list of potential cities is:

• Baltimore, MD
• Burlington, VT
• Charlotte, NC
• Hawaii, HI (Big Island)
• Jersey Shore, NJ
• Kauai, HI
• Kentucky
• Key West, FL
• Memphis, TN
• Miami, FL
• Missoula, MT
• Montreal, QC
• Myrtle Beach, SC
• Nashville, TN
• Portland, ME
• Providence, RI
• Quebec, QC
• Santa Barbara, CA
• Savannah, GA
• Seattle, WA
• Spokane, WA
• St. Augustine, FL
• Syracuse, NY
• Tampa, FL
• Toronto, ON
• Vancouver, BC
• Washington, DC

Awards and Recognition

Award Ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee	Result	Source
The People's Telly Awards	2011	TV Program / Segments	Drinking Made Easy
The Tasty Awards	2011	Best Drink or Beverage Program: Television
The Tasty Awards	2011	Best Comedy Series