Young Sheldon's Lance Barber Disclosed What's Really In George's Beer Bottles On The Show
Sheldon's father, George Sr. (Lance Barber), on "Young Sheldon" sure loves his beer, and more than a few people have noticed. In a thread in the r/YoungSheldon subreddit, u/Objective-Ad9800 suggested that, for all the time that George Sr. is seen holding a beer, he might have a drinking problem. "He is CONSTANTLY drinking," the user explained. "At work, at home, at the bars, anywhere he can. 70% of the time he has a beer in hand. Just because he isn't violent doesn't make him any less of an alcoholic." Most fans in the thread agreed, such as u/Super_Description169, who pointed out that in one episode George says he spends almost $1,000 a year on beer, which is quite a bit when adjusted for inflation. Not everyone agreed, such as u/Gulf_Coast_Girl, who claimed that George doesn't seem to be drinking at inappropriate times of day.
In fact, based on Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) descriptions of his father from "The Big Bang Theory," one would expect George Sr. to be a problem drinker, but "Young Sheldon" has done a lot to make George Sr. more sympathetic than he was in Sheldon's recollection on the parent series. But with all that drinking on the show, what is Barber himself actually drinking as he guzzles down all those beers as George Sr.? Well, he revealed that in an interview, and the answer shouldn't surprise you.
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Don't worry, it's just water
In an interview with Hype, Lance Barber was asked what was in the beer bottles he drinks on set. "Oh, it's real. You know, I'm hammered about halfway through the day," the actor joked before giving his real answer. "It's water. It's just water. Again, George is a man of a certain culture in a certain area. He's a beer drinking dad. He's got a beer gut. And part of my physicality is that they hired me because I looked the part. He needs beer every day. After work he's in the fridge for it, and that's just one of the little things about George." With all the beer that George Sr. drinks, replacing it with water is likely to keep Barber very hydrated while shooting the show.
Beer is easy enough to fake with water, especially since it's so often drunk out of an opaque container so you can't see the color of the drink. But what if you need to simulate harder alcohol? According to prop experts Jeff Butcher and Eric Cheripka in an interview with IndieWire, whiskey is usually replaced with iced tea because of the similarity in color. However, the article also claims that, in shooting the movie "Arizona Dream," Johnny Depp didn't use iced tea and actually took 11 shots of Jack Daniels. It's probably for the best, then, that Lance Barber only has to drink water on set.