Legal drinking age in South Tyrol is 16. Local alcoholic drinks include both wine and beer. Nightlife can be found mainly in Bolzano - other towns are a bit more sleepy, but you can find discos, disco pubs and pubs in major centres and in tourist areas - however the most popular one are located in the Bolzano metropolitan area. Pubs are open until 1 or 2 in the morning and begin to be full of people after 8:30-9pm on Saturday. Discos are open until 6am and people go there around midnight.
spirits
In South Tyrol there is a big production of grappa which is very good quality. However in South Tyrol you can find all kind of spirits.
beer
Beer in South Tyrol is a very popular drink among all ages. The local brewing company Forst (http://www.forst.it) is the leader in South Tyrol. Forst produces six kinds of beer and the Premium is the most known and drunk. In South Tyrol there are also small brewhouses - pubs that produces their own beer. In Bolzano the Bozner Bier (http://www.boznerbier.it) is very popular and can be found only in the pub in which it's made and in a restaurant.
In pubs and restaurants you could have a big choice of beers, the majority of which is imported - especially from Germany. In some hypermarkets in Bolzano there is a big choice of local and export beers also from Australia, Japan and Mexico. Normally there is no price difference between local or export beers in pubs or restaurant - however Guinness could be a bit more expensive. Irish pubs are spreading in all South Tyrol and especially in the capital.
coffee
South Tyrol is the ideal place for people who love coffee. Here you can find typical Italian espresso and Viennese cappuccino, or Irish coffee and American coffee. Normally small bars offer only Italian-style coffee and in some cases German coffee, though. The best American coffee can be found at McDonald's in Bolzano ask for take away if you want to have the paper glass for only EUR 0.90 - here you can drink the cheapest coffee in South Tyrol. Coffee in South Tyrol is the most expensive in Italy with an average of EUR 1.00 for an espresso in the Bolzano city centre or in exclusive bars also EUR 1.20 but it's far less expensive than in neighboring Austria or in Germany.
glã¼hwein
If you are visiting South Tyrol in winter you can drink the very popular Glühwein mulled wine, a spiced wine served very hot to comfort you in the cold of winter. You can find it especially in the Christmas markets or in ski resorts' après ski.
soft drinks
In South Tyrol you can find all kinds of soft drinks but the most popular soft drinks are Spezi pronounce: "sh-peh-tzi" which is a cola-lemonade mix and Spuma which is an aromatic soda, very similar to Austrian Almdudler which sometimes also can be found.
wine
South Tyrol is a renowned wine producer - the three most known local types are Lagrein and Magdalener both from Bolzano and Gewürztraminer from Tramin. Especially in the south of South Tyrol there are a lot of cellar in which you can taste the wine from producer. Other sorts of wine include pinot blanc or vernatsch. Despite the fact that South Tyrol has one of the smallest vineyard surfaces in Italy it's considered to be in the top 5 regions in quality.
cocktails and aperitifs
The most popular local cocktail is the Flieger which is Red Bull and vodka and it can be red with strawberry vodka, black with raspberry vodka or white with normal vodka. The aperitif time begins at 5pm but a lot of people drink an aperitif also in the night. The most popular drink is Veneziano which is white wine and Aperol.