A man walks into a bar and orders three pints of beer.
He sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each pint in turn.
When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.
The bartender tells the man, "You know, a mug goes flat after I pour it.
It might taste better if you bought one at a time."
The man replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in Arizona, the other is in Colorado. When the three of us moved away from home , we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days when we drank together. So I'm drinking one beer for each of my brothers and one for myself."
The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there.
The man goes on to become a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way. Ordering three pints and drinking them in turn. One day, he comes in and only orders two drafts. All the regulars take notice and fall silent.
When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, "I don't want to intrude on your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your loss."
The man looks at the bartender for a moment, before realizing the meaning of his confusion.
"Oh, no, everybody's just fine," he explains. It's just that my wife and I joined the Baptist Church and I had to quit drinking. It hasn't affected my brothers though.”