"However, I would also (anecdotally) say that the teen culture in Germany around drinking is healthier and less prone to binging than in America."
There are huge local differences. In my youth and hometown, it was definitely binge drinking - and we just followed tradition. But what I learned of other areas, was actually quite similar. Healthy alcohol consumption was rather the exception, but there is a trend towards it.
And I have not been to the US to directly compare, but I cannot really say that I experienced "intergenerational knowledge transfer about responsible alcohol usage" in germany. That is, my father does not drink, because my grandfather drank too much. Does this count? Otherwise I just know too many families with at least one alcoholic and some on the way.
And teenage drinking is just something teens are expected to do and the parents just try to limit the extremes. But many would be actually worried if their children never drank, because it might mean, they are isolated oddballs.
In addition to local differences (I was in very northern Germany) I'm sure my perceptions were colored by being at a Gymnasium, but I did also interact with kids from other schools.
I'm not saying that alcoholism isn't an issue in Germany. However the data I've found says alcoholism is about twice as prevelant in the USA as in Germany. Healthiness of drinking behavior isn't all all or nothing thing but a spectrum.
Having a sober father may have meant that you missed out on more direct knowledge transfere from your parents. You still would have had some of that knowledge transfere indirectly via your peers
In the USA, due to the laws, underage drinking, especially in highschool, tends to be much more segregated in terms of age. Each generation of teenages has to learn how to drink while hiding it from their parents. In my experience this means that teenage drinkers in germany tend to be more aware of their level of inebriation and thus tend to not binge as hard. There is more of an expectation socially to keep your shit together while in the USA there's more of a tendency to celebrate and brag about losing control, especially among the young for whom it is more novel. It's also possible (indeed likely) that many of the Germans kids I knew started drinking before 16 and that accounts for some of the differences I observed.
"I'm sure my perceptions were colored by being at a Gymnasium, but I did also interact with kids from other schools."
I was at a gymnasium as well ... and we were drinking with the teachers on occasions.
"However the data I've found says alcoholism is about twice as prevelant in the USA as in Germany. Healthiness of drinking behavior isn't all all or nothing thing but a spectrum."
It is of course possible, that you have it even worse. But my point was that I cannot confirm, that we have a healthy drinking culture in germany. We do have a drinking culture and some of it may prevent some escapades, but all in all I do not think it is healthy as indeeds promotes regular drinking as something normal.
"It's also possible (indeed likely) that many of the Germans kids I knew started drinking before 16 and that accounts for some of the differences I observed."
Very likely. We started with beer with 12 ... and the first time totally drunk was with 14.
"tendency to celebrate and brag about losing control, especially among the young for whom it is more novel"
And this was (and still is) totally a thing as well.
There are huge local differences. In my youth and hometown, it was definitely binge drinking - and we just followed tradition. But what I learned of other areas, was actually quite similar. Healthy alcohol consumption was rather the exception, but there is a trend towards it.
And I have not been to the US to directly compare, but I cannot really say that I experienced "intergenerational knowledge transfer about responsible alcohol usage" in germany. That is, my father does not drink, because my grandfather drank too much. Does this count? Otherwise I just know too many families with at least one alcoholic and some on the way. And teenage drinking is just something teens are expected to do and the parents just try to limit the extremes. But many would be actually worried if their children never drank, because it might mean, they are isolated oddballs.