I'm right there with you Heatmiser. I always thought that going to a bar would be a DFing offense. I remember the org having a picture (I think in a WT) of a witness contemplating going into a bar and then telling us why we wouldn't want to do it. I just took that to mean, and I'm pretty sure it was implied by the brothers, that, at the very least, it would be a backroomworthy offense.
I honestly think it has a lot to do with where your cong was. From my observations, in the Southern US, the elders were very strict when it came to alcohol. However, in other parts of the country (New England, California), they weren't as strict. I wonder why?