Gluten allergy?

Can you buy alcohol free beer? Try drinking two and see what happens.

Hops are also a sedative. It might be you are very sensitive to hops.

in the same time period? I have a hard time believing this honestly. It just does not work that way.

Allergy.

Are you sure you don’t just “think” you’re more functional. Hard booze gives me a much “brighter” drunkenness . You still get drunk but have more energy without all the heavy carbs and sugars

Thinking outside the box, you might be having a carb crash. Beer is carb-heavy, while whiskey is carb-free.

The whiskey puts alcohol relatively fast into your body, making that you don't feel drunk yet even though motor skills are probably lacking. With beer, the delivery is slower, making your mind slow before the motor skills give in. At least, that's how it works for me.

What size are those shots? Just about every country has its own shot size, and "a beer" could be .33l or .5l.

That said, I experience similar effects even if I make sure that the alcohol amounts are equivalent. Something about beer makes it go right to my head, unlike spirits. IIRC both sugar content and carbonation increase the speed at which alcohol gets absorbed, but I don't get this effect with longdrinks, either. Maybe it's just placebo ...

Not sure, all alcohol is equivalent. It doesn't matter if you have whisky, beer, tequila, wine, etc. It's all the same alcohol. It's possible that it's related to a routine, are you usually in a more active mindset when drinking whiskey? Do you usually have a beer or two right before bed?

How fast are you drinking the shots? There is also differential absorption between the stomach and the lower intestine.

For science try drinking your normal shots then two pints of water. This is not medical advice.

Wait......is 6-8 shots a lot?

Damn. Maybe I was an alcoholic in my drinking days. I'd also be just fine with 6-8 shots.

But I wouldn't be ok with beer. Not because the beer is too potent. It's more that beer is very carbinated, and filling. I'd drink a few beers and just not have room until I pee. Whereas with shots, you could do like 60-80 shots throughout the day, and maybe pee twice. Although you won't remember it.