You can 'shop around' for tabernas and just look to see what brand of beer they have on draught (i.e., cerveza de barríl). My personal favorite in Madrid is Mahou. Order una caña. That will get you a glass of draught beer.
In Andalucia I like CruzCampo; In Galicia it's Estrella de Galicia - in Catalunia it's Estrella Damm. Most of the beers in Spain are excellent!
When you order something like Aguila Imperador or one of the other 'premium' beers, expect to pay premium prices.
Some tabernas even have Kaliber (non-alcoholic) beer on draught. Just order 'Sin!'

Grant - one more echo of MM and taravb's comments. We've all spent more than one night hanging over that toilet - and each and every time those few drinks too many really ruined a fun night. Know your limit and respect it - being able to face friends with some dignity is more than worth it. Besides - most of the kids in EU countries grew up with wine and beer as part of a meal; they know how to drink and how much to drink without making fools of themselves. The American desire to get s*** faced isn't part of the culture in Spain and the last thing you want to do is hang out the entire time with other Americans making fools of themselves.

You'll make good friends and have an incredible Spain experience IF you follow the lead of your Spanish peers - except for the botellón crowd as MM suggested.

Puna, I think you're right about drinking to get drunk not being part of the youth culture in Spain. I found that my friends certainly drank (and they could handle more than I could), but only until they got silly/tipsy/piripi, not totally smashed. Drinking was more of a complement to an evening, not the sole purpose...and perhaps because they grew up with it, they didn't feel the need to do stupid things like shots to get drunk fast.

I think there's nothing more unattractive than a crowd of rowdy Americans in college sweatshirts, drunk off their a**es, singing Jimmy Buffett songs in the streets of Salamanca!

And it probably goes without saying that drinking way too much is even LESS intelligent if you're a woman, because the last thing you need to do is find yourself in a compromising situation without the presence of mind to get out of it.

This is horrible...I think I have turned into my MOTHER!!!

taravb - those last words of yours were my thought too. Are we really that bad?

Yes, y'all are that bad. Seriously, since I am still (dimly) able to rememeber being an 18 year old male myself, I do know what the temptations are in travelling to a country where drinking at that age is perfectly legal. However, I also remember what the consequences of indulging those temptations can be.

As noticed, most bars do not have a wide selection on tap. Asking for a "caña" will get you a (small) draft beer, usually Mahou in Madrid. My favorite is "Estrella Galicia," which is often available in bottles. It's sold in the US in some places, too. Unless you are masochistic, I would avoid a "clara," which is a small beer mixed with a lemon-y seltzer. Well, at any rate, I found it unpleasant.

Your best bet for meeting people your own age will be through your fellow students at the "instituto".

Have a great time. Do note that the Spanish way of going out differs from the American. Americans tend to hunker down in one bar and drink fairly heavily. Spaniards, on the other hand, will tend to walk from place to place, having a drink or two and a tapa at each place, often ending up at a club. Less conducive to getting wasted,as the walking and the food counteracts the alcohol, and more fun, in my opinion.

In general, too, Spanish girls (I'm assuming this is also an interest) are less tolerant of drunken foolishness than American girls. Many of my freinds who were fortunate enough to study abroad in Spain reported that the sort of drunken behavoir that is unfortunately acceptable at many American universities caused them to get made fun of by their Spanish friends. So, have a great time, but follow the Spanish lead in terms of acceptable amounts of drinking and behavior.

BTW, I thought the botellon phenomenon was mmostly restricted to younger kids? At any rate, I saw the aftermath at a park in Santander and it was really unpleasant.

Estrella is my favorite!

And, my impressions of "la marcha" lead me to believe that 18 yr. olds mix in w/ twenty-somethings w/out a problem.

Have fun!

Please don't generalize all 18 year olds from the United States as drunken kids. I too hate loud, drunk, annoying, obnoxious people of all ages and nationalities. In my family, alcohol was a drink, a part of a meal, like most other places on Earth. The majority of parents in the US do not let their children have even a taste of alcohol untill they are 21. Alcohol turns into
the "forbidden fruit" for kids. The fact that it is not allowed, is the reason they want to get SH*T faced.

I just talked to my exchange program director, and she told me that there are many families in spain that want to host a high school student! I hope one of them will look at my application and adopt me for 5 months. What an experience a semester in Spain will be! I'm scared to go to a high school in Spain, but once i become more comfortable with speaking, I will be fine.
sorry for rambling on, i'm so excited to live and study in Spain!

Grant - Good for you and your folks! As far as being comfortable going to high school in Spain - total linguistic immersion is far and away the best way to learn a language. Most of the people on the board who are bi-lingual or tri-lingual in the case of most Europeans, have learned at least one of those languages thru immersion. Odds are that any family offering to host a non-Spanish speaking student wants to help that student learn the language and experience a life and culture style different than what he/she is accustomed to. You certainly sound mature and responsible - I'm sure a wonderful Spanish family will "adopt" you for those five months!

Grant, you'll have more friends than you want! Hopefully kids are still as curious as when I was in high school and they will want to have you in their groups!
Keep an open mind at all times. If something seems strange or bothers you ask. Sometimes we do things that are culturally OK in Spain but not in the USA. Like, we are more "touchy" (that drove crazy to some of my American friends). Well, you'll se the differences that I am talikng about.
Have tons of fun!
Nuria

just a quick aside on the drinking age. The new anti-botellón law is putting the legal age up from 16 to 18. It also forbids shops and gas sations to sell alcohol at night, though I'm not sure when night begins. Needless to say, the proposal has caused an uproar among retailers. And what about irresponsible drinkers like me who just want a few cans of mahou around midnight to knock back in the privacy of my own home???