HI Hostels and Alcohol

British YHA's used to have a rule of no alcohol, but that started changing a long time ago. Now, a few hostels have a bar, and many hostels have alcohol available for sale. These don't allow you to bring in your own alcohol, because of licensing regulations, but in others you can bring in modest amounts of alcohol to have with meals.

Not in essentials, they just tend to occupy a different part of the spectrum.
They focus on families more than, or at any rate as much as, backpackers. They certainly don't span the 'party hostel' range. They have very helpful staff, but the staff never 'mix' with the guests. In some countries they are entirely separate-sex dorms, as indeed are some independents but not most. They are all very clean and pleasant, but have that impersonal feel. The kitchens are excellent in Scotland, usually good in England, but non-existent or useless in Holland, Germany and Scandinavia. They tend to have more people from their own country than Backpackers hostels.