Yeah... I started surfing around bouncing bear about a decade ago and just began experimenting (I order from here now, very friendly guy).

The best place to get your questions answered is probably erowid, although reddit has quite a few relevant subreddits on herbals and nootropics.

Personally, I hate alcohol and use mitrogyna speciosum (kratom) and more occasionally phenibut for anxiety (I started a drug thread here).