How much is too much?

I haven't had a drink for a few days.  No recently drunk beer to report, or pubs visited.

So I find myself musing on why I drink and how I drink.

There's no doubt that, along with a significant proportion of the population, I flout the handed-down guidelines for the amount of alcohol I drink on the whole.  I'm not entirely convinced that there really are one-size-fits-all levels for things like alcohol...but I do understand that if you're trying to warn people that something is potentially harmful, there's not really room for anything other than clear, albeit probably cautious, guidelines.

Why do I drink?  Principally because I like the taste. Beer, wine and, less often, gin and single malt whisky.

So, this implies that I would drink these drinks if they tasted like they do and had no alcoholic content.  Well, yes, I would. 
Actually, I fairly rarely drink on my own these days - mostly because I know my liver thanks me for some alcohol free days and if I'm in on my own, it's a really easy way to achieve that.

I can't deny that alcohol is my drug of choice for socialising.  I'm an introvert with a hint of residual shyness that asserts itself mostly in social situations.  Alcohol eases my self-consciousness, often gives a topic of conversation and you can muse on what your companions are saying whilst you sip your pint.

The speed at which I drink, in company, generally, corresponds to how nervous I am - you ask S. Thankfully now we know each other pretty well, I no longer match him pint for pint.

Yet still, my favourite afternoon pastime is a walk to the pub with S, (via errands, or possibly a hill) followed by a few hours of beer and increasingly alcohol fuelled conversation and plotting.
There's the thirst quenching, and the taste of the beer, and softening that happens as the alcohol permeates...but the whole experience is far more than the sum of its parts.

I don't care what the government says - it does us both the world of good.

...and the weekend's not far off now.