Here's one advice I wouldn't give in person because people may find it wrongly offensive: there are several ways of relaxing that don't have 'slowly destroying your brain' included. This is HN, so I suppose most people here see a lot of beauty in things that only shows with deep intellectual effort. The ability of enjoying this pleasure is one of the things I value the most.
Of course, only you have enough data to analyze wether the drinking toll will be a net positive or negative on your life, but I'm inclined to believe not drinking is favoured since the fun outta drinking is largely replaceable while your brain isn't.
There are plenty of ways to relax without 'destroying you brain', that's the reason why I said relaxing can be meditation, going to the gym or playing on your gaming console. Everybody is different, as the poll evidence suggest in this thread.
There is a reason why I said everything in moderation, because we don't live in a perfect world where everything can be performed to perfection. I am not defending or promoting the use of alcohol but looking at the problem at hand, alcohol gets a bad reputation because its abused.
If people on HN see beauty in things that only shows with deep intellectual effort, then why has this topic been voted up? Surly it is somewhat interesting to the intellectual minds in this community.
Of course, only you have enough data to analyze wether the drinking toll will be a net positive or negative on your life, but I'm inclined to believe not drinking is favoured since the fun outta drinking is largely replaceable while your brain isn't.