THippy - remember that whether he is a TRUE bonafide alcoholic or not (and there isn't even a test for that, only a self-assessment), what matters here is how YOU feel about HIS drinking and the impact it has on YOUR life. you're the one that has to live with it.....
it sounds like everything in your world centers around whether he is drinking or not.....and how drunk he gets by what time and how you might have to work your schedule around the guy sleeping it off in the barcolounger.
doesn't sound like a whole lotta fun....does it? the one day you captioned as a GOOD day was the one day he wasn't actively ingesting alcohol, altho even then you tempered it with he was a bit cranky. think about the bar you have set for yourself there......a GOOD day = a day he didn't drink?????
i agree you don't need to announce to him that the drinking limit has been lifted. you simply stop being the booze police and granting or denying permission on what another grown adult chooses to do. i also personally believe that if we have problems with the way someone else drinks, seek out support and information for that, then we shouldn't turn around and sit down and drink WITH them......bit like sharing a box of Krispy Kremes with someone who is morbidly obese or diabetic............