Unlike many other alcoholics I've encountered, I did not drink alcoholically from the beginning. For about the first 6 years, I was perfectly content with 2 or 3 beers and only on a weekend here and there. When I was without it, I didn't miss it. If I ever went over what I considered my limit - up to a mere 4 beers over the course of the night - I felt miserable. It wasn't fun anymore.
In my early 20's, though, I started drinking alone. It began with a 6-pack over the weekend, then the weekends started getting longer. By my mid-20's, I was drinking alone pretty much everyday. That became the trend for the next 25 years.
It's very difficult to say whether or not I would have remained a moderate drinker if I had not began drinking alone. I think the potential for becoming an alcoholic was already in me, increasing the likelihood that it would eventually get out of control no matter what. That fine line between a "heavy drinker" and an alcoholic is difficult, if not impossible, to define. It's like playing Russian Roulette trying to determine which one you are.