Sometimes stopping completely is easier than self-imposed restrictions and quotas.
I tried to moderate for a while but it didn't work.
A few years ago I'd happily drink only 2 or 3 beers in a night and not every night. Nevertheless, I knew there was a problem because it had become a means of escape.
Still, I could go along with it because I was managable or so I thought. Only in hindsight I can see I was already on the slippery slope. The amount of drinking nights soon increased, I'd be doing it when I didn't intend, then the amounts started getting more and more, before I know it I'm drinking 12 pints a night ...
Even still I managed to hold things together, have a job, flat, etc. but I felt like a slave and I knew I was wasting my life, was filled with anger, shame and regret and just wanted for life to be over.
It's easier now that I have faced the fact that I can't moderate. When I'm drinking there's a real fear of sober life, but I don't have that fear now that I'm through the withdrawals. I'm so glad I'm doing this.