You don't have to progress to daily drinking to be an alcoholic.

I did not always drink until I passed out, nor did I always black out, but once I started drinking I had no guarantees what would happen. That simple fact made my life unmanageable.

As far as food items or sacramental wine, I'll leave that to others to decide for themselves.

That is in the Big Book:

xxviii

It does not say that you have to develop it every single time. Alcoholism is a progressive illness, and it manifests itself in various ways.

I have a very good friend (slash ex-drinking buddy) that showed all the traits of alcoholism and has somehow managed to moderate his consumption for years now. Not sure I can ever be that person but it can be done. He's proof enough for me.

Personally, I'll stick to O'Douls if I get the urge for a beer.

The Big Book supports that sentiment as well:

BB page 31

I know a girl who was a pretty heavy drinker - she even got a DUI when she was 19. She got pregnant at 20, the doctor said to lay off booze, so she did.

I think she didn't drink for almost 2 years (nursing etc). Now she has a beer here and there.

I know a previous AA member - 10 years in the program, sponsoring others - very involved. This person did not have a feeling of fitting in after awhile - couldn't relate to a lot of the folks she met, sponsored.

Went through the steps again - could not get past step 1. Eventually she drank again - and found she could moderate. 8 years have gone by and this person has a drink now and again, does not identify as being alcoholic, has not lost control...

Yeah - there are heavy drinkers who can moderate...I am not one of them, god knows I wanted to be and couldn't pull it off.

Key phrase here: traits of alcoholism i.e. hard drinker

I didn't enjoy drinking the last few years...I despised it...moderation will never be in the cards for me...I no longer even wish I could...alcohol has no place in my new life.

Not sure where you draw the line between acoholic and heavy drinker?

You don't even have to be a heavy drinker to be an alcoholic, but the difference between normal and pathological seems to hinge on the subjective measure of how difficult it is to quit.

a heavy drinker can quit or moderate on a non spiritual basis, he can quit should a sufficient reason become operative like a warning from the boss, falling in love etc etc

lol! I hope that was tongue in cheek?

There are alcoholics who use non-spiritual methods of recovery as well. :)

A grey area for sure. I don't know if anyone has ever been able to pinpoint a specific, absolute definition.

Years ago, my sister used to be a weekend blackout drinker. Did some really horrible stuff. Today she only has a beer or two a few times a year. I asked here how she "quit". She told me that she just got tired of making an ass of herself and stopped.

I also know a guy who used to live on the streets. Today, he drinks ocassionally in hotel bars (he is a successful businessman).

But the vast majority of the alcoholics that I know who went back to drinking after quitting for a significant period of time did go back to binge, blackout, and/or continuous drinking.

I know what side of the "line" I'm on.

Dave...let's please not go there. Plenty of "alcoholics" quit drinking on a non-spiritual basis.

Samson...I think it is very hard to find the line...everyone is different...for a long time I drank heavily...then something happened...I couldn't get drunk enough...I no longer drank for fun...I drank to blackout.

This is from As Bill Sees It

A Different Swinging Door, p. 62

......."To those who wish to secede from A.A. altogether, we extend a cheerful
invitation to do just that. If they can do better by other means, we are
glad. If after trial they cannot do better, we know they face a choice:
They can go mad or die or they can return to A.A. The decision is
wholly theirs. (As a matter of fact, most of them do come back.)....."

Twelve Conceptions, p. 72

AA Copyright All rights reserved

Let me get this straight. Even though I drank everyday, since I mostly did it 'just for fun' and haven't had a relapse, I'm not an alcoholic?

Not entirely, Samson.

That's what some would contend.

Whether such a person can quit upon a nonspiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not. AAP34

How do you measure how difficult it is for someone to quit based on whether they succeed or not? I'm not sure I agree with that particular point of view. While I would agree some people are more compulsive than others, I don't think there is a true measurement system for a person's will.

Thats just one school of thought which I and many others do not subscribe to. I never truly lost the power to choose...my powerlessness was simply an illusion...it took sometime away from a drink to see what was so clearly evident.