Why we like it

Why does this seemingly innocent molecule have such a strong pull over humanity? Why has a chain of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen been given the title by Homer Simpson as "the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems"? The short answer is that alcohol (ethanol being the form we normally ingest) is a depressent.
Despite the fact you might think that humans are mostly lazy beings who need our morning coffee to be able to accomplish anything - many people actually have the opposite problem. They can't sleep because of stress, or can't concentrate because they're over stimulated, or sometimes might be incapacitated because of pain. What all these situations have in common is that we would feel better if the activity of our nervous system was somehow inhibited. Depressents do this very well.
Specifically alcohol affects the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptors - which are responsible for neuronal excitability throughout the nervous system (stolen from wikipedia). It's no accident that alcohol is used widely in social situations. Most of us have some social inhibition that alcohol helps to remove. One phrase I learned in Germany was "Es gibt worter im bier" (there are words in beer). I can tell you that it's even more true when learning a new language.
Of course the problem is when we go overboard. More on that in my next post.

For an update - believe it or not I'm actually still on the wagon. And actually the longer I go the easier it gets. Although don't let that make you think that I won't look forward to my first beer (probably the night after I run the Army 10 miler).