My understanding is that the latest biological research is pretty clear: no amount of alcohol is better than none.
And even after doing this consistently they still had p values very close to 0.05 for 1 and 2 drinks per day on average.
[0] - https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-...
Low to moderate drinkers have better health outcomes than teetotalers. That's probably because unhealthy people are less likely to drink alcohol, but it also suggests that most people using alcohol are not exactly having their lives ruined. Futher, loneliness is epidemic in the modern west, and alcohol is a patently social drug. If drinking 4-5 beers a week gets you out of the house and talking to people twice, that might actually be a health win in the current environment.
You can't count only biological benefits when balancing the scales because then most things humans do is only bad for you.
At least for me they absolutely are real and we're valuable to bring me out of my shell in college. Don't need it as much anymore, but drinking a bit in college had a transformatively positive experience for me socially.
EDIT: I don't see a 'reply' button beside those replying to me below. I am 100% open to being convinced of the benefits of alcohol -- especially psychological, social, etc. Please feel free to post papers that scientifically show that alcohol is beneficial. Would love to read them.
You claim that "there aren't based on the biological research" you've read. I do believe you here.
However, have you ever stopped to think that that perhaps the benefits that one derives from consuming alcohol, or other recreational drugs, are outside the realm of what biological sciences can answer? Maybe another field is better positioned to provide you with an illuminating alternative perspective.