Some companies, failing to differentiate themselves from fraternities, hold "drink-ups" instead of meet-ups. Sometimes not drinking ostracises you from a culture. (I have this problem in an even-more-conspicuous way: I don't like hot drinks, or the taste of coffee. This makes "let's get coffee and chat" a bit awkward.)

I wrote the article, and I honestly wrote it primarily for myself and didn't expect others to find it interesting. It's a question I get on a more than weekly basis, I figured it was time to sit down, think about it deeply, and write it down.

Alcohol is a prevalent part of a lot of lives — it's what a lot of people do to be sociable.