I drank for twenty years, daily for most of those. I drank to amnesia levels whenever the next day was clear for a hangover. I was sure that I could not moderate and I was absolutely drinking to deal with life. I was miserable. So, I decided to quit forever. My journey, with all its ups and downs is here for anyone to read.
 After six months, I was at a crossroads. I felt disconnected from and superior to everyone I knew. My wife seemed like a drunken pig who was disappointing me every day. Every adult I know drinks. I am entering a grad school program where social drinking mixing students and professors is the norm. If I was going to be sober, my marriage was going to end, everyone around me was going to look like a tool, and I was going to be an outlier in my new career. I was becoming very unsocial and aloof with extended sobriety. So, I knew that I had to see if I was truly unable to moderate before committing to a huge life change which would have included divorce and labeling myself as someone in recovery. 
 I agonized over the decision to try a drink for a month. On one hand, they say that alcoholism is progressive. You will be back to worse levels of drinking in no time. A pickle can't turn back into a cucumber, etc. I was scared to take even a sip. I came close once or twice and turned back at the last minute, so afraid of becoming what I was. Certainly, going back to that pit of alcoholic darkness was not an option. On the other hand, six months sober had allowed me to develop levels of self control I had never known. The soaring highs and the daily feelings of internal joy and peace gave me a new reference point of what is possible with sobriety. I did not want to lose those. I just wanted to come out of my self-imposed exile and be a part of society. I wanted to enjoy the company of others once in a while. I wanted to stop hurting my wife, the woman who has given me everything. So, I poured a 12 ounce IPA and went out to the porch. 
 I sipped it over the course of an hour. The effects were subtle, but my social circuits came back to life. I connected with my wife for the first time in months. I called some old friends and went out. We had a wonderful time. I sipped beer and alternated with water. I did end up having five beers that night, but that was part of the plan. I woke up with a liitle headache and stomach pain, but that was nothing compared to how much happier I felt having initiated some social contact. I also knew that I went over my new line the night before and I no longer wanted to get that drunk. I did not like the feeling of five beers, whereas the old me was just starting to have fun at that point. Since then, I have found that 12-18 ounces of 7% IPA is the perfect dose. Yes, Dr. Guzzles has left a half beer on the table and let me tell you that felt like a million bucks. In spite of the small dose, I do feel a tiny hangover that next morning and that is fuel to not drink again for a while. Surprisingly, the social boost from one beer and the easily flowing conversation is enough to make me feel social for many days after, so I can feel the goodness of sobriety without that feeling of being an island. I feel like my six months of sobriety was a stepping stone to get here, where I am happy and plugged in pretty much always.
 So, to answer your question, moderation can be had and it can be absolutely joyful. I am not sure if I could moderate like this without several months off to kill my old drinking expectations and habits. I would recommend going sober for as long as you can, maybe even forever if you need to. Just know that old habits can be reversed and some long time problem drinkers can join the normal world and be 100% content.