By way of explanation, I've got a few suppositions here!
The various and differing social situations which allow for drinking are numerous.
Firstly, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a drink. Be it after work, after uni, during a gallery opening, or even while on the treadmill at the gym, alcohol is THE social catalyst.
The "night out" is the quickest way to assimilate with a new peer group (who might annoy you under ordinary circumstances). The booze here has nothing to do with the taste.
Meeting a new person? Go for a pint! It' obvious!
You drink until you like these people (and/or drunkenly share a secret that you can't retract). Job done!
There are other cases though, where drinking is THE POINT of the 'get-together'. Eg. having people over for a barbecue, watching champions' league final, putting up shelves in the spare room, watching countdown etc. Whatever the occasion, be it real or fabricated, there is cause for a drink (because it's raining outside)!
However, the over-abundance of cooking programmes on telly, I feel, invites the ordinary punter to assume that their piss-head mates will behave like ladies and gentlemen, when invited to share a platter of Moroccan couscous à la Jamie Oliver. We all secretly harbour middle-class ambitions of respectability.
Reality check - The dinner is only the precursor to the board games and wine. Listening to Dr Dre's The Chronic at 4am while playing Risk is not conducive to the elegant affair, as originally imagined.
Furthermore, you can't invite your friends out for tasting flight of ale (NO MATTER HOW ENJOYABLE THAT WOULD BE!!) lest you be perceived as some sort of tit.
In summary; societal norms lead to our propensity to share drinks among friends. And there's fuck all wrong with that.
Haway the lads!
