"by 7 pm the stress of the day makes that beer (and couch time with the wife) so much more appealing."
It sounds like you put off more work because you're burnt out. Don't feel bad about this. Everyone needs some down time. If you drink beer as part of that down time, don't worry about it, and don't blame the beer (it's the effect, not the cause). The only reason you should be worried about beer is if you mean to only relax for a little bit and then get back to work, and the beer keeps you relaxing longer than you want.
You probably are psychologically addicted. What you need to evaluate is whether you mind that you are addicted. Suppose you'd need to relax all night anyway, if you weren't drinking. Then beer after work is not necessarily a problem. If you have no other problems associated with alcohol, then who the hell cares if you're addicted?
Regarding health problems, high gravity beer is probably not the healthiest drink you could mix. Try switching to 1 or 2 (or 3, I guess) glasses of red wine. A different type of alcohol may cut around your tolerance for beer, so you'll drink less, and red wine in moderate amounts (I don't think 3 glasses is still considered moderate, but w/e) keeps being called healthy. You'll also cut out the massive calories that come with 3-6 high gravity beers. Alternatively, learn to mix drinks and start getting creative. :-)
Red wine is definitely the way to go, especially if you can find a brew-your-own wine shop (very common in Ontario) that makes a type you like. The reason you should do the brew your own route is that you don't add in any preservatives that many of the main wine manufacturing companies do and it is also about 1/3 to 1/4 the price.
As for drinking too much, sure man I drink more than one serving about 3-4 times a week, some weeks it is 0 some weeks it is 7, especially when I'm in a town where I have lots of old friends or family. It does take effort to make sure to do so responsibly and to take breaks. For example, I do 40 days once a year with absolutely 0 intake, even down to ordering a nonalcoholic becks at a after work meeting. I go up to the bartender and tell him discretely that when I order a becks to make sure it is in a glass, but to simply give me a non-alcoholic one. I've never been to a bar that didn't have some, so it must be pretty common. The reason I take a long break is to stop the slow evolution from 4 days a week to 4.2 to 4.4, etc. The reason that I'm careful is that my genius grandparent (8 languages, 4 engineering degrees + a masters, 3rd most powerful position in a medium world power, 10 instruments, etc) had to totally quit after he developed a problem and...
I like drinking, so I'm willing to be responsible about it and make sure to try to do red wine as often as possible and appropriate. I think that there are a lot of people like the OP reading this that are in the exact same position. They drink slightly more than what has been blessed as kosher by society and are afraid to come out and admit it because they don't want to be lumped in with actual holy-fuck-I-have-a-problem drunks. I don't get drunk when I drink 2 or 3 glasses of wine, I drink responsibly, and I don't do any drugs what-so-ever. Adulthood is good.
Oh and one last thing. Going to a bar with the workmates for the big game? Tell the bar tender this: "Every time I order a beer bring me a glass of water too, if you do this the whole night I'll tip you 20%." That trick will save your ass from doing anything embarrassing.
Probably some of the best advice in this thread. I'm surprised by all the moralising and severe responses from other folks. (exercising with a hangover is very dangerous? Really? Please explain how)
Hangovers cause severe dehydration. It's an extreme case, but a British soldier died last year from a combination of a severe hangover and punitive exercise. Just fell over on the running track and didn't get back up.
Ok, but there's a big difference between "severe hangover and punitive exercise" and "ow I've got a headache, I'll still do at least a mile this morning".
It sounds like you put off more work because you're burnt out. Don't feel bad about this. Everyone needs some down time. If you drink beer as part of that down time, don't worry about it, and don't blame the beer (it's the effect, not the cause). The only reason you should be worried about beer is if you mean to only relax for a little bit and then get back to work, and the beer keeps you relaxing longer than you want.
You probably are psychologically addicted. What you need to evaluate is whether you mind that you are addicted. Suppose you'd need to relax all night anyway, if you weren't drinking. Then beer after work is not necessarily a problem. If you have no other problems associated with alcohol, then who the hell cares if you're addicted?
Regarding health problems, high gravity beer is probably not the healthiest drink you could mix. Try switching to 1 or 2 (or 3, I guess) glasses of red wine. A different type of alcohol may cut around your tolerance for beer, so you'll drink less, and red wine in moderate amounts (I don't think 3 glasses is still considered moderate, but w/e) keeps being called healthy. You'll also cut out the massive calories that come with 3-6 high gravity beers. Alternatively, learn to mix drinks and start getting creative. :-)