There is a pleasurable aspect of "getting drunk", but I personally wouldn't discount the food security angle either. Which is why I feel the "alcohol created civilization" argument is overkill. Fermented food can be stored for much longer times than fresh food. It's no surprise that many other non-alcoholic fermented foods have ancient histories. Same with other simple means of preservation (such as cured meat).
To give an example: Ancient beer (as mentioned in the Wiki on ancient Egyptian cuisine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_cuisine) was likely cloudy with lots of grain parts (not strained), and thus more nutritious than today's filtered beers. Even notwithstanding the hunter-gatherer aspect, I can see something appealing about having a source of readily available nutrition that you don't have to work for once prepared. With an added bonus that it can be transported over large distances, even to places where no food is available at all.
I don't entirely discount the "pleasure" angle, of course -- history after all records many examples of other psychoactive plants used since ancient times -- but in most cases, they are not food and were primarily used for ritual, medical, or social purposes. (This is still the case today.) The USA Today article is on a bit stronger ground when describing the coffee house's role in the Enlightenment.
To give an example: Ancient beer (as mentioned in the Wiki on ancient Egyptian cuisine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_cuisine) was likely cloudy with lots of grain parts (not strained), and thus more nutritious than today's filtered beers. Even notwithstanding the hunter-gatherer aspect, I can see something appealing about having a source of readily available nutrition that you don't have to work for once prepared. With an added bonus that it can be transported over large distances, even to places where no food is available at all.
I don't entirely discount the "pleasure" angle, of course -- history after all records many examples of other psychoactive plants used since ancient times -- but in most cases, they are not food and were primarily used for ritual, medical, or social purposes. (This is still the case today.) The USA Today article is on a bit stronger ground when describing the coffee house's role in the Enlightenment.