Beer is a vice, so I shouldn't feel particularly proud of drinking it. But I feel a certain kinship to those with vices. Drinking beer isn't pleasant, on first glance. It can be bitter and literally tastes like poison.
I'm currently savouring a beer, though, and I'm realizing that what that really does is make me drink it slowly. My history of drinking it has also softened my perception of the taste a bit too. And that combination of being able to enjoy the bitterness for what it is, along with drinking it slowly so as to make it more pleasant results in a good thing. It's almost like it's a chance to rest in the melancholy of life for a second. I've experienced something remarkably similar drinking tea from a hot mug.
Or maybe it's just relaxing. I don't know. Talk to a smoker.