Can someone explain to me why my blood pressure lowers when I drink excessive amounts of alcohol?

I am a habitual drinker unfortunately. Although I am not an alcoholic since I have a strong will to control it, when I drink I do so excessively. After purchasing a blood pressure monitor, I decided to do an experiment. I've monitored my blood pressure throughout the day both sober and intoxicated. Come to find out, my blood pressure and pulse are lower when I drink vs when I don't! After drinking six lagers, my blood pressure is 124/83 which is normal. When I was sober 8 hours ago it was 144/101! Also, my pulse went down 10 beats per min from 101 to 91. Does this make any sense to anyone? I do realize that alcohol is a depressant but many medical sites online state the opposite should be happening. I would greatly appreciate any insight. Thanx!