If you leave the fat cap on a brisket, you should consider injecting brine. Spices do not penetrate muscle more than a fraction of an inch, but they do flavor the surface and help form the crust. If you coated the meat with a wonderful spice rub, it will remain on top of the fat and not get onto the meat.
Drinking too much alcohol on a regular basis almost always causes liver damage, although not always cirrhosis. Drinking 32 to 48 oz. of beer, 4 to 8 oz. of liquor, or 16 to 32 oz. of wine every day for 10 to 15 years or longer greatly increases your chances of developing cirrhosis.
In addition to alcohol abuse, cirrhosis can be caused by just about anything that causes longstanding liver damage. This includes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is the buildup of fat within the liver not as a result of alcohol abuse.