Beer is for Fun

As a brewer, occasional writer and constant reader it is sometimes hard to keep a focus. There are certainly some things that are very easy to focus on. One must pay the bills and keep things rolling in the right direction. But the type of focus I am talking about is the "Why" of the beer business.
Most of us brewers start out home brewing. It is a hobby that combines all kinds of skills. It is 9 parts attention to detail and one part creativity. The challenge is closest to that in golf. Everyone can hit a good shot sometimes, but it takes a great deal more talent to do it regularly and the challenges are always just a bit different. It is this need for attention and detail that sometimes blur the real "Why" of beer.
Turn professional in this business and you get to add taxes and paperwork and there is even less time to smell the hops.
All this makes it necessary to sit down from time to time and make sure the "Why" is defined. In our case we are lucky enough to have an historic brewing site to take care of and hopefully over the years improve. Any history buff might think that is enough of a reason by itself, but there is more to it.
The bottom line is that beer is fun. Just look at this photo. No one by the camera is telling a joke or mooning the crowd. People are just drinking different beers and having a great time. Sampling all kinds of different flavors tells you a bit about yourself. "I don't usually like that type," is a common comment at a tasting. A person can literally find new ways to enjoy themselves through beer and tastings.
Some folks take the tasting more seriously creating rating systems and entire new languages to try to describe beer and its flavors. There is nothing wrong with this as long as the task itself is enjoyable to the person performing it. I often taste a new beer and try to pick out all the ingredients and methods used, but in the end either I liked it or I didn't. In most cases its just a matter of what occasion a beer is best suited for.
There will always be a certain joy in getting to do something everyday that I used to have to spend spare time doing, but the real reason for brewing is providing the entertainment. We are definitely not saving lives over here but making lives more fun to live seems like a worthy pursuit.