The Session – How We Love Beer (Roundup)

Well, with over 20 thoughtful responses to this month’s Session, one thing is clear – most of us love beer! Moreover, we like to share it and our love for it with those around us. What I especially enjoyed about these articles is that they overwhelmingly told a story about the journey we are, or have been, on. It’s not all rose-colored beer glasses – sometimes beer is frustrating, disappointing, or mysterious. But we keep coming back to it because at its center we find not only something that brings us joy – we find those around us who share our passion, and that’s just lovely.

Over at Beerbecue, a former fellow Missoulian put together a nice little video in which he hopes to not lose sight of that which he loves in the midst of a growing family. Gotta check it out!

Tiffany at 99 Pours shares an insightful account about her resolution to find joy in beer again. She went through some tough times with her beer business, but, in the end, she says:

Work & live for the love of beer. For it is beer that keeps my family afloat.

Beer is this wonderful beverage that spurs creativity. It relaxes. It’s happy to play centerfield, 

sit in wait on the benches, or cheer you on as you pursue your dreams, as you live your life. It 

is liquid bread. It is refreshment. It is by my side daily. Yes, daily. Just like my husband and my 

dogs. My constants in life. My lifeblood. My daily bread.

I can’t think of many more products that I believe in more.

Yes, beer is THAT great!!

 Mr. David J at Good Morning writes an “Ode to Deliciousness in a Glass”:

Sometimes you’re wrong, but most you’re just right.

Glen at Beer is Your Friend writes that he knows it’s love when you buy beer even though you’re already stocked at home, and his favorite beer is always, “the next one.”

James at Beer Bar Band rightly questions, “what is love and what is addiction?” If anything, he’s guilty of over-sharing because he wants others to discover what’s good about beer, and most often he’s sharing with his wife.

Darren at Idreamofbrewery says, “I put beer first.” And his love for beer is centered around making it:

The pain and the scars are all for my love of beer. Why do it? It’s for those zen moments when the brew day is going perfectly.

Jon at 10^th Day Brewing eloquently digs deeper to understand the “mystery that is the love of beer.” The love of beer gives us the chance to spend time with others who love beer. Right on, sir!

The Beer Nut expresses love by having new beers, and ones different than previously had. It’s for “the thrill of the unfamiliar.”

Beer: whatever the colour, whatever the weight; no matter how it smells or tastes, I have time for it all.

Bryan at This is Why I’m Drunk channels his inner “Ryan” (get it?) to pen a post that made me all tingly inside. You’ll just have to read it, girl.

Steve at Beers I’ve Known shows love through drinking and blogging, as well as sharing. He’s working on a beer and cheese book, and he keeps busy by running beer tastings and hopes to start homebrewing this year.

Looke at Likely Moose takes the time to blog and buy beer. It’s important to always go for the beer not yet tried and uses Untappd (me too!) to keep track of ones tried.

Eric at Sheppy’s Blog admits he loves beer, not just likes it. He brewed a staggering 22 batches last year, and when the time is tallied what he spent doing it, it works out to be about a month of the year. Bravo!

Mark at By the Barrel started collecting beer cans at age 11 and from their an obsession for beer sprang into adulthood. Now living in Bend, Oregon, he spends time volunteering at beer fests, using Untappd, and just starting cellaring. He’s also in pursuit of a couple different beer-related certifications.

My friend Alan at Growler Fills fills his free moments communicating about beer, and the evidence lies in the 500+ blog posts he’s written on his blog. He writes, beer is “a story about people. The people who make it and the people who drink it. I've never found anything that can turn strangers into friends faster than beer.” I can speak to that; beer brought us together [wipes teary cheek].

Stan at Appellation Beer tackles the question of questioning. He asks,

Do I write about beer, in this space and elsewhere, because I have a taste for it, because I’m addicted to collecting stories and retelling them, or because writing about beer is my primary source of income?

I really enjoyed reading this, as it reminded me of one of my favorite Rainer Maria Rilke quotes (from Letters to a Young Poet):

I would like to beg you dear Sir, as well as I can, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.

Sean at Beer Search Party really goes after the “how” of storytelling that is behind each beer event, review, and post he does. And as a devotee of beer history, each story he tells is enriched by and moves beyond his personal experience with a beer and makes it a teachable moment. “Just show your love of beer by talking about it,” he writes.

Rich at Travels with Cap’n takes the time to love the subtle attributes of beer, especially those from Full Sail.

Alan at A Good Beer Blog does not love beer itself. He’s had too many issues with it. For some perspective, he writes, “It's good to take a break. Even date some other drinks from time to time. Good for one's health and the pocketbook, too. It's not something one wants to get all monogamous with, is it?” Very true indeed, and a good perspective to maintain.

Tom at Tom Bedell offers a great joke I will add to my limited repertoire (go read it!). His beer journey is both figurative and literal, and it involves Pearl Beer. He writes, “For me a day without a beer is pretty much unthinkable.”

David at Beer Tinted Spectacles masterfully wrote a poem about beer that needs to be shared with the world, so go read it and share it!

Jon at The Brew Site doesn’t want to limit himself to loving one specific beer because “there are simply too many good beers and good breweries and I like to be as equal opportunity as possible,” he writes. He turns the table to say that seasonal beers are how breweries show love to their patrons, so enjoying them expresses our love in return. Very good point!

With that, I now draw attention to Adam at Pints and Pubs for Session #73 on Beer Audit. The (beer) tax man cometh? I wonder.