Why I Brew the Beer I Drink

I got started (brewing beer) because I love beer and I wanted to learn a craft that would be worthwhile after an apocalypse. No really, laugh now, but that was my initial motivation. There aren’t many other hobbies that would benefit mankind as much while civilization is being rebuilt from scratch. You’ll see. After the meteors hit and zombies are roaming the streets, I’ll be recruited into the survivor’s compound because I’ll be able to contribute to society by providing one of those few remaining things that can bring harmony and happiness. That’s granted they have access to all the necessary ingredients and tools, but we can work that out later.

Seriously though… back to loving beer.
If you are passionate about beer, if you’re the type who chooses a store based on the variety in their walk-in-cooler, or who makes their restaurant selection based on tapper count, who thoroughly enjoys a crisp IPA on a hot summer day, or the warm complexity of an imperial stout in the dead of winter, if you always try the local brew or select the one unknown tap that you’ve never heard of before, you should seriously think about brewing your own… and sharing it… with me.

If you only drink weak flavored beer or your solitary goal of drinking it to get wasted, you absolutely should not try to brew… At least not until you make friends with a home brewer and let them share their passion and appreciation for good beer with you. 

The more someone loves beer, the better the chance that they will produce some of the best heavenly barley nectar that has ever graced the lips of mankind. When you appreciate the subtle differences in hop varieties, malted grain, and yeast strains, you will fine tune your beer into that combination of flavors that you yearn for in a commercial brew but can never quite find. Like a musician or an artist with a blank canvas, you can build your masterpiece into an exact concerto for your tongue, a Monet for your olfactory. Sure it takes a bit of luck, knowledge, and experience but that process is part of the enjoyment. The achievement, surprise, and heartbreak encountered after hours bent over a boiling pot and weeks after watching your yeast bubble away is the dream of any grown adult who had a chemistry set as a kid. Plus it’s lots of fun when your neighbors come over to ask if what you’re doing is legal or if you’re cooking meth. Then the day comes when you can pour your creation into a glass after you’ve meticulously planned its composition and devoutly tended its maturation until it finally rolls around your mouth and warms your belly… the smile on your face in that moment is the pure happiness of home brewing. Just remember, happiness is only worthwhile when shared!

Enough of that… back to those zombies.
Don’t fool yourself, when mankind is rebuilding after the next great flood, those who know how to produce food, ammunition, and alcohol will be the ones who survive and thrive. Mostly, it will be those with ammunition, but I’m not that great of a shot and I’ve never had a green thumb, so I’ll stick to what I’m good at. Humans have relied on beer for the majority of civilization, especially when sanitary water conditions weren’t always available. Trust me on this one, anyone facing hordes of brain eating walking dead or bands of crazed pillaging marauders will really need a beer after a long day.

Copyright of Brian Liebau.  Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.