Pete Brown's blog

Ever seen Pete Brown's blog? You should. Have you ever wanted to take a beer road trip? I'll bet you have. Have you ever wanted to grab and IPA and sail it from the UK over to India? He did. Cool! Read about the entire trip, rather than the one post I linked. It's fascinating.

He also had some great thoughts just a few weeks back called "We're all only here for beer". This is the type of writing that I read and say, Yeah! that's what I want to tell people. that guys got it. I just can't say it that way. I guess when my body gives out from brewing, I'll need to do some practicing if I ever want to go down the writing path (why did he go down that path? I've considered it, that's why. Before you laugh, realize they laughed when my profession changed from teacher to brewer. You can do whatever you want people-another post another time!)

Pete offers some insight on the broad topic of taking beer too seriously and moreover the importance of beer in our culture. The post deserves reading, but I like when he said,

Why does beer exert such a powerful hold?

That's the key question. I suspect my answer may be a little different than it is for many beer bloggers, but I hope anyone who cares about beer will at least respect it, even if they don't entirely agree. I'm defensive about it, because it automatically brings up the subject of beer snobbery again.

The people we/I call beer snobs love the amazing variety and intensity of flavour and character they get from lovingly-brewed craft beers. They believe small brewers who are doing what they love make the best of these beers. And they belive that these small brewers, lacking the marketing muscle of the macros, need all the support they can get to make their voices heard. I agree strongly on every point. But for me, the beer world is bigger than this. Beer is more important.

and

The history of beer is the history of ordinary people. Beer brings history alive and makes you realise what it would have been like to be a seventeenth century diarist or thirteenth century pregnant woman, the strong birthing ale on standby for when labour began.

Beer remains the most popular drink in the world. While customs and habits vary, the underlying truth of beer is constant - getting together to relax with friends, in a safe environment, kicking back and being your true self.

and

Beer is a broad church, and I've realised that's what I love most about it.



As they say, Spot on!
Cheers!