These days there's not enough time to relax. Brewing provides a perfect excuse to spend a few hours chatting with friends and the “research” time sampling different brews. An old brewer's maxim states, “Brewing is an hour's worth of work ‘crammed’ into three.” Throw some burgers on the grill for an impromptu party!

Curiosity about a favorite pint leads many to the hobby. Where wine lovers obsess over a vineyard's tiniest details, many brewers obsess over a new brew. What kind of hops? What techniques are used? How do they get that wonderful flavor? Solve the puzzle and crack the key. The endless ways to brew and to tinker means the search never ends.

For others, the modern workplace leaves a quiet dissatisfaction. Unlike their fathers, the end of the workday comes with no physical achievement. No fields are plowed, no cars are built. Brewing satiates the need to create something real, something mechanical yet poetic.

Lastly, though, the real reason: pouring a pint and watching eyes crinkle in anticipation and close in rapturous enjoyment. From the first time a friend looks incredulously at you and says, “You brewed this?” you will be hooked. Nature's high!