A Fall Brew

A Fall Brew

John Paul Derryberry

I spend most of my day problem-solving what some would say is a complex equation. For example, how do we include more people in a healthier society while respecting the mental and emotional struggles that so many face daily? Some days I answer that question well; others, I screw it up royally. It's often an unsolvable equation because many people's rights to a peaceful existence bump into social norms and rules for life to be more inclusive. It's exciting, fun, and incredibly frustrating to partake in this work where whimsical theoretical ideals meet the rigid reality of life.

Only sometimes I make it all fit. When I can’t I often retreat home to take a long run to work out problems in my head. Allowing my brain to wander on my runs has invented some imaginative ways to solve problems, with some terrifying ways that I'll keep to myself. It's often my imagination of what could be that has been my guiding light, but even I need a break from carrying that light. So, where does a guy turn when he needs to be in a different frame of mind? How do I relax with the constant turning of ideas and solutions? Well, I turn to my nemesis: Steps.

Steps: the process of following steps to a result. I loathe these in life because being mentally and emotionally healthy does not follow steps, no matter how many fancy power points we put together. Yet here I am embracing a step process- brewing beer. I started brewing beer three years ago. Some of us learned how to bake bread during the pandemic, and my wife and I learned how to brew. I found the process fascinating. How did people figure out when to add these hops, how long to boil, when to change fermentation containers, what temperature to do all this at, and when it was good to drink?

It is a stress-free process- just follow the steps, and in as little as four weeks to as long as a couple of months, have some beer to drink. I give many of the beers I make to friends, family, and neighbors. I share the wealth from the process, and I get my moment of zen. It's far enough away from my day job to remember the space between solving problems for a better community isn't all of who I am. And in reality, that's how this works for all of us who are currently healthy. We find what makes us tick and do our best to keep the process flowing.

I understand the sense of security steps provide to people. Just know that sometimes the same security we feel using steps might be just as faulty as someone making it up as they go along. There are so many ways to be healthy. And even this anti-step guy has found a perfect place to follow the steps in his life: on a Sunday afternoon, attempting to make his first pumpkin beer, all while sipping on a peanut butter chocolate stout he made about nine months ago with some music playing in the background. I'll return to solving community problems in a little while; to get this beer correct, I have to do step 7. I'm happy someone else figured this out for me, and that's how many good brews happen in life. Someone else does the trial and error part for you, and you follow their steps.