Here at The Perfectly Happy Man, we often like to take a look at what’s ahead of us: new beers, new horizons. To commemorate 2009, however, we thought we’d share with you some of the different things we learned this year about beer. Some of us have been into beer for longer than others. Some of us are even home brewers. But differences and qualifications aside, it’s clear that without change or growth, no pursuit is worth talking about. So without further ado, and in no specific order whatsoever, here are our Lessons Learned for 2009:

1. Brewpubs and Microbreweries trump all. Visiting a local restaurant that brews its own beer or a microbrewery with a taphouse will provide you with fresh, great tasting beer.
2. Read the label of a bottle before sampling. You don’t go into battle without taking into account your surroundings. Why would sampling beer be any different? Get the know the brew you are about to enjoy. Maybe even do some research on it. Sometimes the ingredients are on the label which will give your taste buds a point of reference.
3. Find a style you like and try all the breweries that offer that style. Once you find a style you enjoy, it’s time to hone your taste for that partiular style. I love Oatmeal Stouts, so I’ve sampled just about every one I could get my hands on. This way you know which brewery makes the best rendition of that style.
4. Get familiar with the brewery. Not all breweries are the same, believe it or not. Some brew a great range of beers, while others might be good at brewing a certain style. An example of this would be Capital Brewery, which brews great German style beers but is not known for its Pale Ale, unlike Sierra Nevada which brews hoppier beers.
5. Don’t be afraid to try something once. In trying different styles your tongue and palate learn to accept new flavors and pick out certain aspects in a beer. There are styles that I dislike, but will still try because my tastes evolve over time and I can still judge the beer according to its quality and whether it is true to style.
6. Realize that beer is a hobby: not your whole life. While drinking beer may be a social endeavor or even a serious hobby, it is important to keep a balanced perspective on life. When beer becomes more important than investing in the lives of those around you or becomes borderline addictive, it is probably time to take a break. Beer will always be around, so make sure you don’t let it become a controlling factor in your life. I’ve been guilty in the past of spending too much time and money on a hobby that literally ends up down the drain.
7. Home brewing helps to refine your tastes. Nothing beats creating a recipe, steeping the grain, smelling the hops during the boil and pitching the yeast and watching it work. You get a very intimate and gratifying feeling creating something with your own hands and then trying to prefect your craft. This has allowed me to be able to break a beer down into the four basic ingredients: hops, barley, yeast, and water while sampling and appreciating how they all come together.
8. Reviewing can ruin a good beer. I found if I wasn’t careful, the process of tasting, smelling, and writing/reviewing could rob me of the enjoyment of experiencing a good brew.
9. Beer exploration is a whole new world. The first time I went into a serious beer store I was overwhelmed with the variety of choices. I felt like a kid who went into a candy store for the first time.
10. Beer drinking has a dark underworld. I would have never imagined that “elite” beer drinkers (if I can use “elite” to describe beer) trade, stash and horde beer like drug dealers. When one guy described his beer “finds” I thought I was talking to a diamond smuggler!
11. Beer is a brotherhood. 2009 has been the first time I have truly delved into the world of beer. Naive in my approach, I have been pleasantly surprised by the community that surrounds and envelopes this drink. It is a culture, one of camaraderie, generosity and desire to see others enjoy life. Perhaps it sounds cheesy, but having a common interest, a shared passion, has brought me closer to those I knew and brought me into conversations with those I didn’t.
12. There is no better hobby than beer. Drinking it, writing about it, brewing it, sharing it, talking about it, buying it, photographing it. There is nothing so inclusive of so many aspects of life. My path into this hobby, stemmed truly more for my love for writing than for drinking, and yet with each beer I drink I realize how much more of a world there is. It’s as though the more I learn, understand and experience, the more I realize just how extensive this pastime can be.
13. Miller Lite is not the only beer out there. I know that sounds like a ridiculous statement but for most of my adult life that is the only beer I’ve reached for. Thanks to the introduction to homebrewing in 2009, my taste buds have uncovered an entire world of different beers: with flavor, texture, character, and aroma. The many intricacies of the combination of water, malted barley, hops and yeast is something I never imagined would interest me so much, or bring me so much enjoyment. It’s like eating spaghetti your whole life only to find out there are a million other cuisines that you’ve been missing out on. And to put it gently, its like I’ve been at the buffet of beer and there is no jerk manager telling me that “all you can eat” (or drink) is not supposed to be taken as a challenge.
14. Good tasting and satisfying beer CAN be made at home. All it takes is some basic equipment, a heating element, some ingredients, and in my case, a loving wife who actually enjoys the wonderful smell that flows throughout the house as the beer is being made on the stove. I specifically remember one evening when I opened my fridge to make a beer selection and waded through the variety of different brews only to happily decide on a bottle of pale ale that I myself had created. That is when this lesson hit home: I can do this, and I can do it well enough to prefer something I’ve made over something mass produced and paid for!
15. Patience. Since most of my beer experiences have a lot to do with making beer I must address this point. Beer is not something that can be rushed. About the only aspect of making a drinkable beer at home that can be expedited is the carbonation process. You can either dose the fermented beer with additional sugar and wait for the yeast to eat it thus creating carbonation, or as is my case many of the times, you can force carbonate the beer with a CO2 tank and keg. But even in that case, beer sometimes can suffer under this environment because often you will drink beer that has not had time to properly mature and round out flavors. My point? Nothing before its time. Beer has taught me patience. A different kind of patience than my almost five-year-old is constantly teaching me, but patience nonetheless. You can’t rush a good thing. Let it have its time. The rewards are great. Oh, and while you’re waiting for the first batch to ferment and or carbonate, brew another!
16. It takes a village. From conception to completion, this website has been a team endeavor. If there’s one thing to echo about 2009, it’s that a handful of dedicated, energetic individuals can really make things happen in a short amount of time. This, in my opinion, is some of the best the beer community has to offer: people that love beer but aren’t under its power, who want to help educate others, write reviews, and carry on like there’s no tomorrow. It’s hasn’t even been three full weeks yet, and the site has really grown!
17. Don’t judge a beer by its label. If you walk through the aisles of your local liquor or grocery store, you’ll see just how much of a variety there is in the beer world. I think at the heart of it, every brewer (besides the corporate giants) is looking to make something unique. Every brew has a reason behind it. This doesn’t mean you will enjoy every brew you taste, it just means that every brew has value to someone, somewhere. And probably multiple people. So, despite what it’s called, how it was brewed, what the ABV is, or what the label art looks like, be sure to ask yourself if you’re really out to stretch your horizons and expand your palette. If you’re serious about it, you’ll be courageous.