The Session #14 - People

Firstly, let me thank Stonch for hosting this month. I'd also like to thank him for the topic. Given the interesting question Stonch raised last year, I thought this was an excellent topic for a Session - perhaps the best yet. That question really made me examine what it is that I like so much about beer.

For me, I would have said the beer is more important than the pub. That may be a comment on me personally or it may highlight a fundamental difference between British and American beer cultures. Maybe it's a little bit of both.

Not that I'm particularly saying that one culture is better than the other here, mind you. I think beer culture adapts itself to the people, not the other way around. I have a lot of family commitments, so going on pub quests just doesn't fit in well with my lifestyle. The people in my life that matter the most are in my home. So I drink moderately around them rather than around friends at a pub. Drinking with friends in my case is usually done at home when they come over or when I go over to their homes.

Anyway, the real topic here is beer people, so on with it. The person I chose passed away early in 2007 unfortunately. I homebrew because it fits in well with my lifestyle which is, as I described, centered around my home. So who is the guy I'm talking about? Ken Rich is his name. He owned the homebrew shop closest to me. It was called The Brew Stop. Sadly, nobody kept the place going after Ken's demise.

Ken was a really cool guy; somewhat quiet, but very helpful. I sampled many of his beers on tap at the shop and I was the recipient of a lot of good brewing advice from him. Probably the best advice he gave me was on a batch of mead I made.

Ken Rich was a short, round sort of fellow, with bushy, graying hair and thick glasses. My wife always said he reminded her of an aging frat boy. The rest of the fraternity had moved on to careers and families while Ken stayed faithfully behind, maintaining the homebrew business. Perhaps that's not an entirely accurate picture of Ken. To be honest, I really didn't know him well enough to accurately assess him as such.

There's probably a lesson to be had for me in there. Beer doesn't make itself. People make beer. People drink beer. So maybe in the context of it being about the people more than the beer, I could see where the pub would be more important. Thinking of it in terms of the inhabitants rather than what they're drinking makes perfect sense. It doesn't fit my lifestyle, but certainly it does fit the lifestyles of some.

I often don't take the time to get to know people as well as I'd like and that's the lesson I would take away from the life of Ken Rich. Get to know people while you have the chance. They might not be there once you realize how little you know about them and finally set yourself to the task of learning about them. May God rest the soul of Ken Rich and give peace to his family.

Beer