homebrewing continues to be an interesting distraction for me, though every once in a while, I’m reminded that there are two very different schools of thought when it comes to brewing. On the one hand, there are the Scientists, who weigh, measure, analyze, and target. Every brew they make is done with an eye to precision, and while there is experimentation, it is done in a very controlled fashion with known ingredients and variables. These were the same folks who questioned my idea for an apple beer. I shudder to think what they would say about the Lords of the Sea Mead.

On the other are the Cooks. These folks tend to be a lot more fluid in their thinking. They’re less bound by style restrictions, and as a result are more open to tinkering with unusual ingredients or ideas. Brewing for them can be anything from a well planned affair to a bunch of ingredients pulled out of their cupboards and thrown into a boil. This is chaos brewing at its finest.

You can probably guess where I fall on the spectrum. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very interested in the technical aspects of the process, and I do believe that systematic exploration has its place. I do also think, however, that it’s easy to get caught up in the science at the expense of the art.

So says I.