Back to our friends. I will call them Q and R for now. Why is it so important for us that we would even ask them to make that kind of move? I have been thinking about it a lot. In part to make sure that it is not purely selfish, in that we miss them and want them closer. To be sure it is not purely insecurity about opening a brewery on our own, assuming all of the risk and attention. Those are the attitudes that could hurt a friendship. With brewing, there is something communal about it that begs for a companion. It is for alchemists who passionately tinker with just a few ingredients but where the slightest variable can alter the results significantly. In many ways it is like baking or cooking but without the instant gratification. It is in that waiting, that fermenting, where the companionship is crucial. It is like pregnancy and birth.

With Q there is something more. As Chad says, “If Q and I were doing this together, I would feel guilty. It wouldn’t feel like work. It would be too much fun.” That is because it is a dream for both them. I know from experience, that the only thing better than realizing your own dreams is to realize them with a good friend.

Q knows so much about beer and compliments Chad in the areas of science and math. Q is a biologist. I can imagine them in the warehouse, stirring kettles of grain and water, creating and crafting and sharing their excitement with beer lovers. Chad is right. It will be fun.