I’m lucky to be acquainted with the master knife smith Burt Foster. He makes knives by hand that are intended to be passed down generation to generation. That’s remarkable given that so much of our culture has become disposable and disinterested with workmanship and artistry and permanence.

I was browsing his pages on “The Craft” and “Philosophy” and it got me reflecting on my own work. I work in technology and frankly a lot of what I do is disposable by design. I write code to fill gaps and needs, but that code will likely be refactored or completely tossed at some point in favor of something else. I am part of the disposable culture, then, and that doesn’t please me.

With that in mind I reflected on whether my adventures in brewing have something to do with a desire to be a craftsman of some sort, building something more visceral and generally satisfying. Though I’m still thinking about this I will admit that my greatest pleasure in brewing comes not in the consumption (though that is good) but in the creation. My philosophy about humans is that we are fundamentally creative by design, and brewing scratches that itch to be a doer, a creator.

What do you do that satisfies that creative itch?