Here we go again - session time on the first Friday of the month. Except it's Saturday now. The question was posed by Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune, the authors of The Naked Pint:

So we want to know what was your best and worst of beer for 2009? What beer mistakes did you make? What beer resolutions do you have for 2010? What are your beer regrets and embarrassing moments? What are you hoping to change about your beer experience in 2010?

I don't know what to make of those questions. Beer mistakes? Maybe taking beer too seriously. But did I do that? Maybe having too much some days. But I don't think I did - I am fairly moderate and tried not to over do. Who wants a hangover?

Is there a question behind the questions we should ask? Can beer play a role such that there are personal bests and worsts? Personal regrets and embarrassments? If we are in that level of relationship with a recreational mind altering substance... is that good? Of all my hobby interests, beer is the least obsessive in a way because it is light entertainment. Science fiction is immersive, political blogging is naively important, sports fandom creates something of one's identity for better or worse. Even with all the interest in beer and health or highway safety or questions of value or the simmering politics of even writing about beer, I've been writing this blog not so much as an exploration of beer but as an exercise in exploring my own relationship with the stuff. I don't know if I have learned enough to know whether or not the whole thing is not a regret or an embarrassment. A mistake.

Or not. Don't know. After six years, can I expect that this new year will come with any breakthrough?