This being the first Friday of April means it’s time for another round of The Session, a collaborative blogging effort that brings together (beer) bloggers from all over the web to weigh in on a particular topic—be it beer tastings, food and beer, the idea of beer, or other ruminations.

This month is being hosted by Bryan Roth of This Is Why I’m Drunk who’s come up with a contemplative topic in Finding Beer Balance:

Beer is more than the alcohol that goes into it – it’s the passion, history and community. Beer is also just one of many interests I have in my life, whether it’s exercise, continuing my education or keeping tabs on how social media impacts society. Beer doesn’t define me, even if it may be something I can ramble on about for hours and hours. These are all things I love spending my time on, but what about you?

It’s a discussion I hope will offer a variety of responses as people consider their interests outside of finding the perfect pint.

Is beer your vice? Is beer your reward? Does beer really have to be either? Do you find lifestyle balance through work, hobbies, family or maybe even “Dry Days” like David Bascombe? There are a variety of ways to find balance.

“Balance” is something that’s been weighing on my mind lately, but not for any reasons that have to do with drinking beer; rather, these past few months I’ve been largely preoccupied with planning a Beer Week, and as I’m discovering the many facets of such an endeavor, I’ve come to realize that this process (for which I’m essentially volunteering my time and working for free) has become like a second job. And as it has taken over my (other) life, I find myself wondering from time to time where the balance is.

There are worse ways for beer skew the balance of your life, of course. And for what it’s worth, I’ve never personally seen beer itself as either a vice or a reward in my own life—something to be enjoyed, and talked about, and shared, yes. But when it becomes only either a vice or a reward then for me that balance is lost.

As for the balance issues I’m feeling with planning a beer event—well, as much as I could use that as an excuse to be drinking all the time, I’m not running around drunk; rather, I’m working on a project that should bring enjoyment to a lot of people, and the beer is incidental. So rather than calling that “unbalanced” I have to periodically think of it in terms of finding a new balance, which is ultimately a good thing.

Of course, everyone has to find their own balance and relationship with beer. I think I’ve found—or am finding, in a sort of ongoing discovery perhaps—my own. But in the end, to quote Don Younger, it’s not about the beer—it’s about the beer.