i got into homebrewing to drink more good beer...at a good price but...to go a bit deeper...
my favorite part is the first gravity sample....but it kind of captures a lot of things...
i wouldn't call myself an expert by any means, i only just started all grain last year, but i've been able (lucky?) to make pretty consistent beers...having an ok idea of knowing what ingredients i use will result in what...but still to this day, when i brew and pitch my yeast, there's that sense of it's not going to come out right or something will go wrong because murphy has his hand in everything, just like i had the first time i brewed. you wait a couple of weeks and take that first gravity sample...you hit your gravity...and then...the sip...and then 'YES!'...knowing it came out like you wanted it to, knowing people will enjoy it, reinforcing that you're actually doing something right in your brewing process...that to me is my favorite part, because it captures all of the enjoyable aspects of brewing, the personal liking of good beer, sharing with others, and the technical stuff.