Certainly from a chemical standpoint we can describe what happens, but the fact that fermentation does take place is a little bit of magic. They get all bunged up about things that really don't matter in the long run. This submission requires the pure enjoyment of living, of being alive, of taking a big swig from the glass regardless of what's inside. As did Jesus while praying in the garden at Gethsemane, one takes the cup with the knowledge that its contents contain a lesson to be learned, and accepts the implications of that action. What comes out of that swig may be good for you, or not.
Life is too short.
The span of human life is a mere nano-second when compared to the history of the universe. Some would say that we live a series of short lifetimes, and that our state in the next life depends on our actions in this. If such is the case, and I have reasons to believe it is so, then we cannot really say that Life is 'short' at all. This particular manifestation is short, to be sure, and if we miss trying out that stout made in Texas in this lifetime, then we can hit it the next time we come around. But therein lies the romanticism of our brewing revolution.