To add to your beer in the basement idea, some guys give the beer because they have it to give. Some guys give the beer because someone needs it and appreciates it. Some guys give the beer because the know it keeps only so long and are planning to make the next batch, but have to give the current batch away (to the same person or a new person) before it goes stale or what ever happens to beer. To some guys, making beer and sharing it with a friend is the ultimate pleasure in life. It can be like a compulsion.
It is also sad to make beer and have no one to share it with.
