SF Beer Week 2013

Every year, Northern California residents look forward to (over) a week of beer debauchery. Simply known as SF Beer Week, any brewery or bar worth a damn residing in NorCal will host a range of events every night. Food pairings, beer dinners, tap takeovers, etc. Throw in a few festivals and you have the makings for an awesome week of beer drinking.

I was lucky enough to attend the Opening Gala at the Concourse Exhibition Center in SF and the Double IPA Festival in Hayward as a representative for the Cicerone program.

With 50+ breweries pouring their beers with unlimited tastings... I highly suggest dropping the $75 for tickets to the Opening Gala.

Lagunitas Sucks on Cask at Mars Bar

The Obvious big names in craft beer were represented. Sierra Nevada had their Barrel Aged Big Foot Barley Wine, Russian River was pouring Pliny The Younger, and Lagunitas had 3 beers pouring and a cask of Lagunitas Sucks across the street at Mars Bar & Restaurant. 

Lots of smaller up-and-coming breweries were in attendance and pouring some excellent brews. Heretic, Track 7, Knee Deep, Iron Springs, Berryessa, Ruhstaller, etc. all had staff on hand answering questions about their beers. My favorite new beer experience was American Wild #2 by Mill Valley Beerworks (Dark Strong Ale aged in wine barrels). 

It wasn't all drinking, however. A few Certified Cicerone® joined Master Cicerone® Nicole Erny at a booth where we asked questions regarding the program and passed out literature/pamphlets for both cicerone.org and beersavvy.com (a new website that provides an interactive e-lesson for people interested in the Certified Beer Server exam). 

Being the only booth not providing beer, we did manager to provide some sensory intake in a different way. Using jelly beans, we demonstrated the difference between taste and aroma and how together they create flavor. Although the occasional visitors was a little too deep into their beer drinking to appreciate our lesson in sensory analysis, overall it went over very well. 

The following day I joined Nicole once again in Hayward, CA for the DIPA Festival. Once again we used our jelly bean experiment. Reactions at this event were less predictable and but we had plenty of interested people at the booth. When we weren't talking to people about the program we were able to try some great beers by Russian River, Port Brewing, Tioga-Seqouia, and many others. 

 

After a few days off from the festivities I returned to the Bay Area with my lovely girlfriend Tamara  to celebrate a friend's Birthday. We stopped by the SOMA StrEAT Food Park where 101 North Brewing, 21st Amendment, and Lagunitas were pouring beers. A cold beer, nice weather, and a falafal wrap from one of the local food trucks made for a great end to Beer Week 2013.

 

The Greatness of Inefficiency

Craft brewing is good for America.

Simple enough statement and with a variety of arguments to support it. I, however, am really just interested in one aspect of these possible debates. What has become glaringly obvious to me is that the the big beer brands may employ a large number of citizens, but perhaps many less than the average consumer might expect or at least in the roles you would imagine them in.

On my way to visit my beautiful girlfriend who is attending culinary school in Napa Valley, I pass the Budweiser plant in Fairfield, CA. On one such trip I had some time to kill so i decided I would check out the facilities.

After an hour tour (30 minutes of which consisted of a mid-90s video preaching the greatness of Bud), I left the plant suprised at how few people I saw. This facility is humongous. Absolutely gigantic and running 24 / 7. Yet... I can honestly say I only saw about 20 people working, 10 of which were actually on the production side. Just large empty rooms the size of a football field and the occasional cart driving by.

I was told that one of their fermenters would hold enough beer for 1 person to have a pint every hour nonstop for 60 years... and they had dozens of those fermenters all full.

So how can a place turn out that much beer with so few people?

Automation.

Every process was run from a control panel or from a separate room on a computer screen. Long gone is the need to have a human being operate one section of production. Now it is just robots on auto-pilot.

In all fairness companies like AB/Inbev, SAB, etc employ many many people. However, I think its safe  to say most of those are on the distribution and marketing side of the business.

Craft brewers, on the other hand, may not have the budget to do big ad campaigns or hire a fleet of trucks to deliver product. They do, however, have a much more hands on brewing process. Stone Brewing in San Diego, for example, is growing rapidly and if you look on their careers page of their website you will see they are always hiring on the production side. As market share for craft beer increases breweries like Stone also gain leverage on distributors and help pay their salaries.

Also consider that big companies buy up rivals and consolidate production to their automated facilities resulting in many jobs being lost.

The fact is that the more small breweries that cant afford automated systems pop up, the more jobs are created. It is their inefficiency that helps create jobs.

Something to keep in mind when you buy your next beer. I personally like the idea that a few people somewhere down the line had something to do with the tasty brew I am drinking. 

Other interesting tidbits:
- When I got the tour guide to break from her scripted responses (she confirmed that she has a script), she confessed that Sierra Nevada is her favorite Brewery
- Canning line employees, although few, are union and receive $30 an hour with triple time during   holidays
- The Fairfield plant is one of the smaller facilities used by AB/Inbev (the one in St. Louis is much bigger)
- The tour guide and video we watched attempted to touch on historic elements of the brand without ever once actually mentioning the Busch families German heritage. I felt like it was an attempt to keep the All-American vibe going.

Anchor Brewing Tour

A short walk from the 16th & Mission BART station in San Francisco is Anchor Brewing Company. Home of their famous Anchor Steam but also Old Foghorn, Liberty Ale, Humming Ale, and many more.

As an integral part of the San Francisco experience and the history of American Craft Beer... I highly suggest you book a tour.

Getting your foot in the door...

As I write this I am currently unemployed. So why...you might ask... am I qualified to comment about getting into the industry? Allow me to explain...

I decided in Oct 2011 that I was going to pursue a career in beer. In 15 months I have interned at a brewery, brewed a few batches of my own beer, earned the title of Certified Cicerone ®, served the public at a well known beer-bar in the Sacramento area, poured at beer festivals, and discussed potential career moves with the likes of such beer royalty as Ray Daniels, Randy Mosher, Lauren Salazar, Mary Pelletieri, Lynn Kruger, Sean Paxton, and with various breweries and famous beer bars.

This is not simply me patting myself on the back. My intent is to illustrate that in a year I have had the opportunity to dive into the deep end of the beer world. Although I may not be gainfully employed at the time of this writing, I can say I have had many doors open through the work I have put in and even if I decided to change industries now I would be happy with my progress. This is only the beginning for me, however, and I intend to use my experiences and contacts to continue to grow and advance.

So what did I do and what would I have done different?

1) EDUCATION


Read. A lot. Pick up books by the likes of Jackson, Strong, Zainasheff, Palmer, Daniels, Mosher, and others. Take advantage of audio books and podcasts as well. Consider taking a class as well. I took the time (and a ton of money) to attend short-courses at U.C. Davis (Davis, CA) and Siebel Institute (Chicago, IL) in order to reinforce the ideas I had been reading about. It was a pleasure being able to discuss the industry with people from all over the world over a pint.

2) CERTIFICATION


Utilize the great folks at Cicerone.org and other online groups offering online and sit-down certifications. They look great on your resume and although you may know lots of people who know more about beer who don't have a piece of paper to prove it...when it comes to proving it you can and they can't.

3) VOLUNTEER

Every brewery needs someone to scrub their tanks and mop their floors. Do it. Don't get discouraged if they tell you they can't allow interns. For many it can be a liability and their insurance won't cover you if you sustain any injuries. Offer to sign a waiver and keep looking.

If I had the opportunity to live 2012 again I would do much of it the same but I would also homebrew a hell of a lot more. I would also get into hosting some smaller private tastings (a project I am working on now). I'm also looking at investing in a Brewer's Association membership whenever I have $155 I am willing to spend.

In the end you might find yourself in the same boat at me (seeking employment) but you will have a level of confidence and a solid resume you can use as leverage at your next interview.

In conclusion... if you know anybody looking to hire a professional beer snob have them hit me up.

From Germany to the U.S.: Beer Gardens Are In

Tired of drinking your beer in stuffy bars with low lighting and the jukebox blasting? Worry not... there is another option nearby or coming soon to your town. European style beer gardens are popping up all over.

Originating in Bavaria (Southern Germany), traditional Biergartens are a great location to socialize and meet fellow beer enthusiast while enjoying your beverage and bratwurst (or pretzel for us vegetarians) and some fresh air.

Stone Brewing has a huge garden at their taproom and restaurant in Escondido (attached to the brewery). I had the pleasure of meeting Stone CEO Greg Koch while waiting in their garden and he was happy to see so many people enjoying the environment.


In San Francisco the minds behind Suppunkuche, a German themed restaurant and taproom, have opened Biergarten on Octavia and Fell in the Hayes Valley area of the city. Carrying classic German beers from breweries such as Weihenstephan and Erdinger, it is one of the must-see spots for beer enthusiast in Northern California

Many bars and breweries have had outdoor seating, but when you walk into an authentic beer garden the vibe is very different. You find yourself sitting at long tables with strangers and enjoying the outside air. I personally love that feeling and I hope to find more beer gardens in the near future.

Beer Festivals: Do's & Don'ts

Do:

- Eat before you start drinking -
     Do you really want to be buzzed off your 3rd sample of 8%+ ABV beer?

- Try something new -
     See all those guys in their MMA tank-tops camping out at the big-boy macro beer booth? How
     about the self proclaimed "beer  geek" who goes to every booth only asking for Double IPAs? Do
     yourself a favor... try some breweries you've never heard of and seek out beer styles you are less
     familiar with.

- Talk to the brewers -
     If they aren't too busy drinking everyone else's beer and they have someone helping pour, take the
     time to tell a brewer how much you like their beer. They appreciate it more than you think.

Don't:

- Expect ideal conditions for critical tasting -
     The crew at the BBQ pit and the live band at the next tent don't care if you are trying to pick-up
     hints of dimethyl sulfide or diacytel in your samples. Shut up and enjoy the entertainment and
     awesome beer

- Talk down about other people's taste -
     Not everyone digs stouts and maybe you think fruit beers are wimpy. Keep it to yourself.

LGBT Community & Beer

Continuing with a common thread this blog has been on, today's entry tackles another example of a section of our population that is usually overlooked in the beer scene. Having previously shown some amazing women who have found their niche in the business and the perception of African-Americans in the beer scene, today I would like to discuss the LGBT community and its connection to beer.

I cannot recall any major beer producers attempting to market a brand to LGBT scene, and I imagine if they did it would only be slightly less over-the-top as this classic SNL skit:



On the other hand... would a company be doing any favors or truly being progressive by marketing to gays? Would it be sincere or rather a desperate attempt to make money by digging their grip into every possible niche market? This can be a sensitive issue.

There is one brewery in Mexico that is testing the waters...

The Minerva brewery said that the "Artisan Honey-Ales" would appeal to a section of the

beer-drinking public that had so far been snubbed by larger brewers.

"We're out in the market with great respect with the idea of offering a product directed to

the gay-lesbian community that has been ignored for too long but is important and very

demanding", Dario Rodriguez Wyler, commercial manager for distributors Bodega 12,

told the Mexican news agency Efe. [Full article HERE]

In San Diego, CA you can find Hillcrest Brewing Co., the first brewery that is proudly associated with the LGBT community. Checkout their Huffington Post article HERE.

So why is this even an issue? Who cares what gay people drink?

 Members of LGBT community face confrontation on almost every front and it doesn't stop at legal or religious issues. Companies tap into anti-gay sentiment and adjust their marketing to capitalize on sales. Plenty of example can be found over at http://openlygaymarketing.wordpress.com including 2 examples of Miller HERE. When you continue to market beer as a product for close-minded, super macho straight men you create an unwelcoming environment for people living an alternative lifestyle.

Many companies (beverage and others) attempt to make peace with the individuals they offend while simultaneously supporting organizations that wish to limit their freedoms (as seen HERE) but at the root of the problem is the culture of mass marketing.

Small brewers don't feel the need to market to the LGBT community because they are not simultaneously marketing to conservative, anti-gay groups. When you treat people as equals and you avoid hot topics (ie politics, religion) you don't need to resort to cheap and petty marketing strategies.

So do yourself a favor... if you are a male, hetero-sexual beer enthusiast I want you to take a gay friend to your favorite beer bar and introduce them to some great brews. Don't have any gay friends? That is the topic for someone else's blog but as someone who has gone bar-hopping in San Francisco with 2 gay buddies I can tell you that you are missing out on some great times.

The Double-Edge Sword of the Cicerone Program

It has been officially 9 weeks from the date that I took the Certified Cicerone(tm) exam in San Diego, CA at the Craft Brewers Conference. According to Ray Daniels, founder of the Cicerone(tm) program, I should expect results today or tomorrow (assuming no delays).

For those readers out there who are not familiar, the Cicerone program is an industry certification with three ranks: Certified Beer Server, Certified Cicerone(tm), and Master Cicerone(tm). Similar to a wine sommelier who may be employed at a bar or restaurant, those who have studied and become certified in the Cicerone program are expected to have knowledge in the areas of beer serving, handling, food pairing, and off flavor recognition. Since 2008 the program has grown to become the industry standard.  Various breweries, bars, and distributors are encouraging their employees to become certified.

In the last 2+ months of waiting for results, I have had the experience of speaking with a variety of people in the craft-beer scene regarding the program. I spoke with people from within in the industry on both the sales and the production side. Most people were interested and supportive... wishing me luck on the results. What I didn't expect to find was a degree of backlash against the Cicerone program from several others.

While taking the Sensory Panel Management course at Siebel Institute in Chicago (where Ray Daniels is a member of the faculty) I befriended a local brewer who was attending the class as well. When I mentioned that I was waiting for my results he clearly had something to get off his chest. He explained to me that when sharing his English Special Bitter (ESB) with a distributor they refused to accept that the low levels of diacetyl (a buttery off-flavor/attribute) that was present was not only acceptable but to-style for ESBs. The distributor justified his position by bragging about the high score he earned on the Certified Cicerone exam and that he knows when a beer is off. Upon tasting the beer myself, I found it to be a delicious example of the style.

Last week while in the Bay Area putting out resumes, I spoke with the owner of one of my favorite beer bars. When I explained that I was still waiting for the results for my exam she informed me that she refuses to hire Cicerones so it would be better to leave it off the resume. I did not get the opportunity to ask why.

As my last example, while studying for the exam I met my sister for a few beers at a well known bar in Sacramento where her friend works. She recalled that he had taken the exam and wanted to know if he could give me any advice. He informed that it was "a waste of time" and that 15 people he knew had taken the exam and failed. Needless to say, once I looked at the average pass/fail rate of the exam it appears he and his friends simply didn't study.

It appears that, for some, the idea of a beer steward on par with a wine sommelier carries with it a certain level of pretentiousness.

I believe that wine has dominated the fine-dining and beverage market for too long and beer has been pushed aside despite having just as noble of a history. I feel that beer deserves to have a group of people who really understand its complexities and how best to experience it. Any restaurant or bar who prides itself as having great beer should have a staff that has proven their skills. For that reason, I wish to become a Cicerone.

However... I also get my hands dirty. I commute 3 hours (one way) weekly to intern (no pay) at a brewery where I scrub bright tanks and wash kegs. I find that to truly appreciate beer you need to understand where it comes from on an intimate level. This is something that the Cicerone program can not teach you.

As someone who is trying to break into the industry I am using the Cicerone program as one of several routes to earn my education in addition to homebrewing, interning, and classes.

In closing...

1) To all the brewers and bar staff out there who feel like Cicerones are self-proclaimed beer "experts"... please keep in mind the amount of time and effort these people put into their studying and that in the end it all comes back to the common goal of putting beer in its rightful place. Don't assume they are snobby or pretentious.

2) To all the Cicerones out there... please realize that there are lots of people out there (both inside the industry and out) who know more than you. Be humble, be helpful, and remember it's not about you... it's about the beer.

Wish me luck... the results could be here any minute.

Women in the Industry

Click the captions on the pictures (NOT the pictures themselves) to see more info about these women of craft beer. Also check out this great article over at Slate.com about women in the industry and you can find a small list HERE.

Lauren Salazar (Sensory at New Belgium)

Carol Stoudt (Stoudt Brewing)

 

Kim Jordan (Founder of New Belgium)

Nicole Erny (Master Cicerone)

Rebecca (co-owner of Beer Revolution)

Siebel Institute Experience

As you have seen from previous post, I have been fortunate enough to have the experience of taking a class at Sudwerks via the U.C. Davis brewing program. Next on my bucket list was to attend a class at the oldest brewing school in the United States... Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago. Established in 1872, Siebel has a long history with the craft beer industry and many brewers choose to go through their program which utilizes classwork at their location, online, and satellite campuses in Germany.

I attended the Sensory Panel Management class, a course designed to teach individuals the importance of quality control, sensory analysis, and proper testing methods. An often ignored field, quality control and sensory panels are vital tools to successful breweries to prevent off flavors from going to market and also "flavor drift" which is the gradual change of a beer's acceptable flavors due to a lack of control and testing data.

Each of the three days we attended class we had a different instructor, each highly respected in the field. On day one we focused on training methods for flavor analysis with Mary Pellettieri, the Business Operations Manager at MillerCoors. On day two we covered methods of training and assembling a sensory panel (including proper facilities and incentives) with Lauren Salazar, Sensory Specialist from New Belgium who also works with blending and development of their sour beers. On the final day we went over specific types of test and statistics with Suzanne Thompson, the Analytical/Sensory Services Manager with MillerCoors.

I highly suggest attending Siebel. Chicago is a beautiful city, the instructors were fantastic, and I had the pleasure of sharing a classroom with folks from Firestone Walker, Shipyard, Yuengling, Magic Hat, Rahr & Sons, Steam Whistle,  and Chicago's newest brewery Broad Shoulders as well as  many others. Every day brought new info, new connections, and great meals courtesy of Goose Island Brewing's pub across the street from Siebel.

I look forward to November when I will be attending the Master Of Beer Styles & Evaluation course instructed by Ray Daniels (creator of the Cicerone program) and Randy Mosher (author of Tasting Beer).

 This short video will give you a little bit of the local sights as well as some video from inside Siebel. Enjoy...


Trip to Chicago / Siebel Institute from Tim Decker on Vimeo.

Craft Beer in the African American Community

When you think of the typical beer enthusiast, usually a caucasian bearded man comes to mind (looks like I fit the bill). Rarely would a member of the black community be the first to come to mind. Why is that?

There are various explanations that have been given. Very few are more than speculation but the question has been raised including on online beer forums and message boards (Madison Beer Review for example). Searching online will also, unfortunately, bring up viewpoints that only reinforce stereo-types.

Does it have cultural connections? Europe has a long history of beer brewing. Is it due to advertising and beer being marketed to white people? Most macro beer commercials consist of a large group of smiling people with one or two designated people of color. Even worse... when they DO feature black people as the main character they make them look ridiculous:

So are there positive examples of African American people in the beer community? Of course there are!

Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster for Brooklyn Brewing Co., Editor-in-Chief of the Oxford Companion to Beer, author of several books, and world-renowned beer expert.

Whether you are Democrat, Republican, or Independent... if you are a beer enthusiast you have to appreciate Barack Obama's open love for beer. At his Super-Bowl party he requested craft beers be on hand included a Honey Ale brewed by a White House chef.

So remember...this is not an accurate portrayal of all craft-beer drinkers...

And this is not an accurate portrayal of African-American people consuming alcoholic beverages:

Advice from Greg Koch (Stone)

Greg Koch, CEO of Stone Brewing, recently made an appearance as the keynote speaker at the Cuayamaca Community College graduation ceremony. Here is some of the advice he gave as reported from the college's blog...

1) Do good things - It does matter. Everything you do in this world counts. It counts for the worse, or it counts for the better.

2) Be a conscious consumer - In the grocery store, in the shopping mall, or online, don't buy what the man on the TV tells you to buy. Refuse to be led by the nose with the idea that you need to buy, buy, buy and spend, spend, spend.
3) Follow the passionate path, and have fun - Do things that matter to you. Follow your heart. Follow your passion. Do things that you enjoy.
4) Ignore everyone - This is key is you're to follow the passionate path. You'll need to realize that you cannot listen to other voices than your own. It's difficult enough to overcome the doubt, fear and negativity of our own internal voice. Don't allow any external voices to add to it.

5) Fail - "Don't be afraid to fail" is what many people will tell you. I want to amp that up a bit. I want to urge you to stretch, push and risk so much that you DO fail. Make mistakes. Maybe try and avoid huge ones, but you can recover from nearly all of the medium-sized mistakes, and definitely all of the small ones. 

You can find the full summary of what he had to say at the college's blog HERE.

Beer bands (part 2)

I have previously posted about the crossover between the independent music scene and craft brewing from the angle of collaboration beers.

As a continuation on the subject, I wanted to talk about BRAINOIL and THE PAIN RELIEVAZ.

Vinny from Russian River w/ Nate Smith

BRAINOIL is an excellent heavy metal band from Oakland, CA. How is this relevant to beer? The guitarist, Nathan Smith, is a homebrewing celebrity who is known for making award winning DIPAs and other styles. I first heard of the band after watching the BrewingTV episode featuring Nate and his homebrew setup.

Considered one of the top brewers in the Bay Area, Nate continues to keep his beer on a homebrew level and an equal amount of focus into his music.

THE PAIN RELIEVAZ is a two piece hip-hop group featuring Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head. Sam has said he uses the group as a creative outlet that is not directly related to DFH, but with songs such as "I got busy with an A-B Sales Girl"... it is safe to say that the subject matter is not a big leap in content from his day job.

Tasting Beer (Mosher)

Considered by many as the definitive book on sensory evaluation and guide for food and beer pairing, Randy Mosher has written a brilliant work. With information on style guidelines, history, proper glassware, etc., it is a must buy.

For those studying to take the Certified Cicerone Exam... Tasting Beer is on the list of suggested reading.

Mosher is a member of the American Homebrewers Association, Chicago Beer Society, author of several books (including Radical Brewing), award winning brewer, and lecturer.

Beer & Food Pairing

For some people the idea of pairing fine cuisine and cheese with wine makes perfect sense while pairing with beer seems unappealing or pretentious. The fact is that wine enthusiast have acknowledged for years that their are certain flavors that wine can neither resonate or contrast due to the relatively small range of wine varieties. Beer, on the other hand, has such a wide range of styles and flavor compounds that it is actually much more effective for food pairing.

When you consider the flavors that malted grain, yeast, hops, and occasional adjuncts can lend to beer (fruity, grainy, toasty, cocoa, herbal spice, etc) and follow a few basic rules it is easy to do a multi-course beer dinner.

The Rules:
1) Match intensity of food and beer: In beer, "intensity" can reflect the alcohol content, the  esters and phenol content (ie the unique spice character you get from rye beers), the bitterness of the beer, the maltiness, and the overall flavor content.

If you were to serve a rich carrot cake with very sweet cream cheese frosting... it would totally overshadow a Pilsner. A Barley Wine or Russian Imperial Stout would be a better choice.

2) Increase intensity as you go: If you are serving a 3 course meal and blow out your palate with a Double IPA during the appetizer you may not pick up on more subtle flavors later in the meal.

3) Pairing should have elements of both contrasting flavors and complimentary flavors: Perhaps the crisp dry finish of a German Hefeweizen will help cut the butter and fat content of a particular dish on the palate (Contrast), you would also want to consider using citrus flavors in the dish to compliment the beer.

That should get you started.  Click here for a chart showing a variety of beers, their flavor parameters, recommended pairings, serving temps, and glass courtesy of the Brewers Association. Also, Sean Paxton, host of The Home Brewed Chef on The Brewing Network, has an episode here on planning a beer dinner.

 If you want to see a tasting in action check out this video at the well known Chicago restaurant The Publican.

Beer Bands

As I've mentioned in previous posts I am equally enthusiastic about music as I am about beer... so I have been excited to see more crossover between these realms.

Dogfish Head Has  several releases inspired by music legends including Miles Davis (Bitches Brew) and Robert Johnson (Hellhound). North Coast Brewing has a very popular beer honoring the legendary Thelonius Monk (Brother Thelonius)

While some releases are simply inspired by the musicians... others are in collaboration. Dogfish Head has worked with Pearl Jam to brew a release celebrating their 20 years anniversary as a band and New Belgium recently worked with the band Clutch as part of their Lips of Faith series of beers.

With songs such as "Beer Pressure" I would really love to see a brewery work with metal band Municipal Waste on a project. But don't assume just because they like to party that they don't like the good stuff. Check out this video of their drummer David Witte dropping some serious beer knowledge:

I volunteer my homebrewing skills to this idea so if MW is reading this  and is down lets make a German Rauchbier (Smoke Beer). The fans will get the reference and it would be great with some BBQ!

What other bands deserve their own beer?

Beer Judging / BJCP

You do it every time you drink a beer. You may not realize it but you are. You are judging.

Of course, a formal judging has specific parameters and requires a much more analytic method. Mouthfeel, volumes of Co2, yeast character, hop aroma, color in degrees SRM, etc.

If you think you might enjoy a formal education in analyzing your favorite beer and learning proper characteristics of dozens of classic styles, The Beer Judge Certification Program has all the resources you need to become a industry-accepted judge.

Consisting of a preliminary online test followed by a sit-down tasting, participants have the opportunity to achieve various levels of certification. Higher levels must not only score well on the exam but must also have a certain number of competitions judged and/or hosted.

Study hard if you plan to take the test... the exam is designed for serious beer enthusiast.

Kickstarter.com

Funding for any new business is always a challenge. But let's say you find the loans you are looking for... now comes the issue of debt.

At Kickstarter.com entrepreneurs have an opportunity to raise start-up capital totally free of any loan requirement and debt. Users host videos showing off their marketing skills and giving viewers an opportunity to get to know the details of their project. Each video allows people to donate various amounts and with each level comes a corresponding reward (anything ranging from a t-shirt to a private event in your honor).

One catch, however,  is if the goal each project is aiming for is not met... the project receives nothing.

Kickstarter has been increasingly popular with nano/micro breweries... some earning as much as $40,000.

This system is clearly designed to reward users who are great with networking and their ability to make a clever video as part of a greater marketing plan... regardless how good or bad their product is. What results from this is up for argument.

Kickstarter is a great potential tool for any start-up and for those who want to support independent businesses in their area and abroad.

Brewing TV

The brilliant minds at Northern Brewer (home brewing supplies) have a great series of videos for homebrewers covering various topics ranging from brewing big beers and sours at home to features on up-and-coming breweries.

Check out all the episodes at www.BrewingTV.com

Proper Draught Systems, Pours, and Cleaning

We've all seen it. The bartender pours tons of foam or opens the tap with no glass underneath... pouring till the foam stops. And once they start filling they fill your glass to the brim leaving no head and additionally they submerge their faucet into the glass. Worse yet, they serve it in a frozen glass covered in ice (and wonder why its foaming so much).

This is all kinds of wrong... but the fact is that for years there has never been an agreed upon method of how to build and maintain a draught system (yes it's spelled "draught" not "draft") and how to properly pour to prevent beer waste and in the process money.

We now have the official guideline... The Draught Beer Quality Manual


Warning: reading this will inevitably make you critical of your favorite local bars! Read with caution.

There are also some videos out there provided by some of macros (AB, SAB/Miller)... but because they are outdated they do use some old terminology and some of the methods featured are not recommended. They are, however, worth a look until you have time to read the manual.