You can become a beer scholar
It’s back to school season for the kids. But just because most of us graduated long ago doesn’t mean we stop learning. As summer turns to fall, consider all the many ways you can continue your education in whatever inspires you — including beer. It could be as simple as reading a book, sampling flights or attending a beer talk, an option offered by numerous breweries. You could learn to homebrew or even take beer education classes.
Of course, if you’re perfectly happy drinking for pure enjoyment, there’s no need to monkey with what works for you. But I always like to know more about whatever interests me. I believe that the more you learn about something, the more you appreciate it. Here are a few extremely enjoyable ways to get to work on your own MBA — Master of Beer Appreciation.
First: Drink more beer — not more pints, but more varieties. Most of us stick to the beers we like the most, hoppy brews, for example, or sweeter malty ones. It’s easy to get into a rut. Step outside your comfort zone and try something new. Our taste buds change over time, which is why foods you loathed as a kid may now be your favorites. Our enjoyment of various flavors matures and changes as we age. Most brewpubs and breweries offer tasters and flights so you can sample an assortment.
Take your beer education to the armchair with books such as Randy Mosher’s “Tasting Beer,” Jeff Alworth’s “The Beer Bible” and Joshua M. Bernstein’s “The Complete Beer Course,” all of which offer good overviews on brewing, beer styles and how to taste beer. Or take a class: Many breweries offer “beer school,” an evening-long event that goes indepth on a specific topic, such as a particular type of beer, as well as tours and guided tastings. They’re all a lot of fun. Check your favorite brewery’s website for more information.
If you’re interested in trying your hand at homebrewing, check out the resources at the American Homebrewing Association website, homebrewersassociation. org, which includes directories of homebrew supply stores and homebrew clubs you can join.
If you work at a restaurant or bar or would like to — or you seriously want to learn more about beer — consider going through the cicerone training program. A cicerone is a sommelier of beer, and the cicerone certification course is something you can pursue at cicerone.org. Check out the possibilities under the “study materials” tab. The program is aimed at raising the standard of beer knowledge in the restaurant industry, but anyone can use the online resources and take their classes to learn more about beer. The Master Brewers Association of the Americas has a similar beer steward certificate program — mbaa.com/education/beersteward — which provides seminars, online resources and an MBAA book to educate people about beer.
If you’re curious about one of the world’s oldest beverages, there is a lot to discover and many ways to learn, but there’s one guarantee I can make. The final exams always involve drinking another beer. There aren’t too many other scholarly pursuits that can make that claim.