We’ve historically heard it a LOT: “Wine is serious...beer is fun!” This was the prevailing wisdom for centuries...until recently…
What people are realizing now, though, is that gourmet craft beer can be as serious a beverage as wine, and even more complex, with infinite style variations and a broad food-pairing range. What people are now asking is, “What beer should I have with X, Y or Z food?” This course is designed to give you the confidence to help you answer that question knowledgeably
This course is a guide to craft beer. It will give you the pointers you need on a day to day basis. Consider it the “Cliff’s Notes” of craft beer creation and food pairing.
We discuss ingredients, the brewing process and other peripherals. By the end of the course you’ll understand the creation process for beer (after all, you should know what it’s made of and how it’s made), craft beer styles, craft beer tasting (appearance, aroma, flavor and mouthfeel), glassware (no plastic cups here, folks) and importantly food and beer combinations. You’ll understand various meals, chocolate, cheese, desserts, and how to pair them with appropriate beers.
Matt Simpson has been involved with craft beer, in one regard or another, for well over two decades. He taught Beer Education 101 at Emory University, is a BJCP (www.bjcp.org) Certified Judge, Siebel/Doemens Bier Sommelier Certified, has been invited to judge the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) five years and counting, was an Administrator for RateBeer.com (arguably, the largest beer website in the world, with over 450,000 members and growing - having created their trading site policy and sanctions for negligent traders), was co-founder and Managing Editor of TheBeerCellar.com (now defunct), was the President of Ale Atlanta (once one of the largest, organized groups of craft beer aficionados in the U.S.), is an award-winning homebrewer, with multiple ribbons won (including two in the AHA’s National Homebrew Competition), and owner of one of the largest, most robust and comprehensive beer cellars in the world...all starting long before there was such a thing as the "Craft Beer Revolution."