Are you ready to be an Apprentice?  Then here’s the Syllabus to confirm your apprenticeship.  beer-consuming-track-1.doc This Syllabus covers the first 20 hours of your training.  A follow on entry will have the appropriate test to confirm your progression with the associated certificate.  For the “Learning Objectives” and “Samples of Behavior,” see the attached document.

Here are the Lessons laid out for you:

Lesson A. Identify a “good” beer. (Time: 5 Hours) (Easy)

o   Go to BeerAdvocate.com and Review the first seven (7) entries in Beer 101: The Basics (1 Hour)

o    Review the different Beer Styles at the Brewer’s Association web page (2 Hours)

o   Purchase at least one of each of these styles and sample them: India Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Pilsner, Amber Ale, American Pale Ale, and Wheat Beer. (2 Hours)

o   Reflect on these beers, determine the style you most prefer, and continue to refine your list (Extra Credit – 1 Hour).

Lesson B. Identify “right location.” (Time: 7 Hours) (Medium)

o   Pick up to 5 different locations in your area (you may be limited on locales … but choose no more than 5) to sample “Beer.” See recent post for how to find these places (1 Hour)

o   Travel to each of those places and sample 1 or more of the styles previously sampled. (5 Hours)

o   Take time to reflect on each of the places and determine what was good and/or bad about those locations.  Strike the bad ones off your list.  Keep the good ones on it. (1 Hour)

Lesson C. Identify “right people.” (Time: 7 Hours) (Hard)

o   Think about who you might like to go drinking with.  Your decision will obviously be influenced by what you expect to get from this experience.  (1 Hour)

o   Invite the “right people” to go with you to those establishments identified in Lesson B. (6 Hours)

o   Take time to reflect on each of the individuals you went drinking with and determine who was good or bad.  Strike the bad ones off your list.  Keep the good ones on it. (1 Hour)

Beer Mentor

As an apprentice on the “Beer Consuming” Track (see this link for why this is important), there are 3 basic things on which to focus as you begin your training: 1) Picking a good beer, 2) Finding the right location to consume that beer, and 3) Finding the right people with which to drink that beer.

I will be publishing a syllabus in the near future for this track but in this post I wanted to focus your attention on step #2 … the right location.  There are several options available for you to find this information.

#1: Beer Mapping Project:  “They find the beer. You drink the beer.”  This site does exactly what it says.  It is focused on helping you find where the beer is located, whether that is a store, a pub, a tour, whatever!  This is a good starting point for your search.

#2: Brookston Beer Bulletin:  Jay has an extensive website devoted to the Craft Brew industry — populated on his site are breweries all over the U.S.  Check out what he has to offer in the way of finding good brews … and many other

These two sites should keep you busy in your first lesson towards your apprenticeship.  Stay tuned for the syllabus and the test for passing the first stage of your apprenticeship!

Beer Mentor