Ok, I said on this trip to Germany that I was going to have a new beer every day for the time I am here. See the included pics providing proof that the first day’s beer was a Hefe Weizen! (from Sanwald).
I will provide a description and rating of the beer tomorrow…
Beer Mentor!
To kick off my trip to the heart of Beer Country, I’ve composed the Lyrics to a new “Beer Ditty” … I call it: “Big John’s Beer Song” (to the Tune of the Air Force Song)… the inspiration for this is coming from an Allagash Dubbel Reserve. (update #1: Changed the name to “Big Seamus.”) (update #2: Changed the name to “Big Seamus’ Beer Force.”)
Off I go into the wild beer yonder, Diving down into the suds; Here beer comes zooming to me in wonder, At ’em boy, Drink with your buds! (Drink with your buds now!)
Down the side, spilling the foam all over, Off with one helluva pour! I live for beer and all that’s Dear, (Hey!) Nothing’ll stop Big Seamus’ Beer Force.
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
On Saturday, Mar 7, Ray and I showed up at the Devil’s Den in Philadelphia for some good beer and socializing … and we met two great brewers: Larry Bell and Pete Slosberg.
First, Pete Slosberg, was the creator of Pete’s Wicked Ale.
From Wikipedia, Pete Slosberg “was one of the pioneers of the craft beer movement in America, along with others such as Jim Koch of Samuel Adams and Larry Bell of the Kalamazoo Brewing Company, now Bell’s Brewery Inc.” It was a pleasure meeting Pete and shaking the hand of someone who had a significant influence in the variety of Microbrews that are now on the market (besides producing some pretty good beer!)
And, so, we add in Larry Bell.
It was a Firkin of his brew we had at the Devil’s Den (see previous post). His beers are “kicking a**” lately. His Amber Ale is fantastic. Top it off with the fact that he is a very nice guy and we had a fantastic time sampling the wares during Philly Beer Week!
Beer Mentor
Ok, every once in a while, you stumble on something rather than looking for it.
While we were in Philly to participate in the Philly Beer week (see previous post), we were sight seeing Sunday before we headed to the house … and, lo and behold, in an alley right behind our hotel (the Double Tree … recommend it if you get the new rooms) was the oldest Pub in Philadelphia — McGillins Old Ale House–it opened it’s doors the year Lincoln was elected. Well, we couldn’t let the “beer experience” pass us by, so we stopped in for a cold one at 1130 am … just the right thing for a relaxing trip back to DC!
Beer Mentor
On Saturday, 7 March, during Philly Beer Week, Devil’s Den in Philly hosted Larry Bell, Bell’s Brewing, and had a fund raiser for “Breast Cancer Awareness.” My friend Ray and I were fortunate enough to be there when they tapped the Firkin for Bell’s Double Cream Stout! Here’s the video of the tapping — what a blast!
Beer Mentor
Because I’m simple, let’s break this down into the two parts: Beer and Experience, and then bring them back together to establish the definition. But first, let me enjoy my Budweiser American Ale … yes, and I like it too (dry-hopped with Cascade hops… part of the Experience.)
Following the simple theme … dictionary.com defines Beer as, surprise!, a noun.
| 1. | an alcoholic beverage made by brewing and fermentation from cereals, usually malted barley, and flavored with hops and the like for a slightly bitter taste. |
| 2. | any of various beverages, whether alcoholic or not, made from roots, molasses or sugar, yeast, etc.: root beer; ginger beer. |
| 3. | an individual serving of beer; a glass, can, or bottle of beer: We’ll have three beers. |
We won’t get into the origin here … we’ll save that for the Journeyman. Now, for the definition of Experience (Noun and Verb):
| 1. | a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something: My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience. |
| 2. | the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something: business experience. |
| 3. | the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time: to learn from experience; the range of human experience. |
| 4. | knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone: a man of experience. |
| 5. | Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered. |
verb (used with object)
| 6. | to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel: to experience nausea. |
| 7. | to learn by experience. |
So now you can take the different parts and combine them together to understand “The Beer Experience.” Let’s take 1 + 1 … that’s a good combo! I would be enjoying The Beer Experience if I was personally encountering the brewing and fermentation of malted barley. The Beer Experience would also be 5 + 3 … I consider all that is perceived in an individual serving of beer. When I am at this level in The Beer Experience, I may consider myself a Master Beerman. Bringing it back to simplicity, let’s just start this journey by saying The Beer Experience is observing, encountering, or undergoing things (associated with “beer”) as they occur in the course of time. This is what brought you to this page and this is what will keep you coming back to expand your knowledge about Beer.
Let’s get started! Oh, yeah, and let’s just shorten The Beer Experience to The BE. Now we can practice BEing…
Beer Mentor
Random thoughts on beer ... and brewing.
Expert insights for the everyday enthusiast.
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My sort of life away from home
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Beer Mentor 
