CRAFTconditioned

I love participating in a good alcohol-related event, especially as someone who designs and runs my own.

As a special treat to ourselves, J and I took a break from beer to explore Italian wines and vinting at a local wine-making and homebrew shop, Fermentations (disclosure: I occasionally work at the shop). Overall, the event was social, educational, hands on, and well thought out.

Here’s why it worked:

* The groups are small, only 4-6 couples. As a result, you can not only see everyone around the table, there’s an opportunity to talk with everyone over the course of the 2-hour tasting. Half of the people at our event were return customers.

* The hosts, Tim and Brenda, were knowledgeable about Italian grape varietals, the bottles they served, and wine making in general. They were even able to answer my more technical questions. It always feels like a great value when I can really learn something at an event like this. Talking points alone don’t cut it for me.

* Although each of these wine-experience events focuses on a region (in our case, Italy), the samples are diverse. We tried 11 different Italian wine styles, and a side-by-side tasting of commercial and homemade versions for 2 of them. Each wine was chosen based on whether or not a similar wine-making kit was available. As a result, there were only 2 whites in this flight, but the reds varied in fruit character, body, and dryness. There was something for everyone’s taste.

* Nearly every wine was paired with food. Not only did this help to illustrate the wines’ versatility, it also helped keep us from over-indulging on empty stomachs. Smart.

* Not just an excuse for drinking and eating, each couple got to choose a wine they wanted to make. J and I chose an amarone. As a brewer, I particularly appreciated this bit of hands-on experimenting to expand on what I learned from the tasting. As a bonus, we’ll trade wines with the other attendees on bottling day. We’ll bring home a nice mix of 5 different styles.

A good event benefits attendees in a variety of ways. Based on my experience as an event organizer, most customers are happiest when they not only have fun, but feel like they gained knowledge and experienced something unique. This event accomplished that. As a result, I’m likely to be one of the return customers at the table for the next event.

I’m excited to be running a beer palate class tonight at Peaks Place Coffeehouse. It’s a cool format that’s different from what I’ve done before.

During the hour-long class, I’ll discuss the proper way to taste beer and explore the roles of malt and hops in producing the flavor profiles we enjoy. To experiment with this, participants will have a flight of 4 beer styles from Elevation Beer Co. along with samples of a malt and a hop from each of the recipes. We’ll drink the beer then look at what the 2 highlighted ingredients bring to the recipe.

Local homebrew shop, Fermentations, was kind enough to supply the ingredients that I need. I chose samples of 2 base malts and 2 specialty malts. We’ll taste each whole and also create a tea with some coarsely crushed grain in order to understand the color, aroma and flavor each malt contributes. For the hops, I chose 2 European varieties and 2 American varieties. Besides just discussing the aroma, I dry-hopped some light lager to help us explore the flavor each hops provides.

It’s been a lot of fun to prepare for this class. I look forward to meeting my enthusiastic group tonight!

Brewing (and drinking) is always best when done socially. Today is Learn to Homebrew Day, a perfect excuse to get out and  brew with friends, whether you’re teaching, learning, or just there for the beer.

With the growing popularity of craft beers, there’s also been a growing curiosity about the brewing process. As soon as people learn I brew my own beer, I start getting questions about how it’s done. My typical advice to prospective brewers is to shadow a friend to learn the basic process and realize it’s not that difficult to create a pretty good beer. This is exactly what Learn to Homebrew Day is designed to encourage.

For those new to brewing, the American Homebrewers Association has some great resources. Also check your local homebrewers club or supply store. Many are doing demonstrations today or have specials on equipment and supplies. Most online supply sites also have specials today.

In a couple of hours, I’ll be supporting my local homebrew club with their public demonstration. In the spirit of the day, I also invited a few friends to join me. Whether you’re sharing a craft or just a craft beer today, have fun celebrating!