I'll See You A Beer & Raise You A Wine
as a replacement to their current grease soaked overalls. One stops in front of the Sommelier, as the star quarterback might stop in front of the school math nerd. "You're going to have your hands full tonight, pal." That is to say, ‘these be beer people’.
Going to wine tastings doesn't have to be the same ol' cocktail party it's had a tendency to be in this country. In fact, why limit them to wine at all? A rapidly growing segment of beer drinkers are feeling left out of wine social circles and the United States is seeing an explosion in beer appreciation. As more and more micro-breweries (and nanobreweries) are taking market share from the big producers like Anheuser-Busch and Coors, an increasing number of beer drinkers are speaking up that they want their own voice at the beverage-appreciation party. They’re making a statement to the world that their Yeti Imperial Stout can pair just as well with that chocolate lava cake as your vintage late-bottled port, thank you very much.
And by golly, they're right.
While wine appreciation hasn’t waned in our Valley, beer consumption and the enjoyment of it, has expanded into locally brewed varieties. In fact, the diversity of beer connoisseurs in the Valley suggests that since The Revolution Brewery came on the scene beer consumers are getting savvier.
American alcohol consumption has been fragmented for years, spurred on by wine and beer drinker's deep suspicions of each other. The wine people view beer as a watered down and less-stylistically interesting alternative to their nuanced and cultured beverage.
Beer people see wine people as always needing a special-occasion, generally unable to kick-back and relax, and full of high-brow fluff. In the last few years, both sides are discovering their cultural biases don't hold water. With the increase in artisan beer consumption, the beer people are bringing their "it's all good" mentality to the wine world, but they're also adopting its study of style and nuance.
One interesting side-effect of this coming-of-age trend is that more beer can now be paired well with food. Local beer miesters are creating entirely new styles of beer, philosophically not unlike the marriage of old world and new world wine making traditions. In general, it’s now impossible to make the claim that wine has more diversity of styles than beer.
With both beverages now able to accompany food, an unforeseen dialog is taking place between the wine people and the beer people. They are now more likely to try a wine and a beer with a multi-course dinner, and decide which one they like better, forgetting old biases.
The Sommelier was half-way through the wine, beer and food event, where each guest had both a wine and a beer paired with each of six courses. After each course, they voted on which pairing they enjoyed more. As they worked through their beverages, they were casually instructed on the styles of wine and beer and what allowed those styles to work with the food. One of the guests, now looking smart in his button-up plaid shirt looked restless.
Finally he interrupted the Sommelier's presentation, "This is great and all, but can we put the game on?"
Aaaah. Maybe some things will never change.
Tynan Szvetecz is a wine nerd and part-time resident of Paonia, CO. He is an Executive Wine Sommelier and Senior Wine Instructor certified through the International Wine Guild, one of the few state-accredited wine schools in the United States. He is also a Candidate for Master Sommelier
Going to wine tastings doesn't have to be the same ol' cocktail party it's had a tendency to be in this country. In fact, why limit them to wine at all? A rapidly growing segment of beer drinkers are feeling left out of wine social circles and the United States is seeing an explosion in beer appreciation. As more and more micro-breweries (and nanobreweries) are taking market share from the big producers like Anheuser-Busch and Coors, an increasing number of beer drinkers are speaking up that they want their own voice at the beverage-appreciation party. They’re making a statement to the world that their Yeti Imperial Stout can pair just as well with that chocolate lava cake as your vintage late-bottled port, thank you very much.
And by golly, they're right.
While wine appreciation hasn’t waned in our Valley, beer consumption and the enjoyment of it, has expanded into locally brewed varieties. In fact, the diversity of beer connoisseurs in the Valley suggests that since The Revolution Brewery came on the scene beer consumers are getting savvier.
American alcohol consumption has been fragmented for years, spurred on by wine and beer drinker's deep suspicions of each other. The wine people view beer as a watered down and less-stylistically interesting alternative to their nuanced and cultured beverage.
Beer people see wine people as always needing a special-occasion, generally unable to kick-back and relax, and full of high-brow fluff. In the last few years, both sides are discovering their cultural biases don't hold water. With the increase in artisan beer consumption, the beer people are bringing their "it's all good" mentality to the wine world, but they're also adopting its study of style and nuance.
One interesting side-effect of this coming-of-age trend is that more beer can now be paired well with food. Local beer miesters are creating entirely new styles of beer, philosophically not unlike the marriage of old world and new world wine making traditions. In general, it’s now impossible to make the claim that wine has more diversity of styles than beer.
With both beverages now able to accompany food, an unforeseen dialog is taking place between the wine people and the beer people. They are now more likely to try a wine and a beer with a multi-course dinner, and decide which one they like better, forgetting old biases.
The Sommelier was half-way through the wine, beer and food event, where each guest had both a wine and a beer paired with each of six courses. After each course, they voted on which pairing they enjoyed more. As they worked through their beverages, they were casually instructed on the styles of wine and beer and what allowed those styles to work with the food. One of the guests, now looking smart in his button-up plaid shirt looked restless.
Finally he interrupted the Sommelier's presentation, "This is great and all, but can we put the game on?"
Aaaah. Maybe some things will never change.
Tynan Szvetecz is a wine nerd and part-time resident of Paonia, CO. He is an Executive Wine Sommelier and Senior Wine Instructor certified through the International Wine Guild, one of the few state-accredited wine schools in the United States. He is also a Candidate for Master Sommelier