
Why Focus on Teaching About Beer?
As a logistics company, we handle beer every day. It’s one thing to be good at knowing how to properly store and move a product. It’s another to create an environment that encourages developing a passion and respect for our products. By offering beer education, our employees are able to create skills to sell products, help to educate customers and get excited about what we do.
Fields of expertise
Monthly Craft Meetings
Cicerone Classes
Beer School
Mobile Brew School
Homebrew Competition
Cicerone Status
Liquid Focus
WHIRLPOOL: The whirlpool is used to clarify the solution by separating out protein and hop particles.
COOLING: The wort is rapidly cooled in order to reach proper fermentation temperatures. If the yeast is added when the wort is too hot, it can reduce the yeast’s effectiveness.
FERMENTATION: Now that the wort is cooled, the yeast can be added. The yeast is used to convert the sugars that were derived from the initial starches to Carbon Dioxide and alcohol. Ales should be fermented at temperatures around 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly two weeks and Lagers chilled at cooler temperatures around 45-55 degrees for about 4 weeks.
PACKAGING: After the beer has fully matured, you then get to choose how you would like to package it. Popular choices are kegs, bottles & cans.
MILLING: If using a malt extract (the grain is already precooked for you into a syrup form) you can skip straight to the Boiling step. If using all grain, you must mill (or crush) the barley to prepare it for starch conversion.
MASHING: You then add the crushed, dry grain to the Mash Tun that contains hot water. You then let it “cook” for roughly an hour in order to extract sugars from the starches. The hot liquid is now a sweet liquid called wort.
LAUTERING: The hot wort is then drained from the bottom of the Mash Tun and recycled onto the top of the wort in order to drain as much of the remaining sugars as possible.
BOILING: You then raise the temperature of the wort to a boil and this is where hops are added for bitterness, flavor and aroma. Hops are necessary to balance out the overly sweet malt flavors in the wort.
There are over 100 different beer styles in the world. Each with its own unique history and characteristics. These defined styles help consumers know what type of beer they are about to consume/brew and the proper expectations taste-wise.
The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) has written an extremely detailed compilation of all recognized beer styles. This is an exceptionally helpful reference for learning beers for consumption, judging or brewing.
Every beer has a set of specific statistics to make it uniquely qualified for its beer style category.
Standard Reference Method: The SRM is used to identiry color of the beer’s body.
International Bittering Units: IBU’s are used to measure the bitterness of a beer.
Alcohol By Volume: ABV is used to measure the amount of ethanol alcohol contained in a beer.
Original Gravity/Final Gravity: Original Gravity (OG) measures the amount of fermentable sugars in the wort before yeast is added. Final Gravity (FG) measures how much of the sugars were consumed by the yeast after fermentation.
Handle With Care
The Do’s
-Store beer at proper temperatures
-Make sure sunlight can not reach your exposed packaged beer to prevent skunking
-Clean your lines every 2 weeks or between each keg
-Use proper glassware that matches the style being served
-Check for beer-clean glassware
-Pour higher ABV beers in smaller glassware
-Ask if the customer would like the residual yeast from a wheat beer included in their glass
The Don’ts
-Use frosted glassware (this prevents a proper sized head from developing and minimizes the amount of aroma’s that the head should disperse)
-Dip the faucet into the beer being poured (creates an excellent environment for bacteria)
-Allow excess beer to flow out of the glass while pouring from a faucet in order to minimize head to fill the glass all the way to the top (1-2 inches of head is crucial)
-Over serve your customers
Complimentary: Pair similar flavors between the food and beer.
Ex. A sweet, malty ESB pairs well with a rich pulled pork dish.
Ex. A tart, fruity Framboise compliments the umami flavors of a cherry covered cheesecake
Contrast: Use the strengths of each element against each other to form agreeable flavors.
Ex. A strong, high octane Doppelbock will cut the spiciness of a hot curry dish
Cleanse: Using beer elements such as carbonation, bitterness and sweetness to cleanse the palate from the dish.
Ex. A highly carbonated Saison will cut the richness of a creamy Camembert cheese
**Remember to serve your dishes from lightest flavors to strongest and never serve an IPA with a spicy dish. The hop bitterness only accentuates the spiciness of the food (unless you like breathing fire).
There is the science behind properly pouring a beer whether it is from a faucet or straight out of the package. The majority of beers should be poured so that a 1-2 inch head is created for aroma’s to suitably dispense.
1) Tilt the glass at a 45 degree angle
2) Begin pouring the beer into the glass
3) At the halfway point, tilt the glass upright back to a 90 degree angle
4) Continue pouring straight down the middle of the glass
Cheers!