Valentines is this week, so a few of my girlfriends and I turned to the MaltiDUDES for a three-glass-beer-class. Before this class, we knew a few things about beer:
1. It is something we would occasionally drink in college-with dinner or whatever...
2. It tastes okay, but we'd be just as happy with coke in a Styrofoam cup.
3. Our husbands have a thing for it. (Hey man-nice to meet ya. This is my beer stein from Germany. Sure...you can look but you can't touch. Oh yeah, and this is my wife...she's almost as awesome as my stein.)
What is the big deal with this drink? And why, when we go on your beer run and ask you what you want, do you say, 'Just get something good.' What does that mean?! To me, something good means beer that tastes like you're drinking a cold blueberry patch through a straw. I like that. But if I come home with blueberry beer, my husband says, "what did you get ME?" You get the idea...
To understand your man, you should try and understand what he's into...or something like that. Right?
After all, Valentines is about love and giving and doting...So honestly, what would put a bigger smile on your guy's face...a couples photo shoot in the middle of a garden or a growler full of carefully selected manly beer? That's what I thought. This is where Garrett, Miles (beer professors and self-proclaimed awkward-picture-posers above), and Boulder (store dog) come in.
Things we learned at beer school
1. A Craft Brewery is not a place where you paint canvases and drink with your friends. It is simply a term used based on the quantity of beer produced. Generally speaking, a brewery (Sam Adams or smaller) where beer is crafted over many years, allowing for more unique flavors.
2. Green and clear bottles may not be the best option. (what?! I always buy green bottles!) The lighter the glass color, the easier it is for light to penetrate the bottle, oxidizing the beer inside. There are enzymes in hops that are affected by UV light. It only takes 30 seconds for beer to be struck by light, resulting in off-flavors.
3. Cans are not redneck. I know, right? They might even be superior to bottles. Aluminum allows for zero light penetration and the amount of aroma released from cans differs from that of bottles, resulting in superior flavor. So this summer, don't worry about sneaking glass containers into the pool area. Cans are cool.
4. Hops are female flowers...of the hop plant. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor. wikipedia
5. Craft beers are often aged like wine...in barrels. Rogue Ales Brewery has a Maibock called John John Dead Guy...it is aged in whiskey barrels that help mellow the bitterness of the hops.
6. It is, according to Garrett and Miles, easier to pair beer with food than wine with food. I'm not sure that's a proven fact...but for the sake of this post, go with it.
Between the four of us, we tasted twelve craft brews. I think we were all pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed most of them. Some were a bit too flannel shirt/wood-chopper for our palettes, but we each found options from light and fruity to dark and chocolatey that were tasty and smooth.
Did I mentioned they were good sports and put on a mortifying performance of "Wrecking Bar" with me? I have decided to use my better judgment and spare you of that video...but here's a peek. You can imagine the rest. Note: Wrecking Bar brewpub is in Five Points, Atlanta that boasts one Jimmy Dean Breakfast Stout. I can already smell the bacon...
So if you're ever driving your van (mini, VW, or other) down by the river...in uptown Columbus, you should check out this hip spot. (Are you people starting to realize how awesome Columbus, Georgia is?)
Oh, and Happy Valentines Week!
(now hurry up and buy that man of your's a growler of "something good!" *Maltitude's growler menu changes weekly. They offer a 64oz and 32oz jugs that stay fresh for up to one week.)
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