Beer School

I went to my first ever beer school tonight with Meagan. Waiting outside was really cold because of the wind. I still didn't find a beer I particularly liked, but it was a good experience. I learned about hops and had some good pizza.

For those of you reading who don't know what "Beer School" is it's a monthly event hosted by Empyrean Brewing Company (they own Lazlo's & Fireworks) that happens on the first Monday of the month. Basically what happens is you go to the brewery and they give you two free beers before they start the "official" Beer School experience. After your first two beers, then they take groups into the brewing area and the brewer talks about a subject relating to beer. They talked about hops last night. They showed us different types of hops and discussed how to choose the type and how long they last, when they are added in the brewing process, etc. During the talk, they give you another beer to drink while you're listening. Then, when they are done discussing the subject for the night, they take you into another area where they have beer tasting. Each month they select five beers for tasting. They talk about each beer as they are handing them out. They talk about the amount of hops, the type of beer, where it's from and how it's brewed. They give you about two or three swallows of beer to try. On the last beer, they provide a food to go with the beer so you can try the beer with the food. The final beer is typically a seasonal beer brewed by Empyrean. I didn't drink a full amount of any of my beers and I only finished one tasting cup of the various beers they let us try. I don't really like beer (because it's too bitter). However, I would suggest going to Beer School for anyone who wants to try something new. It's free and it's a fun learning experience (even if you don't like beer).