by Matt Dailey
16. March 2010 08:33
Let’s face it. Beer can’t get no respect! Wine is romantic, sophisticated, and mysterious and invokes the image of rolling, sun-soaked hills, with rows and rows of grape vines. Spirits are classy, social, and sexy, and cocktails are usually accompanied with a bit of a talent show in their assembly. While wine and spirits steal the spotlight, the meager beer is left in the background, starved for attention. Beer is the drink of the working-class. It is cheap, ordinary, and easily accessible.
Well, the time has come to give beer the attention it deserves! Thanks to the wealth of microbreweries popping up all across the United States, great beer is becoming more widely available, and beer with actual substance, subtleties, and nuances are being produced. No longer are we held to the old, cheap swills that have plagued the US beer market for so long! Beers have now developed cult followings. Beers such as Bell’s Hopslam, Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine, and Founder’s Breakfast Stout are highly anticipated seasonal beers that have people chomping-at-the-bit each year until their release.
Beer is interesting! In fact, beer is so interesting, we are now blessed with magazines, websites, blogs, and books solely devoted to beer appreciation and education. You don’t have to be ashamed of your love of beer anymore! Entire social groups are developed on the foundation of their love of beer. The local, “Girls’ Pint Out” group are loud and proud about their love of beer. They are the self-proclaimed “ladies into lager, princesses into pilseners, and angels of ales.”
After having the opportunity of connecting with this wonderful group of gals on Twitter, I got the ball rolling here at Vine & Table to put together a food and beer pairing dinner to spread the gospel of good beer. The event is tentatively planned for summer of 2010 and promises to be an eye-opening experience. Until then, we try to do our part in beer education by hosting free beer tastings every Friday night here at the store.
The revolution has started. We might not see James Bond forego his “shaken-not-stirred” martini for a double IPA, but we can hope that, one day, beer will be associated with more than “Homer Simpson” kind of guy (or gal). Spread the word, host a beer tasting, plan a beer-themed dinner for some foodie-friends, and if you need any help along the way, that’s what we’re here for!
Drink up!
-Matt
