Women Enjoying Beer

Exploded View Of The IBLP, Part 1: Topics

Apr 16, 2012 Beer, Education & Training, Something To Think About Leave a comment

The Individual Beer Learning Plan (IBLP) is an idea to help you learn about beer, whomever you may be and however advanced or beginner your knowledge is.

In the original post about IBLP, we posited several facets of the plan. The next few days will take us through some of the big information pockets of your plan. Today = Topics.

Topics as they relate to beer can go in infinite directions. Since we’re all unique and our beer experiences are therefore singular to us as well, we can start with big components that will inherit everyone’s experiences and allow room for all.

Let’s break it down.

Topics:

What do you want to learn? What do you specifically want to know? Are there general things you want to know or do you want to dig into the particulars? It’ll be very helpful to yourself and anyone you tap into to help you learn if you can answer this first. Saying “I want to learn everything!” is too broad to begin with. Do your homework, figure out where to start. The great thing is you can start anywhere. You’ll double back eventually, no matter what, anyway.

What's your plan?

The brewing process? Learning the actual process of what it takes to make beer is an excellent foundational place to start. When you know the basic steps of brewing, you can add more of the subtleties and then go as deep as you wish with the science part of the process.

Ingredients? Start with the basic 4 – water, grain, hops, yeast – and go from there. There are loads of other ingredients brewers currently use and have previously used – and will use in the future! With as wide open as the recipes are this day in beer, there are almost no limits.

Pairing tips? Ahhhh – beer and food together. This, my friends is where the Magic Happens. Flavor is where the whole “what should I drink”, “what should I eat” conversation begins. When you know what you like to drink and what you like to eat, then it’s time to play Garanimals with them together. Mix and Match, Try and Taste. The best case scenario: you’ll want to share it with everyone you know and repeat it. Worst case scenario: you simply won’t repeat it and move on. 

The herstory behind it all? Women have been brewers for literally ever. Once you get that crucial piece of the puzzle placed, then dig in. Find out and read about the personalities, characters and folks who’ve been in the landscape, at whatever stage it might be. Chris’ book, Fermenting Revolution, is a favorite of mine for this reason.  ‘History’ has been pretty one-sided. Get all sides covered by investigating the female side of beer as well.

Industry information? Do you know what Distributors do? How many ‘tiers’ are there in the American Alcohol system? How many should there be? Besides the consumer, who can buy beer and how so? Do you know some of the many intricacies of the American system? Learning more will elevate your beer activism – just make sure you seek out all sides of the conversation. It’s easy to villanize or neglect a side you’re not very open to, which may be human yet is grossly unfair.

Consumer information? How do consumers in America, and all other places for that matter, get their information about beer? Is it freely available? Do you have to seek it out? Can you get it to come to you? There are tuns of app’s alone on beer, although I’m not sure there’s anyone looking at accuracy of info vs. opinions. If a brewery website stinks, tell them! Call the brewery and ask them your questions that aren’t being answered online. It’s startling how many beer companies are poor at the info they put out there. Some are good, very few are excellent at it, many are sorely in need of professional help (not from a friend or relative who will work for beer). Tell them what you like, what you want to know and what they need to include. If they are glad for the input, keep supporting them. If they’re offended or do nothing, find another brand. Seriously.

Do you want to get into beer as a profession? Start contacting brands that appeal to you and get to know them before you ask them for work. Before you call to do any kind of informational chit chat though, do your homework. Know the basics of the business be researching them online and at your local library and wherever else they can be found. Never be a know-it-all. That’s a turn off and arrogance is never attractive nor a quality hiring bodies are looking for.

Do you want to be able to impress your friends with your knowledge? Then get a piece of paper and start drafting your IBLP today. Doodle your notes and soon enough you’ll have a jumping off point. Impress yourself by getting organized first, then jump!

Tomorrow: Tools

Glassware Studio And Beer

Apr 13, 2012 Beer & Food, Celebration Worthy, Education & Training, Events, Good People, Women and Beer Leave a comment

gorgeous hand blown Gathering Glass globes

Gathering Glass hosted the Women Enjoying Beer Monthly meet-up last night with a full house in attendance. Keith and Scott, the studio owners and operators, were very welcoming helpful and glad to enjoy tasting the beers and foods on the menu.

A little background: We met at a glass blowing studio because Keith and Scott generously donated 30 hand blown ornaments for a fundraising festival we were part of last year. Bringing almost 30 women to the studio to learn about them, beer glassware and do our usual tasting of 4 beers + foods was a natural fit.

LOTS of questions were asked, most we were able to cram in, some will wait until next time. There’s so much to share about beer and to have a unique host location spurs even more curiosity, which is a big part of learning.

There’s never a lack of engagement, questions, and fun at these events. If you’re a business that could benefit from a lively group of women visiting to learn about beer on a regular basis, call us. We can help you set it up for success from the start.

If you’re a female consumer who enjoys learning about beer, seek these opportunities out. We realize there are still too few to satisfy and recognize (with full respect) that women want to know more about beer. That said, ask your local establishments to put them on. Smart businesses will react.

There's Moylan's in that glass!

Here’s the menu we enjoyed:

Moylan’s generously provided beer (Thanks so much!) for the evening and we mapped out the 4 choices. As far as food went, we suggested some things from the strolling “pick the goodies you want” selection and encouraged them to mix, match and discover as well.

Beers tasted:

• Tipperary Pale Ale
• Dragoon’s Dry Irish Stout
• Ryan Sullivan’s Imperial Stout
• Old Blarney Barleywine

Having both a ‘regular’ stout and an imperial was a particular bonus. We had one after the other and attendees could experience them very close together, which is an effective learning technique.

Foods available:

Mixed nuts, yogurt covered raisins, mission figs, black licorice bites, (dried) veggie chips, animal cookies, dried cranberries, dark chocolate malted milk balls, Wasabi peas, fresh french bread, and cheeses (medium cheddar, Monterey jack, Cojack, provolone).

3 More At Swig & Stitch

Apr 11, 2012 Assumptions & Myth Busting, Beer & Food, Education & Training, Events, Good People, Women and Beer Leave a comment

Swig & Stitch is the brainchild of business person, Sandi Globus, Fabric of Vision. Last night was another great session of Sandi teaching useful sewing techniques around specific projects. Interspersed in the lessons by Sandi I lead attendees through 3 different beer and food tastings and pairings.

The goal is fun and useful education for all. And the monthly events succeed smashingly! Our host is very happy to have us, it’s a perfect spot and every month we’re getting ‘veterans’ and newbies.

Here’s the menu we explored (all beers on draught):

• Guinness with roasted garlic humus and fresh carrots, celery, and slivered french bread
• Lindeman’s Framboise with fresh sliced Bartlett pears, Granny Smith apples and red grapes
• Boneyard’s Hop Venom with lightly deep-fried fresh jalapeno slices (YUM!)

Exploration and consideration are the names of this game. Go exploring yourself and discover tasty things. Doing it with friends is even better.

2012 Spring Beer & Wine Fest Session: Cooking With Beer

Apr 10, 2012 Beer, Beer & Food, Education & Training, Events Leave a comment

Saturday’s 2012 Spring Beer & Wine Fest found us on the Educational Chef’s Stage sharing all sorts of great ideas on Cooking With Beer. (Friday’s session info here)

Beer has become a favorite ingredient of mine in cooking. It’s so versatile that once you start cooking with it, you can see why. Replace thinner liquids with beers, being careful to find complementary beer styles to replace. Here are a few of the many ideas we shared with a great audience.

• Sauces with Porters
• Gravies with Stouts
• Muffins with Hefeweizens
• Breads with Pale Ales
• Soups: Gazpacho with Chili Beers
• Crockpot: Red meats (like ribs) with fruit beers
• sauteing & simmering
• Baking: Chocolate cakes with stouts
• Beerinades: Pilnser with lime/garlic/cilantro for Carne Asada
• Ice creams with Imperial Stouts
• Desserts: fruit cobbler with Belgians
• Crusts & doughs: pizza crust with IPA’s

The list goes on and on. The Crux is to have fun using beer as ingredient. There are no failures – just lessons to repeat and recipes to try only once.

Thanks to Bridget and our hosts at the Fest for letting us Bring Beer To Life!

EXTRA TIP: Freeze any left over beer in ice cube trays to portions out in future cooking.

Spring Beer & Wine Fest 2012 WEB Educational Sessions

Apr 9, 2012 Beer & Food, Education & Training, Events Leave a comment

Spring Beer & Wine Fest 2012

Friday found us at the annual Spring Beer & Wine Fest in Portland, Oregon.

We gave a tasty Beer & Cheese pairing session on the stage Friday with much success. As promised to fest goers – and is our habit to post menus following events – here’s the line up we featured:

• Ninkasi Brewing’s seasonal Spring Reign with Willamette Valley Cheese Company’s Boerenkaas
• Mt. Tabor Brewing’s Cascadian Dark Ale (CDA) with Rogue Creamery‘s Flora Nelle
• Calapooia Brewing’s Chili Pepper Beer with Cypress Grove Pepper Chevre

The fun-loving attendees of the session learned to smell their beer and name some of the characteristics, including colors and flavors. It’s important to educate everyone on the value of being able to talk specifics about beer. 

Tomorrow: The Saturday Cooking With Beer ideas imparted at the Spring Beer & Wine Fest.

Individual Beer Learning Plan (IBLP)

Apr 5, 2012 Beer, Education & Training, Something To Think About Leave a comment

An Individual Beer Learning Plan or IBLP can be a superb part of the learning curve for consumers and professionals alike.

Plotting out the what you want to learn (topics), what is available to you to learn (tools), where it’s available (location), how you can go about accomplishing your goals (plan), what kind of investment it’ll take (budget), and who will you tap into (people).

Topics: What do you want to learn. The brewing process? Ingredients? Pairing tips? The herstory behind it all? Industry information? Consumer information? Do you want to get into beer as a profession? Do you want to be able to impress your friends with your knowledge?

Tools: What’s available to you? Are the resources online? Offline? At your local library? Are they hard publications you can pick up at your favorite local? Are they people to talk with and follow? What of classes and seminars? Conferences and tutorials one on one? Where can you volunteer to learn more while participating?

Location: Where can you find and get all the tools you need? Are they close by or father away? How do you get to them – or get them to you?

Plan: What’s the schema for making it happen? How will you plot out the tools you find that appeal to what you want to learn? Is there transportation involved? Are there registrations and ‘paperwork’ to fill out? Is the plan logical with your life and lifestyle?

Budget: What’s realistic for your goals? What’s a stretch goal? How can you commit to your plan within the parameters of your funds? Are there scholarships available? Are you ready to ask for help if it’s part of your plan?

People: The most critical item in your IBLP. Besides the commitment you make to your self, who will you contact? Who will you call, email or otherwise meet to help you into and through the process? How will you make sure to thank and show appreciation to those who help you out?

Learning about beer is as casual or intense as you wish it to be. Making a plan will be a productive and clarifying process to get you going on a topic you love already.

Caveat: It’s a slippery slope – this learning about beer! the more you get in, the deeper you usually want to go. Have fun sliding ~

5 Pointers “To Do” for Women’s Beer Groups

Apr 3, 2012 Assumptions & Myth Busting, Beer, Education & Training, Events, Marketing, Women and Beer Leave a comment

1. Use the words “Women” or “Females”. These are words with respect and equality. Any other titles or labels are not progress oriented.

2. Assume everyone wants to enjoy and explore flavors. One of the most common questions WEB gets asked is “What kinds of beer to women like?” Response: Ones with Flavor. Everyone likes different flavors and starting with the flavor conversation is how you’ll make progress.

3. Do your homework. Before you hold an event or host a group, ask some qualified women (meaning – women who drink beer) what kinds of flavors they like – and don’t limit it to beer flavors. Make it wide open to include any and all kinds of flavors.

4. Make sure the atmosphere is comfortable temperature wise (including the bathroom), seating wise, and per table height. Make sure the bar isn’t elbows-on-the-kids-table height. Turn the music down, but not off, and make sure it’s appropriate. Distracting music will only detract from any education you and the consumer are trying to accomplish.

5. Enjoy. Listen, learn, ask questions, provide responses with no judgement. Thank the women who participate and invite them back.

Yes, simple’s good. And effective.

Women + Beer Survey Geography Update – Some States Still Absent

Mar 31, 2012 Women and Beer Leave a comment

As of today (3.31.12) here is the participation and representation* for the State of Women and Beer Survey 2012

ALL Women are invited and asked to participate.

• Alabama – 0
• Alaska – 0
• Arizona – 0
• Arkansas – 0
• California – 8
• Colorado – 5
• Connecticut – 1
• Delaware – 0
• Florida – 4
• Georgia – 0
• Hawaii – 1
• Idaho – 1
• Illinois – 0
• Indiana – 1
• Iowa – 2
• Kansas – 2
• Kentucky – 1
• Louisiana – 1
• Maine – 0
• Maryland – 1
• Massachusetts – 4
• Michigan – 4
• Minnesota – 1
• Mississippi – 0
• Missouri – 6
• Montana – 1
• Nebraska – 2
• Nevada – 0
• New Hampshire – 0
• New Jersey – 3
• New Mexico – 1
• New York – 6
• North Carolina – 7
• North Dakota – 0
• Ohio – 1
• Oklahoma – 3
• Oregon – 13
• Pennsylvania – 15
• Rhode Island – 0
• South Carolina – 1
• South Dakota – 0
• Tennessee – 1
• Texas – 12
• Utah – 1
• Vermont – 0
• Virginia – 0
• Washington – 1
• Washington DC – 1
• West Virginia – 0
• Wisconsin – 2
• Wyoming – 0

Input is welcome year round by all women, no matter who/what/where they are/think/are.

*Some responses did not indicate what state they were from

Beer & Cheese Soup Question

Mar 31, 2012 Beer, Beer & Food, Women and Beer Leave a comment

From a female consumer, tapping into WEB as a resource:

Hi Ginger,
I have a question for you. One of my clients wants me to make her cheese sauce using beer instead of milk. Neither one of us knows what kind of beer to use. I thought you’d be the perfect person to ask. Any suggestions for me?
Hope all is well with you,
Amy

Cooking with beer - YUM!

Good Monday Amy -
Thanks for the ask.
Questions:
What kind of cheese are you using?
What kind of flavor do you want to end up with?
What is the cheese sauce being used for or in?
Happy to get you moving in the right direction – Cheers to beer & cheese – yum!!
Ginger

I’ll be using an extra sharp cheddar, she wants the sauce to taste like extra sharp cheddar (not milk) & she will be using it on asparagus.
I appreciate your taking the time,
Amy

Ahh yes – thanks!
Use something mild, since the cheddar will be sharp (clashing flavors = not good). A wheat beer can be nice, as can a mild porter or brown. Too much hoppy bitterness, while it can go with when paired as beer and cheese as they are, may not meld in cooking so much.
Let it warm to room temp if you can and be careful for foaming over once you add it to a warm pan (if that’s how you plan to do it – carbonation release is exacerbated by dramatic temp fluctuations).
Have fun – let me know how it works out.
Cheers –
Ginger

Thanks Ginger, I appreciate it!
Happy spring!!

Bottle Cap Flowers

Mar 29, 2012 Brain Stew, Something To Think About Leave a comment

Can anyone make suggestions to this query I received?

“Hi Ginger,

Wondering where you got the pic of the cute bottle cap flower? Have googled it, but can’t find one like your image.  Would love to make it.
THx

Kari

Hi Kari -
Thanks for asking. Those flowers were taken by me at the home of a private event host. Not sure where she got them and they are pretty cool!
I wonder if looking on craft sites would yield any results on how to make them as well.
Good luck & Cheers –

Ginger”