Alison's Love Of Beer
Aug 26, 2011 Celebration Worthy, Events, Good People, Women and Beer
Bagdad Theatre, cite of the premier
Enjoy this photos from Alison Grayson’s world premier of her documentary, The Love Of Beer. It’s an honor to be in the film and such great company created by such a talented and thoughtful woman.
Look for a screening near you soon – or better yet: make a beer and film trip out of it. Film = education.
Julia Herz, Ginger, Alison Grayson, Lisa Morrison
Celebrate your love of beer today – Cheers!
Ginger & Teri Fahrendorf share a laugh prescreening
Stage call: for all women in the audience involved in beer
Alison and MC Lisa Morrison
Tags: Alison Grayson, film premier, Julia Herz, Lisa Morrison, Teri Fahrendorf, The Love Of Beer
All Ale The Ladies Beer Pledge
Jun 7, 2011 Assumptions & Myth Busting, Beer, Beer & Food, Celebration Worthy, Education & Training, Events, Good People, Unbelievable, Women and Beer
It takes so little to make people happy.
Quality beer, lively company, fun atmosphere, and terrific hosts. When I say ‘little’ I don’t mean minimally or small things. It’s the effort part. Let me explain.
If you’re going to do something, then you’re going to put effort into it, right? And if you’re going to put effort into it, you may as well make sure you’re doing yourself, the effort and all related resources to good use. Otherwise, don’t bother. Plus – women don’t like half-baked attempts.
All Ale The Ladies 2011, The Black Squirrel (DC)
At the All Ale The Ladies event Sunday last (6.5.11) in Washington DC, everything was spot on. Yes, it was crowded (how many dozens of women wanted to come that got turned away!?). And the energy was off the charts!!! The energy compensation alone made the squished-in-a-small-space-college-party-feel totally acceptable.
It was a distinct pleasure to be a featured guest speaker – in great company, might I add – as well. In honor of the women in attendance (and a few sporting men), during my brief spotlight turn I spontaneously had the entire room raise their right hand and pledge:
“I am a Woman/Who enjoys my beer/
And no one else can tell me/What beers to like or drink.”
It’s almost needless to say that there was a huge and uproarious ‘Cheers!’ to the pledge when we were done.
Really, it’s simple: get engaged participants in the same room (women), serve them right (fresh quality beer and food), take care of them (service again), thank them for coming (external customer experience), thank the generous hosts (internal customer experience), talk about beer (education), treat them with respect as consumers (no-brainer for too few), and you’ll hit it way beyond out of the park. Try the next county.
My sincere gratitude goes out to the following for inviting me to be part of this event. And for putting together and executing such a successful and impactful evening of Women in Beer:
- Tammy Tuck, the Lagerheads; Hollie Stephenson, The Black Squirrel; Rachel Murray, Bourbon.
- Heather McAndrews, Washington City Paper & Amy, Avalon, Chef/kitchen staff – all of The Black Squirrel.
- Julia Herz/Brewers Association, Sebbie Buhler/Rogue, Lindsey Miller/Baying Hound, Jessica Muskey/Premium Distributors, Emma English/Starr Hill Brewing, Lauren Boveington/Great Lakes Brewing, Kristi Mathews Griner/Hops Grill and Brewery.
- And perhaps the most – since they’re the ones who showed up to cram it full and to keep learning and being inspired by quality beer and other women in beer: the bar full to overflowing of incredible, enthusiastic, beer loving women.
Thanks from the bottom of my glass and heart! Hope to see you all sooner again that later.
Here’s a whole slew of fabulous pictures by Heather McAndrews to enjoy.
Tags: All Ale The Ladies 2011, Bourbon, Emma English, Hollie Stephenson, Jessica Muskey, Julia Herz, Kristi Griner, Lauren Boveington, Lindsey Miller, Sebbie Buhler, The Black Squirrel, the Lagerheads, Washington City Paper, Washington DC, women in beer
Beer Is Not Wine CBS!
Jul 9, 2010 Assumptions & Myth Busting, Beer, Something To Think About, Unbelievable
I feel ultra compelled to share the following with you.
As a member of the Brewers Association, one receives a daily Monday through Friday e newsletter chock full of great information, conversation, happenings and so on. Horst Dornbusch posted this spot on piece this week.
This, sadly, made me laugh out loud - and then get slightly pissed off. ‘To wit’ indeed Mr. Dornbusch.
I’m in your camp and wanted to share it with WEB followers. If you agree readers, SPEAK UP !! Call CBS, NBC, FOX, whoever demand accuracy and proper representation and get them to realize Craft Beer is NOT a novelty nor nearly this ridiculously monochromatic. You get the idea. Act and we shall all receive.
Here it is.
“Mainstream Media Still does not (!) Understand Beer
Beware of false saints!
I followed Julia Herz’s link to http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/03/earlyshow/saturday/main6643411.shtml?tag=pop in BA Forum Vol. 16-0706, which guided me to “CBS Early Show features wine expert Ray Isle talking up ‘Beervana’ in Portland, OR.”
While it is commendable that organizations like CBS have begun to recognize the existence of craft beer as an important part of our culture, I believe the piece behind the link shows how far we still have to go in educating the media and much of society about craft beer. To wit:
* Why on earth does CBS need a “wine expert” to showcase craft beer? As if there weren’t enough brewers or beer journalists who could have lent a (competent) hand!
* And then there was this zinger in the write-up: “Rogue Dead Guy Ale: This is a darker, more intense style of ale (technically, it’s a German style called a Maibock).” This is inexcusable (even though in Texas, equally inexcusably, a Bock must be called an “ale” by law). I really must tell my friends in Munich about this American “Bock” innovation! With such brew-technical nonsense, Mr. Isle has shown himself to be a mere vacuous pontificator, a false saint!
* A quick look at his food pairings, too, reveal Mr. Isle’s rather unsophisticated understanding of beer: He singles out as suitable pairings “grilled seafood, raw oysters, that sort of thing;” “chicken, potato chips, pretzels, you name it;” “hamburger;” “anything from fried shrimp to French fries;” “sausages on the grill, barbecued ribs, that kind of thing.” How pedestrian and utterly predictable!
“That sort of thing, that kind of thing, you name it,” and—who would have thought—hamburger, pretzels, and fries (!)…such is the august advice from a culinary “expert.” To me this is proof that there is still a huge wall of ignorance about good beer out there that we must not tire to tear down!
Horst Dornbusch
Cerevisia Communications
West Newbury, Massachusetts
Tags: Beer is not wine, CBS gaff, Horst Dornbusch, Julia Herz
Terroir
Jul 7, 2010 Assumptions & Myth Busting, Education & Training, Something To Think About
All About Beer has a really informative, good to read article this month entitled How Does Your Beer Taste? And How Do You Taste Your Beer?
Terroir in our beer
Part of what we taste involves terroir.
Terroir has been a term long used in the wine world. It’s starting to be applied in the beer world too – as it should be.
Terroir is defined by dictionary.com as, well, it’s not there. Heck, the spell check in WordPress doesn’t even offer it. Hmmm…so let’s go to Wikipedia (there’s a message right there).
Wikipedia states, according to its aggregate style information:
“Terroir (French pronunciation: [tɛʁwaʁ]) comes from the word terre “land”. It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that geography bestowed upon particular varieties. Agricultural sites in the same region share similar soil, weather conditions, and farming techniques, which all contribute to the unique qualities of the crop. It can be very loosely translated as “a sense of place,” which is embodied in certain characteristic qualities, the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the manufacture of the product.”
It goes on:
“The definition of terroir can be expanded to include elements that are controlled or influenced by human decisions.”
Finally I’ll clip this snippet “Terroir in other drinks”. Yet – alas!! No even a hint of a mention of beer.
Curious since terroir is all about the influence of where the ingredients were grown or raised. Beer has 4 primary ingredients. The water, grain, hops and yeast will all contribute so many flavor characters, and arguably all 4 could plainly exhibit their own terroir. Is that terroir to the 4th power?
Julia Herz has talked about Terroir per beer. We should all be listening to these ideas.
Tasting goes well beyond the obvious. That’s why you should savor your beer.
Even if it’s hot and you have a great session beer in front of you. It has its own terroir so take at least a few sips and give it the opportunity to expand your thinking and please your taste buds before it simply quenches your thirst.
Tags: All About Beer, Julia Herz, reapply, redefine, terroir in beer
Toasty Brewer
Apr 16, 2010 Celebration Worthy
Julia Herz (l) BA & Larry at the Craft Brewers Conference
I’ll take the opportunity today to highlight My Fine Husband, Larry Chase. He’s a professional brewer, is truly passionate about quality clean tasty beer and I love him for it (among other reasons).
The Brewers Association offers many benefits – among them featuring various members of the brewing community on site. Like here.
Good man, good beer, good dogs (see the picture). Good life.
Lucky me.
Tags: Brewers Association, Julia Herz, Larry Chase
