Whereas I don’t always believe that women need to segregate themselves from the men in the craft beer industry through the creation of gender-based organizations and groups, I do believe that the women in the industry do deserve to be celebrated. While there are so many more women in the industry that I would have loved to have highlighted, I have narrowed down the top 10 Amazing Women in Craft Beer that I personally think every craft beer lover should know and follow.

Please note that this list is based on my personal opinions and relationships with these women, and is therefore extremely biased. Nonetheless, these are all very important women who have already and continue to make a huge impact on the beautiful world of craft beer. Also note that the order of the women on the list does not signify ranking, it is merely a listing. Cheers!

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Photo: CraftBeer.com

1. Julia Herz

Craft Beer Program Director, Brewer’s Association

Biographical Snapshot: Julia Herz is orchestrator of Craft Beer Muses, CraftBeer.com’s outlet for furthering the craft beer conversation. As the Craft Beer Program Director Brewers Association (BA) and Publisher of CraftBeer.com, Julia serves as an advocate for and educator about U.S. craft brewers, and is a key spokesperson for the BA.

Julia is a BJCP beer judge, award-winning homebrewer, a Certified Cicerone® and leader of American Craft Beer Week. Her areas of expertise include: resources and education on craft beer, general statistics on the craft brewer segment, beer styles and trends plus craft beer and food pairing. She has been featured by the Food Network ‘Unwrapped’ Series, interviewed on Public Radio, Sirius/XM, CNBC Squawk Box, Fox News and hundreds of other media outlets. Julia is a graduate of University of South Florida and previously worked at CNN in Washington D.C.

Why Julia is a Rockstar: Julia is the epiphany of the term “craft beer advocate” — regardless of gender. Julia is arguably the strongest voice of the craft beer industry. Her passion, drive and knowledge is extremely inspiring. She has, hands down, one of the best palates I’ve ever seen in my life. If there is one person in the craft beer community that I aspire to be like the most, man or woman, it is Julia.

Follow Julia on Twitter: @HerzMuses

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Photo: TeriFahrendorf.com

2. Teri Fahrendorf

Brewmaster, Road Brewer, Founder of Pink Boots Society

Biographical Snapshot: Teri is the second woman brewmaster in the history of American craft beer. She was the first woman brewmaster at both a California craft brewery and at an Oregon craft brewery. Her extensive brewing experience includes Sieben’s River North Brewpub in Chicago; Golden Gate Brewing Company in Berkeley, California; Triple Rock Brewing Company in Berkeley, California; and Steelhead Brewing Company‘s five locations in Oregon and California. Teri has won a total of eights medals in the Great American Beer Festival competition.

Teri is currently the President of the Pink Boots Society, an international charitable trade organization created to inspire, encourage, and empower women to become professionals in the Beer Industry. Teri also boasts experience as a technical speaker at many beer industry conferences, and has written technical articles for brewing trade magazines and books. Teri is a graduate of the Siebel Institute of Brewing Technology in Chicago, where she was voted Class President; the first woman class president in Siebel’s history. Teri also has a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin.

Why Teri is a Rockstar: When Teri first started brewing professionally in 1989, there were virtually no women working in breweries. Now, as a result of her efforts with the Pink Boots Society, every major and most of the smaller craft breweries in the country have at least one woman on the team. I have yet to meet her in person, but I look forward to that day!

Follow Pink Boots on Twitter: @PinkBootsBeer

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Photo: Facebook

3. Lucy Saunders

Owner, F&B Communications LLC

Biographical Snapshot: Lucy is a writer (newspapers, magazines and books) and educator primarily focused on food & beer pairings, cooking with beer, and environmentalism in the beer industry. She is the author of five cookbooks including Cooking with Beer,Grilling with Beer,and The Best of American Beer & Food. Lucy was one of three women who contributed to Beer Hunter, Whisky Chaser — an international collection of essays honoring the famous beer & whiskey writer, Michael Jackson. Lucy is also an instructor at the Siebel Institute on Beer & Food.

In addition to her writings, Lucy is the organizer of the Great Lakes Water Conservation Conference for craft brewers and policy makers as well as a speaker on sustainability topics in brewing. Lucy is a graduate of the Siebel Institute’s Sensory Evaluation course, and trained in baking and pastry at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. She also graduated from Hamilton University with a Bachelors degree in English Literature.

Why Lucy is a Rockstar: Not only is Lucy a pioneer in the world of food & beer, but I also consider her to be a beloved mentor, trusted friend and respected colleague. Ever since I met her (roughly 4 years ago), Lucy has taken me under her wing and has been one of my greatest supporters. She is one of the most intelligent, passionate and kindest people I have ever met. I have learned so much and have so much more to learn from Lucy.

Follow Lucy on Twitter: @lucybeercook & @GLWater

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Photo: Facebook

4. Wendy Littlefield

Co-Founder, Vanberg & DeWulf

Biographical Snapshot: Founded in 1982 by Wendy Littlefield and her husband Don, Vanberg & DeWulf pioneered the importation of artisan ales from Belgium. From 1997 to 2003, Wendy and her husband Don co-founded and ran Brewery Ommegang, the first brewery to produce cork-finished, bottle conditioned Belgian style beers in America. Wendy was the first American woman inducted into the Belgian Brewers Guild in its more than 500 year history.

Wendy is also the founder of Pi Group, a marketing consulting firm with special interest in women’s issues, girls’ education, widening participation for minorities, sustainable dining on campus – and how non-profits can use social networking to advance their causes. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a Bachelors degree in Architectural History.

Why Wendy is a Rockstar: As fate would have it, I met Wendy the very same day I met Lucy (above) — a pinnacle moment in my life as a female beer blogger and aspiring beer professional. Wendy’s resume is quite possibly the most impressive of all the women in the craft beer industry. If anyone should be deemed the first woman pioneer of craft beer in the U.S., Wendy gets my vote. I’m proud to call her a friend and mentor. I look forward to the day when I can join in on one her adventures in Belgium.

Follow Wendy on Twitter: @belgianexpert

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Photo: Discovery.com

5. Mariah Calagione

Vice President/ Marketing, Dogfish Head Brewery

Biographical Snapshot: Considered the right-side of the brain inside the workings of Dogfish Head, Mariah is not just Sam’s wife, but an integral part of the Dogfish Head team. After supporting her husband with an actual paycheck for the first few years, Mariah joined the Dogfish Head team full-time in 1997. As Vice President, Mariah works with the marketing, web, merchandise, tour and community teams. She also oversees all the social media marketing done by Dogfish.

Prior to and during the beginning of Dogfish Head’s development, she was Director at WBOC-TV, a CBS affiliate based in Maryland. Mariah graduated with a Bachelors in Public Policy from Brown University.

Why Mariah is a Rockstar: Mariah is living proof that behind every great man is an even greater woman (no offense Sam). In my eyes, Mariah is the glue that holds Dogfish Head’s core together. She is one of the brilliant minds behind Dogfish Head’s creative and innovative marketing. Under Mariah’s leadership, Dogfish Head has emerged as one of the, if not the, most influential craft beer brands on social media. She is also one of the biggest supporters of beer bloggers, and I am honored to call her a friend!

Follow Mariah on Twitter: @dogfishbeer

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Photo: Entrepreneur Magazine

6. Kim Jordan

CEO & President, New Belgium Brewing

Biographical Snapshot: As CEO and President of New Belgium Brewing, Kim is active in day-to-day sales, Branding, and Organizational Development aspects of the business with a huge focus on mid-range and long-range strategical development. She cultivated her passion for social work, the environment and community to develop one of the fastest growing craft breweries in the U.S. Under her leadership, New Belgium boasts a healthy internal culture with progressive policies such as employee-ownership, open book management and philanthropic giving. She negotiated New Belgium’s transition to wind powered electricity through an employee vote and as over seen the implementation of Colorado’s largest private solar array at the Fort Collins facility.

In her twenty years as an entrepreneur, Kim has spoken to thousands of people in the business, nonprofit and academic worlds about how to create a vibrant and rewarding work culture that enhances the bottom line. Kim graduated from Colorado State University with a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Her early work included being an advocate for women’s rights and family health at Project Self Sufficiency.

Why Kim is a Rockstar: Kim is one of the most powerful women in craft beer. As the third largest craft brewery in the U.S., New Belgium changing the way craft beer is perceived and consumed in the marketplace. Kim is also driving major change in policy and brewing operations across the world. But don’t let her success and notoriety intimidate, Kim is an extremely down to earth, very approachable woman.

Follow New Belgium on Twitter: @newbelgium

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Photo: Facebook

7. Lisa Morrison

Author, Craft Beers of the Pacific Northwest

Biographical Snapshot: Known amongst the craft beer community as The Beer Goddess, Lisa is a Portland-based freelance beer writer, published author, beer instructor, beer judge and general crusader for the craft beer movement. Her freelance writing work includes: the Brewers Association’s New Brewer, Celebrator Beer News, Northwest Brewing News and more. Lisa is also the host of Beer O’Clock, a radio program on Newsradio 101 FM KXL connecting beer lovers from around the world to the best in great beer through exclusive interviews, brews news, event listings, and tasting notes, etc.

Lisa is also the author of Craft Beers of the Pacific Northwest, the first book in more than a decade that brings beer lovers the very best insider information on the best places to source Northwest beer. Lisa graduated Colorado State University with a degree in Technical Journalism.

Why Lisa is a Rockstar: As one of the first modern-day female beer writers, Lisa has helped to forge the path for beer writer a bloggers, both male and female alike. She is a staple and a figure in her local Portland beer scene, actively supporting her local watering holes, breweries, fellow beer writers and bloggers. Lisa is one of the kindest women I have ever met, and I’m truly honored to call her a friend.

Follow Lisa on Twitter: @TheBeerGoddess

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Photo: Jon Weber, BeerObsessed.com

8. Nicole Erny

Exam Manager, Cicerone Certification Program

Biographical Snapshot: By far the youngest on this list, Nicole Erny was recently crowned the first woman Master Cicerone, and is one of four people in the world to claim the title. Her main responsibilities at the Cicerone Certification Program include planning and managing all aspects of the Certified Cicerone Exam; leading trainings for distributors, brewery sales teams, and other groups of beer industry professionals; Administering the Cicerone Exam at various locations throughout the US and beyond.

As a native Northern Californian with a special focus on Belgian beer, Nicole has created fantastic beer menus and formulated pairings that have captured the interest of beer drinkers from novice to expert. She has a Bachelor’s Degree,Interdisciplinary Humanities with emphasis in Media Studies from New College of California.

Why Nicole is a Rockstar: As someone who is lucky enough to live in Nicole’s neck of the world, I can attest to her super-human tasting powers and ridiculously vast knowledge of beer. When I first met Nicole, as she was tending bar at The Trapist in Oakalnd, I knew right away that she was destined for great things in beer. I’ve had the honor of taking the Certified Cicerone Exam under her management, and have experienced her training first hand. She is one of the most energetic women in the industry, and I’m really excited to see what she accomplishes in the coming years!!

Follow Nicole on Twitter: @Beer_Muse

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Photo: Melissa Cole

9. Melissa Cole

Author, Let Me Tell You About Beer

Biographical Snapshot: Melissa is an expert beer writer, beer event organizer, bar staff training and corporate events. Melissa Cole is also the founder and author of the popular UK beer blog, Taking the Beard Out of Beer. Melissa has been invited to judge at beer competitions from London to Italy and Amsterdam to America, having built a reputation as having a fine palate and fun approach to all things brewed. She is lead partner in London’s only dedicated beer tasting business, lovebeer@borough in Borough Market.

Melissa recently published her début book on beer, Let Me Tell You About Beer. She is also London’s leading exponent of corporate tastings and beer experiences, with everything from 10 cover high-end beer matched dinners for senior executives of blue chip companies to themed canape receptions for 300 delegates under her belt. Melissa was also named one of the Most Powerful Women in the Drinks Industry by Channel4 Food.

Why Melissa is a Rockstar: The percentage of women beer drinkers in the UK is pathetically low. So much so, that mega-corporations have targeted the alcohol loving women of the UK with horrible marketing gimmicks like clear beer. Through her writing, speaking engagements, and event planning, Melissa has made it her mission to educate women in the UK about craft beer. She is a friend that I frequently enjoy standing next to on a virtual soap box, using our blogs and Twitter voices to inspire change in the beer community.

Follow Melissa on Twitter: @MelissaCole

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Photo: ryan tillotson

10. Gwen Conley

Quality Assurance Manager, Lost Abbey

Biographical Snapshot: Gwen got her start in the beer biz as microbiologist for Coors in Golden, Colorado. She left Coors to work for the Ball Corporation, where she went through their sensory training program and became an expert on how colors, aromas, and flavors work together to create sensory experiences. After that, Gwen took her experience to Flying Dog, where she managed their QA efforts and conducted educational programs in beer and food pairings.

Gwen is currently manages the brewing and production processes at Lost Abbey where she is “putting all that fancy science equipment in the lab to work”. She also oversees Lost Abbey’s sensory sessions and assists in production of its much sought after barrel blends. Gwen is an instructor at the American Brewers Guild, instructing aspiring brewers on the subjects of Quality and Microbiology. She graduated the University of Colorado with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology.

Why Gwen is a Rockstar: Picture the phrase: Kicking ass and taking names — that is Gwen. Gwen is quite possibly the most badass woman in the craft beer world. Although extremely fun and sociable, Gwen is one tough and serious chick when it comes to the quality of beer. Her lab work is changing the landscape of beer, one microorganism at a time. But don’t let her geeky science background fool you, Gwen definitely knows how to have a good time

Follow Gwen on Twitter: @sensorygoddess

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 Cheers!!!

Coincidentally, Internet week is happening in New York City at the same time as American Craft Beer Week (May 14-20, 2012). Essentially, Internet Week is a large, crowd-sourced festival with events taking place all throughout New York City. Most events are individually run by third parties.

Internet Week NY runs a program called Make the Stage, which allows anyone to enter a pitch or proposal in one of eight categories on www.makethestage.com. Each category awards two winners 45-minute slots onstage at the Internet Week NY headquarters at 82 Mercer, one chosen by public voting and the other chosen by a team of Experts in the field.

Julia Herz, Source: Craftbeer.com

This year Julia Herz, Craft Beer Director at the Brewer’s Association, submitted a talk on the “Localization of Beer”, which has been accepted and is now open for voting. Only two winners chosen per category — one chosen by public voting. Which is where all of you come in!

If any of you have a moment, and are willing, please submit a vote for Julia’s talk here. Note that voting does require you to sign up and enter your name and email address. It is a mere a 30 second quick process and they will not forward your information.

Best of luck to Julia! Cheers to Craft Beer!!!

Judging by the title of this blog post, one can correctly assume that The Wench is about to start a, somewhat alcohol induced, rant of the, always expected, very bitchy nature.

A few people in my close personal circle have heard my incessant complaints about this subject for years, but I have held my tongue (and my typing fingers) on this topic for entirely way too long.

Many things in this world piss me off, but nothing frustrates me quite like the hypocrisies with craft beer in the restaurant industry.

You see, my roots in craft beer originated in the restaurant industry. Like many lost souls who find themselves working in restaurants, I graduated college with no clear goals and aspirations. And when in doubt, wait tables… right? Unlike many front of the house employees, I developed a sincere interest for culinary techniques and the artistry behind cooking. But like most restaurant employees, I developed quite a liking of booze. However, my constant pursuit for flavor stimulation in the kitchen carried over into my beverage habits, and I began to appreciate and study the nuances of wine.

It wasn’t until I developed a love and understand of wine, that I began to develop respect for alcohol. But this isn’t a sap story about my love for wine… so let us move on.

My enthusiasm, knowledge and passion for cooking, serving, and wine ultimately landed me a job as a restaurant manager — a job that changed my life completely. The owners of my restaurant put me in charge of all things beverage — which was cool since I was studying for my sommelier certification and I loved coffee and tea. The hard part was the beer. Before then, I never drank beer. Even in college I preferred hard spirits and if I did drink beer, it was shitty-ass corporate beer, brewed with adjunct ingredients, that I purely used as a vehicle for drunkenness and debauchery.

The owners of my restaurant were focused on sustainability and making healthy choices that positively impacted the planet. One such environmentally conscientious decision was to only offer craft beer. No mass-produced yellow fizzy beers for us. Only beers brewed from the highest quality ingredients by true artists of the craft. And it was here that I learned that, not only was craft beer superior to mass-produced beer, it deserved a righteous place on the dinner table, along side all of the other fine beverages — especially, wine.

It took many, many years of denial and protestation before I was finally able to admit that beer was, in fact, the finest beverage of them all. And don’t get me wrong, I live in Napa for a reason. I drink wine almost every day of my life. I love my wino friends, wine bloggers, wine makers… but at the end of the day I am fully confident when I say…

the complexities and nuances in craft beer surpass those in wine.

And this brings us to the main topic of discussion: craft beer & the restaurant hypocrisy.

Now, there are several things about the restaurant industry that piss me off, in regards to craft beer. But my greatest pet peeves are:

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Great Restaurants with Sub-Par (or non-existent) Craft Beer Menus

I live in Napa Valley, hypothetically the home to some of the most discerning palates in the world, and yet I am constantly disappointed, if not appalled, by the lack of craft beer on the menus of our most prestigious restaurants. For most, the beer menu is an afterthought — if even a thought at all. They see beer as a blue-collar beverage, barely worthy of gracing their menu. But, they acknowledge that they need to carry it, even though it has the lowest profit margin, and end up selecting sub-par mass-produced non-craft beers.

The hypocrisy?

These restaurants fly in fresh fish, over-night. These restaurants source ingredients from only the best, most coveted, local producers. These restaurants will pay an arm and a leg for their food ingredients, because they want to provide the most fresh, highest quality and amazing tasting ingredients possible.

And it doesn’t stop there.

The wine lists are extraordinary, the liquors are top shelf. And the beer?

The beer lists are uninspired, unoriginal, underwhelming and extremely disappointing.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, turns me off more that going to a prestigious restaurant with an acclaimed executive chef, with one of the most amazing menus and wine lists in the world… and witnessing them serve mass-produced corporate beer.

When I lived in Florida, I worked at a pretty fancy corporate wine concept. The whole place was run like a tight ship. Only the freshest, perfectly plated food made it to the guests. Our wine list was spectacular. We had super high-end spirits. But the beer? Only one beer on the menu was craft, and even that beer was the best seller of the largest craft beer producer. The sad part about the entire company was that the beverage director was one of the ONLY Master Sommeliers in the world. We are talking about a man that has a better palate than 99.9% of the world. I can throw his name around the wine industry and most know of him, if not know him personally.

I cannot complain, though, for working under him. His server training program was of the utmost level. When it came to wine studies, I had everything at my disposal. My company paid for my Certified Specialist of Wine training and certification. It also offered to pay for the sommelier test, which although I never took, is pretty expensive. They wanted us to excel and were prepared to give us all the tools necessary to make it happen.

One day, during a race that our restaurant sponsored and I volunteered to help with, I approached my Master Sommelier and addressed this very issue, my biggest frustration, with him. His, oddly expected, response was that the people who would come to our restaurant and drink beer would not be interested in fine craft beer. In other words, our restaurant was a fine dining establishment and “wine bar” with a sophisticated clientele who appreciated wine, and anyone who would dare so much as drink beer, well they were blue-collared and only liked yellow fizzy mass-produced swill.

To this day, I love that man. And he was a big supporter of me after I left. But, I cannot deny my sincere disappointment.

It is not cool, no matter how much you argue the case, for a Master Sommelier, a man with one of the most amazing and most discerning palates in the world, to neglect and dismiss craft beer.

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Untrained, Uneducated Staff

Along with local, sustainable, and artisan, craft beer has become a buzz word and growing trend across the world. And although few people outside of the very small niche market actually know what the term craft beer actually constitutes, many restaurants have attempted to embrace the trend, incorporating craft beers into beverage menus.

So you got the memo that craft beer is “hot” and you went to your distributors and ordered some buzz craft beer brands and put them on your menu. And now you think you are hip and cool and trendy. Heck, you might think that you are innovative because you were the first person in your town to do it.

I see it in Napa, I see it in San Francisco, I have witnessed it in Chicago, L.A., NYC and pretty much every big city in the U.S. A great beer list is virtually useless if you and your staff are uneducated.

Now, I am not insisting that all front of the house restaurant employees develop an extensive understanding of the brewing process and the entire spectrum of ingredients and flavors in beer. It is necessary, however, to understand the basic flavor profile and a few details about the brewery for each of the beers on your menu.

Sales & Marketing 101: If you want to sell a product, you have to know your product.

The hypocrisy?

I have seen several restaurants go to extensive lengths to train employees on food menus and wine lists. Heck, I worked for a restaurant that used to test us on every menu change.  We had written exams that required us to list every single ingredient in every single dish, every single house cocktail as well as rattle off tasting notes for all the wines. But beer? Forget about it. Beer is typically the LAST priority, and using the word priority is a stretch, on most restaurant menus.

Now, I don’t expect bartenders and servers to know more about beer than me — after all, craft beer is my career, greatest passion and my raison d’etre. I do expect, however, for the person serving me to know details about the beer that they are serving. And I don’t mean being able to tell me “yeah, it’s good.” Where is the beer made? What is the style? What are the characteristics of that style? Can you give me the basic flavor profile? And even better, what food on the menu do you recommend pairing with this beer? And even better than that, why do you recommend pairing this beer with that dish?

Sounds easy, right? Well, it is. And witnessing restaurants neglect or refuse to train and educate staff on craft beer really REALLY irks me because 1. it is lazy and 2. it is disrespectful to the craft beer industry.

Would you order a cocktail from a bartender who doesn’t know the difference between a Cosmopolitan and a Manhattan? Me neither….

The greatest barrier to converting people to craft beer is LACK OF EDUCATION. Most consumers are not educated on craft beer, but most beer drinkers have potential to be converted. Education = confidence + empowerment. And a confident and empowered consumers = sales.

If you work in a restaurant that sells craft beer and has an untrained staff, but you do not know where to begin when it comes to education — PLEASE do not hesitate in contacting me. I have several tools at my disposal, as well as have developed (and currently revising) an extensive server training program.

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Improper Glassware & Serving Temperature

“Glassware is key nowadays when it comes to beer. It’s not imperative, but would you drink wine out of the bottle? No, you’re going to pour in it a glass. The same treatment and respect should be done for your craft beer. When you do that, you get the opportunity to have full enhancement of the aroma and the flavors in that beer.” — Julia Herz, Brewer’s Association

Many regions and varietals of wine require special glassware designed to enhance the wine experience. This is also true for beer, except the range of beer glasses is way more extensive than wine glasses. In Belgium, virtually every beer produced has its own glass. In wine talk, this would be the equivalent of each and every single winery in France developing its own glass for each of its wines.

I cannot express my pure and utter frustration upon being served a craft beer in an improper glass. The biggest examples of improper glassware presentation = Imperial styles in pint glasses and High-gravity Belgian beers in pints glasses. Pint glasses, in most situations, are not the appropriate or preferred vessel, especially with beers boasting high levels of alcohol and extremely complex flavor profiles.

Carrying all the proper glassware can be very daunting, expensive and time consuming. For the most part, two or three different styles should suffice for most craft beer menus, unless of course you specialize in Belgian styles. The basic glassware types, with recommended beer styles, can be found here at CraftBeer.com.

As with wine, craft beer presentation requires a properly cleaned glass.  Glassware must be completely free of oils, soap residue, and pretty much all foreign materials. Bottom-line: beer must be poured into SPOTLESS glassware. (To learn how to properly clean glassware, check out this guide from the Brewers Association.)

Sure, you can pour the beer behind the counter so that I cannot see whether or not the glass was clean. But the beer will not lie, and I will find out. Beer poured into a properly clean glass forms a proper head and creates residual lacing as the beer is consumed. There are several ways to test for a clean glass. The Brewers Association details them here.

“Temperature is actually something that many beers need to scream loud and clear about. Because if you listen to your beer, it doesn’t want to be served totally cold. Most beers, beyond light American Lager and Pilsners, want to be served warmer at cellar temperatures.” — Julia Herz, Brewer’s Association

The factor in beer presentation that is almost always neglected is beer temperature. Would you serve a Sauvignon Blanc warm or a big Napa Valley Cabernet at white wine temperatures? I don’t think so. As with wine, not all beer is created equal. If you are a restaurant that has chosen to carry special styles that require service at special temperatures, you need to recognize and honor temperature ranges.

Despite what the average beer consumer, brainwashed by admen and mega-corporation ad campaigns, think — most beer should not be served ice cold. Why would people be brainwashed into thinking this? Because bad beer tastes much better ice cold. Your taste receptors are numbed by the cold and you actually can’t get a good impression of the flavors in that beer. RateBeer.com has an excellent and comprehensive guide for proper beer serving temperatures.

Now don’t even get me started on “chilled” glassware. Unless you are serving a mass-produced light lager made with adjunct ingredients, chilled glassware is not only unnecessary, but undesirable. Not only is it an unnecessary step in beer service, it can always adversely impede the beer drinking experience. For more on this topic, visit the section on Glassware Temperature from the Brewers Association.

Not to mention, chilling glassware is the biggest cop-out when it comes to cleaning glassware.

And last but not least, my final grievance of today (and trust me, this is not all of them…)

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Improper Pouring and Poor Presentation of Craft Beer

Case Study #1: To date, I’ve had two rather disappointing experiences with beer service at a new, super trendy downtown Napa Valley waterfront establishment owned by a pretty well-known Food Network star chef (how is that for subtly?). The service there is impeccable and the food is top notch. The draft beer, although partially craft, is uninspired and typical of the area. The bottle list seems to rotate a bit more, so they have that going for them

One night I decided to order a Belgian beer in the bottle. First mistake: the female behind the bar poured it into a pint glass, almost always the improper glass for any beer from Belgium. The second mistake she made was to treat it like wine. Instead of pouring a full glass of beer, pouring straight down towards the end, allowing the CO2 to release from the beer and give it a nice foamy head… she opted to tilt the beer, slowly pouring out 1/3 of it, carefully making sure not to agitate it and allow a head to build. She placed the glass and the partially poured beer in front of me.

First of all, if you are only going to partially pour beer, then you better give me a smaller glass. Second of all, WTF. I took the bottle and I proceeded to finish it off with a nice hard pour, creating a desired amount of head.

Case Study #2: I was excited to learn that a recently Michelin-rated (but not starred) restaurant in downtown Napa had Orval, quite possibly my favorite beer in the world. And not only did it have the beer, but it had the proper glassware. Call me naive, call me assuming, but I figured that a place which not only carried ORval, but it’s proper glass, would also know how to make the proper pour.

Sadly, my assumptions were proven wrong.

For those unfamiliar with the wiles of Orval, it is a bottle-conditioned Trappist ale that gets spiked with brettanomyces (a wild yeast strand) at bottling. The bottle is specially designed with a “yeast catcher” in the neck, which prevents yeast from being poured into the glass. Orval requires a very attentive pour, which allows it to develop a large, billowy almost meringue like peak of foam which raises above the glass (but does not flow over). This pour is easily to obtain with practice, and should not intimidate anyone. ‘

Now, I can handle a sub-par pour, but what I will not stand for is the yeast to be poured into the glass, which is exactly what to obviously untrained server did. The experience almost turned me into a beer nazi. I wanted to strip them the right of serving Orval until they learned how to give it the respect it deserves.

If there is one lesson that should be taken away from this experience, it is DO NOT POUR YEAST FROM BOTTLE-CONDITIONED BEERS INTO THE GLASS WITH THE BEER. And if you are curious to know what happens when you do so, specifically with Orval, feel free to watch my video tasting with Orval where I discover first-hand just what yeast does to the flavor…

If there is one things, just one thing, on this entire list of grievances that I will encourage all restaurants to learn above all else — it is how to properly pour beer. Everything else is just gravy on the cake. A great resource is, once again, the Brewers Association.

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I wish I could say that the rant ends here, unfortunately this is only the tip of the iceberg. However, have faith in knowing that these grievances were not done in vain and that I have set out on a personal mission to change the current state of craft beer in the restaurant industry. Stay tuned.