As an huge advocate and self-proclaimed leader of the beer cocktail movement, I’m thrilled to announce that Tales of the Cocktail® is presenting a beer mixology themed seminar during this year’s festival. I’m even more excited to learn that my good friends Wendy Littlefield and Don Feinburg of Vanberg & DeWulf are the official beer sponsors!!
Wendy and Don have been importing some of the best specialty Belgian and Northern France beers in the world, Dupont being the most notable, for over 30 years. They are also the founders of Brewery Ommegang and established experts in food & beer pairing. Their involvement in Tales of the Cocktail® this year is a huge step for craft beer and for the beer cocktail movement.
For those unfamiliar with Tales of the Cocktail®, it is the world’s largest cocktail festival and by far the best event on planet earth for both spirits industry professionals and cocktail enthusiasts alike. For five days straight, the most respected minds in mixology converge in the city of New Orleans for a seemingly endless stream of cocktails, cuisine and culture. Anyone who is anyone is there, and the parties are beyond epic. And I would know, I’ve been.
- Me with Alan Kropf of Mutineer Magazine at Tales in 2010, Photo: Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
In addition to being the biggest cocktail party in the world, Tales boasts an event schedule of seminars, dinners, competitions and tasting rooms where brands showcase their latest products. This year, Tales is featuring a seminar on a topic near and dear to my heart…. beer cocktails!
Sadly, I pitched a beer mixology panel with some of my friends and our panel was rejected. However, as an advocate of the beer cocktail movement, I am just happy that the topic was selected, regardless of who was selected to present it. This is just continued proof that beer mixology has clout and relevance in the cocktail community — yay! Next step? Convert the craft beer community!
Unfortunately, I will not be attending this year’s Tales of the Cocktail®, although I would probably give up an unborn child or two to get there. If anyone reading this gets to attend the BEERTAILS panel, I expect a full report on my desk the next day! Or at least a little insight into the action.
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About the BEERTAILS Seminar
Fasten your seatbelts Ladies & Gentlemen, it’s gonna be a bubbly ride. Beer is the most chemically complex alcoholic beverage in the world and top mixologists around the globe are discovering not only the flavor complexity it adds to a cocktail, but also the magic of its effervescence with elevating aromas and the unique texture it adds to a cocktail. You will ‘get your hands dirty’ and your tastebuds buzzing during this exciting 90 minute ride.
A properly made beertail starts with an exceptionally balanced cocktail onto which an appropriate beer is floated on top. The brew not only pulls the aroma of the cocktail beneath ‘up’ with its effervescence, but also compliments and contrasts with the cocktail to create a unique ‘beertail’. The lucky drinker tastes the beer with the first few sips, but with the subtle aroma of the cocktail. Then the middle of the drink is the beer and cocktail together on the palate. Because the beer floats, the final tastes are the cocktail on its own.
Our beer sponsor Vanberg and DeWulf for 30 years has been the leading importer of world class beers from Mecca..oops, Belgium. Aren’t they the same place? Through this tasting lead by some of the most forward thinking minds and palates in the beverage world, you will enjoy 20 unique flavor experiences. With Four Beertails, you will taste the cocktail on its own, then the beer on its own, then the beer floating on the cocktail with the cocktail’s aroma coming thru the head, then the cocktail and beer together and finally the cocktail at the bottom with just a hint of the beer’s malt, but sans bubbles.
To compliment Vanberg & DeWulf’s world-class beers, the base spirits for this experience will be HUM Botanical Spirit, Sombra Mezcal, El Dorado 15 Year Demerara Rum and Labrot & Graham Woodford Reserve Bourbon. “”At BEERTAILS, we treat you right””.
As cocktails hit their renaissance and craft beers hit an all time high, Tales of the Cocktail’s 10th Anniversary is the perfect forum for the movers and shakers in the cocktail world to taste and hear first-hand the ‘next big thing’ in the world-wide cocktail movement.
Here’s a quick sneak peak into what is in store by panel moderator Adam Seger CCP: