Beer Tasting Courses Offered by Dr Beer ®

The short format course is taught in a single 2-3 hour session and is well suited for Alumni gatherings, company parties, fund raisers or other special events. It consists of an overview (up to 12-14 beers sampled depending on time and budget) of some of the most important beer styles presently brewed. and can be accompanied by a fact filled entertaining slide show and lectures about brewing ingredients, process and history if this suits your needs.

Since American brewing tradition is inherited primarily from the original British settlers, and later German immigrants the primary focus is on styles from these two countries. Owing to their diversity, uniqueness, and gastronomic appeal, the increasingly available beers of Belgium can also briefly touched upon if you're interested. Beers selected will vary based on seasonal and commercial availability, but a representative cross section is always available.

Short Course Topics

• Brewing Ingredients & Process
• History of Beer and Brewing
• Style Tasting - including beers from Britain, Germany and Belgium.

The long format course is taught in several sessions, configurable to suit your needs. The standard configuration is four to five 3 hour sessions. It consists of a more thorough overview of process and ingredients, training in sensory evaluation, and a more comprehensive review of beer styles presently brewed around the world. It highlights the origins of American brewing tradition, inherited from the original British settlers, and later German immigrants, while exploring and contrasting how these styles have been interpreted and adapted to suit the American craft beer Renaissance. The beers of Belgium are also widely explored, and their diversity, uniqueness, and gastronomic appeal is demystified. A 20 page handout is provided covering a broad cross section of information to help you appreciate the diversity of the beers tasted in the course, and of other beers widely available today.

Long Course Topics

• Overview of brewing process
• Barley Malt, other brewing grains
• Hops
• Water
• Yeast

• objective (perception and cognition)
• flavor terminology (what to look for, how to describe it)
• doctored beer samples
• palette training
• good flavors / bad flavors when they're appropriate, when they aren't

• British Isles - Bitter, Special Bitter, ESB, Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Brown Ale, Porter, Stout, Barley Wine, Scotch Ale, Old Ale, etc.
• Pilsner - Czech, Danish, German
• Germany - Export Pils, Munich Helles, Dunkel, Rauchbier, Bock,, Weizen, Oktoberfest, etc.
• Belgium - Double, Triple, Saison, Lambic (including Kriek and Framboise), Flanders Brown, Flanders Red, Wit, etc.
• America - Steam Beer, selected American interpretations of British, German and Belgian styles.