beaumont beer class

[Kid Presentable]

this was from the last world of beer mailing:

Back to (Beer) School
For years now, people have been asking me where they could go to learn about
beer from an aficionado's point of view, rather than that of a brewer. And
for years, I've been telling them that despite the plethora of wine
appreciation courses, there simply wasn't a similar program that I knew of
which addressed beer.
Now, with the help of the Toronto-based George Brown College, I'm pleased to
say that this is no longer the case. This past Tuesday night, I completed the
inaugural edition of my new 'Beer Appreciation' course, currently on offer at
George Brown as part of the Hospitality & Tourism division of the Continuing
Education department. And further, I'm very pleased to say, it was a roaring
success.
Based on my extensive background in staff training on beer for restaurants
and bars, but a lot more fun, the course runs for six consecutive Tuesdays
for three hours per night, with roughly eight beers sampled per class. The
first class features an introduction to beer and brewing, the second and
third segments address ale and lager respectively, the fourth night covers
wheat beers and other 'strange grains,' Belgium and its ales are the subject
of class number five and the finale covers the world of modern brewing and
techniques for pairing beer with food.
In my opinion, the world and especially North America needs more classes such
as this. The subject of beer is a curious and oft-confusing one, and
aficionados deserve to have a place to turn when they decide that they want
to learn more about their favourite beverage. If that creates an army of beer
evangelists, spreading the word of flavourful and interesting beers around
the globe, then we will all be that much better off for it. For as the wine
world has taught us, knowledge breeds appreciation and appreciation breeds
respect, and as it battles the 'chug-a-lug' image of the mainstream brands
and market attack of the alcopops, a little respect is something that beer
and brewing could certainly use.
***********************************************************************
The next beer course at George Brown begins on Tuesday, October 29, and will
feature fellow beer educator Oliver Dawson for the first three classes and
myself for the final three. For more information, please visit
http://bannerweb.gbrownc.on.ca/coned/se ... /wine.html. Bar and
restaurant owners interested in learning more about beer programs for their
staff should reply to this message with the subject line "Staff Training.
_____________________________________________
kp

[PRMason]

This is a great step forward for local beer culture. Both Stephen and Oliver are extremely knowledgeable and personable and they should give a kick-ass course.
I used to teach the Sommelier wine certificate program at Algonquin College in Ottawa and I have seen the explosion of wine knowledge as a result of such courses. Knowlegeable drinkers will demand better beers and the more of us there are the better it will be in the end.
I wish Oliver and Stephen the best of luck.

[GregClow]

I just checked out the link to the George Brown site, and this course is being offered quite a few times between now and next summer (although I notice that the first couple of offerings that were scheduled for Saturdays at 10 AM have been cancelled - I guess that's a bit early for even the most devoted beer lovers!).

I'm thinking of signing up for one of the Friday night ones - anyone else planning on enrolling?

[screw2000]

The course got a full-page mention in the Post today:
<a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/st ... CC0360}</a>

[howardt]

If you go say hi to Oli for me, and thank him for that pretty picture in the Post article. This keeps up, I am going to have to start taking back all those things I have said about beer critics over the years.