Beer school

Modern Brewery Age, March 13, 1995 by Jack Kenny

One of the earliest publishing ventures in beer training took place at Merchant Du Vin, the Seattle-based importer of Samuel Smith, Ayinger, and Pinkus beers (among others) and brewer of Pike's Place beers. Tom Leavitt, president and CEO, credits the company's Alephenalia News as being the first "brewspaper" in the land, and the grandfather of the dozen or more tabloids that cover the beer revolution today.

Merchant Du Vin began importing hand-crafted, high-quality beers back in 1978, says Leavitt, "and we did it by method of education. We devote a tremendous amount of time to wholesaler education. We hold seminars for their sales personnel, and we educate through the various publications that we create, such as Ale Sales."

The emphasis on education led Merchant Du Vin to create a concept it calls "Ale University," which comes complete with college-style sweatshirts. "We have many internal promotions for our distributors, including trips to Ale University in Seattle," Leavitt says. "It is a seminar conducted by world experts in beer for the top sales people in wholesale companies. They read, take an exam, become graduates and get their diploma. It's a fun way to promote education for our wholesaler, and that knowledge extends to retailers and consumers as well."

Publications from suppliers are growing. Hindy is now producing a newsletter that talks about new products, beer dinners and tastings, and lists of retailers. Vanberg & DeWulf produces a catalog of their beers, a monthly mailing to wholesalers that includes product guidance, and a new little brochure - about the size of a business card - called the World's Tiniest Guide to the Great Beers of Belgium & French Flanders. The company also has exclusive U.S. marketing rights to Michael Jackson's book, The Great Beers of Belgium.

Back to the Classroom

Another brewer who has put together a seminar and test package is Pete Slosberg, founder of Pete's Wicked Brewing Co. In his opinion, retailers have the hardest job of anyone when it comes to beer knowledge. "Retailers are in the worst position," he says, "They are deluged by wholesalers who have more new products all the time, and barraged by consumers asking questions." Though Slosberg can engage in discussions about trub, flocculation, and humulones, he is adamant about skipping the beer tech-talk when addressing beer wholesalers and retailers. Instead he presents a "sensory evaluation of beer."

"We talk about where beer gets its color, why it feels the way it does in the mouth. We sniff and chew on four different kinds of malt," Slosberg says. "We let them know there's no magic about where the color comes from. Same with hops: We grind them up in the hand, and smell the oils that are released. And then, when we smell and taste the beers after all the talking, we are educating our noses and tongues."

A central part of the seminar is the "Pete's Wicked Spectrum of Beers," a visual tableau that positions about 50 popular beers on a graph by color and taste characteristics. For this audience, Slosberg doesn't abide mention of such topics as top- and bottom-fermenting yeast. "That's beer geek talk," he insists. "These people have no use for that kind of information, and neither do average beer consumers."