|
By Joe Sixpack
Posted on May 22, 2009 on Joe
Sixpack
SO,
YOU THINK you know a lot about beer? Here's a quiz:
A)
What is the name of the device attached to a keg to
allow for the input of gas and the output of beer?
B) What trait in beer do
measurements in degrees of SRM represent?
C) What Munich style of beer
is known for the flavor of 4-vinyl guaiacol?
Stumped? Those are just three
of more than 140 questions on what may be the world's
toughest beer test, the final exam for the Craft Beer
Institute's Cicerone Certification Program.
So far, just 23 people have
passed the test; twice that many have failed.
Me? I had to Google the definition
of "cicerone."
That's the term (pronounced
sis-uh-rohn) that the institute's president, Ray Daniels,
has adopted to describe what might otherwise be called
a "beer sommelier," a professional who helps you select
the proper beer for your meal.
It's an old word for a museum
guide - an appropriate choice, said Daniels, because
"a Cicerone will possess the knowledge and skills to
guide those interested in beer culture, including its
historic and artistic aspects."
If all that sounds a bit snooty
for the Everyman's drink, well, you haven't shopped
for beer lately. It's not just the daunting variety
of labels that can confound you: As brewers continually
crank out new riffs on traditional styles, it's almost
impossible to predict what's inside that corked $20
bottle.
"That's one of the reactions
I got initially: 'Don't make beer snobby, we don't want
to be like the wine guys,' " Daniels said of his year-old
program. "I don't think we're in much danger of that.
I don't think beer people are snobby at all."
Besides,
the program isn't a test of beer trivia, he said. It's
designed mainly to help restaurants, wholesalers and
breweries provide consistent, high-quality beer to patrons.
For example, because so many
people enjoy draft beer, 20 percent of the exam is about
the mechanics of tapping systems.
"Almost anyone who has ever
gone to a kegger thinks he knows how to operate a draft
system," Daniels said. "The truth is, it requires some
real study and sophisticated knowledge of a polyglot
of nomenclature."
It was questions about draft
equipment that thwarted Carolyn Smagalski the first
time she took the exam. A knowledgeable online writer
known as the Beer Fox and a certified beer judge (another
tough exam), Smagalski missed a passing grade by just
5 points.
"Perhaps it would be easier
if I worked in beer service and changed kegs or cleaned
beer lines on a daily basis," she said. "The fact that
it is not easy to [pass] should make restaurateurs stand
up and take notice that 'Cicerone' is, indeed, an honor
equal to that of 'Sommelier.' "
So,
how beer smart are you?
A)
A coupler.
B) Standard Reference Method,
a scale used to classify the color of beer.
C) 4-vinyl guaiacol is a
phenolic compound that smells like cloves, one of
the signature aromas of German weissbier.
The Cicerone program offers
two levels of certification, with fees starting at $49.
Think you've got what it takes? Try the 10-question
sample exam at http://www.cicerone.org/.
If
you're not prepared for hours of study and long exams
just to learn how to pair beer with food, here's a shortcut:
http://www.greatbrewers.com/.
The Web site, run by a consortium
of brewers and distributors, features an interactive
beer sommelier that will guide you to the perfect matches.
Just select your dish and the site does everything but
crack open the bottle.
How do corn fritters and Flying
Dog Tire Bite Kölsch sound?
"Joe Sixpack" by Don Russell appears weekly in Big Fat
Friday. For more on the beer scene in Philly and beyond,
visit www.joesixpack.net.
Send e-mail to joesixpack@phillynews.com.
|
