When's the graduation party?

Saturday afternoon I took in a bit of educational advancement; namely, a trip over to Winston-Salem and "Beer School". A couple of hours to taste their wares and learn the finer points of beer. Granted, there wasn't a whole lot that was new to me, but it was still quite an enjoyable time.

Beer School is the program that Foothills utilizes upon new hire orientation to teach them the basics of beer and brewing so that they can at least have SOME working knowledge of the beverage they are serving. This was the inaugural event of opening the program up to the public. A whopping SIXTY people signed up and paid their "tuition". An impressive turnout.

Sarah, the general manager and wife of the brewmaster, put on a Powerpoint presentation teaching us students the history of beer, the why's and when's of brewing, and the numbers behind Foothills Brewing's success. During the class, taster glasses of their beers were poured, including the elusive and rather delicious Bourbon Barrel Total Eclipse Stout. WOW.

A great way to spend an afternoon with fellow beer geeks at my favorite brewpub.

And being such a good student, my diploma even made the refrigerator: