Tag: Certified Cicerone

Beer goes in your mouth

Posted on by Ben

Hamsterdam

In honour of April Fool’s day today, Jason Fisher, the perennial shit-disturbing owner of Toronto’s Indie Alehouse released a couple of videos staring a handful of Second City alumni regular customers taking shots at some of the more absurd, ridicule-worthy elements of the province’s beer scene.

I particularly enjoyed this video that takes aim squarely at the province’s growing number of Certified Cicerones, Prud’homme beer sommeliers, and know-it-all beer bloggers (ahem) who might consider themselves beer experts.

Let’s be honest, this is hilarious (“Rope?”). And it’s a welcome reminder that maybe we all take beer a little too seriously sometimes.

Well done, Jason. Also fuck you!

Click here for Indie’s other video about their beer store. 

Making the connection: Talking beer and food with Crystal Luxmore

Posted on by Ben

Luxy

Crystal Luxmore is a Toronto-based beer writer whose work has appeared in The Toronto Star, Toronto Life, Chatelaine, The Walrus, The New York Times, CBC and msn.ca and she was the “Hopped Up” columnist for what was easily Toronto’s best weekly magazine, The Grid (RIP).

She’s also a Certified Cicerone and a Prud’homme Beer Sommelier.

Accordingly, it’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about beer. This month, as part of my ongoing efforts to explore the relationship between dining and beer, I chatted with Crystal via email about beer, food, and why beer isn’t afforded the same respect as wine–yet.

Ben Johnson: As a cicerone and prud’homme certified beer sommelier, do you put a lot of thought into beer and food pairings when you’re dining at home or eating out?

Crystal Luxmore: I do, but I don’t sweat it too much. At home, I see what’s in my beer and main fridge, and usually choose the best possible match from what’s already chilled once dinner is ready. At a restaurant, I do think about it, but sometimes I’m more interested in trying a new one-off than finding the perfect match for my burger. Luckily with beer, it’s so versatile and easy to pair that if you’ve got great food and a great pint, you’ll be satisfied.

BJ: I feel like once you start paying attention to what beers work with what foods, you can’t NOT pay attention. It’s like a new level of snobbery when I’m with friends. First it was, “oh don’t drink that.” Now if I say, “well don’t drink THAT with THAT” I feel like I’m going to get punched in the head.

CL: Yeah. I would punch you in the face if you told me that. Taste is subjective and everyone’s palate is different, so what you think is right, is right—but only for you. Continue reading “Making the connection: Talking beer and food with Crystal Luxmore” →

Ben’s guide to talking like a beer snob

Posted on by Ben

photo 4

Last week, I hosted an event organized by Orchestra Marketing that looked to combine the typically forced act of “networking” with the slightly more enjoyable act of drinking beer. Appropriately, they called the event “BeerWorking” and what it boiled down to was essentially non-romantic speed dating wherein the participants received a different beer each time they rotated to a new table of people to meet.

My job, as the evening’s host, was to fill the participants in on some of the finer points of beer tasting (disclosure: I was paid to do this. I don’t wander the streets looking for people to preach beer stuff at [much]).

The event was pretty laid back and pretty much guaranteed to be a success (easy money for me! *mimes guitar solo*) given that the organizers were on the ball, the space was decent, the room was full of people eager to meet other people, and we were all sampling tasty beer from the good folks at Black Oak Brewery; who make some downright decent beverages. Continue reading “Ben’s guide to talking like a beer snob” →