Craft Beer Presentation and Tasting

IWFS Craft Beer Presentation

By Brian Fitzgerald, IWFS Pioneer Member and Certified Cicerone^tm

“The language and terms used in the presentation will be directed towards wine enthusiasts in an effort to guide them to understanding beer in greater depth. After this presentation, attendees will be able to answer the question "What am I looking for?" when presented with an unfamiliar beer.” 

Beer is not just a yellow, fizzy, and tasteless beverage for the masses. Craft Beer globally, as well as in the Australian marketplace is on a steady growth curve upwards while mainstream industrial produced beer is heading downward. Overall consumption of alcoholic beverages, especially beer, is on the decline. Consumers are “trading up”, or drinking lower quantities of higher quality beer. With over 100 styles of beer now recognised by the World Beer Cup, there are a lot of nuances that each style can exhibit. A beer can express itself through the malt, hops, spices, yeast, and even the water.

This presentation will discuss premium craft beer in a compare and contrast style to wine and so that wine enthusiasts can be well informed of this interesting and growing trend in the national and international markets.

Please join us for a detailed presentation on Craft Beer. Five different beers will be presented and paired with food to show the elegance, finesse, and depth of flavour of Craft Beer and styles of origin.

Topics discussed will be:

• Beer history
• Understanding Ale & Lager, Wine & Beer
• The use of quality ingredients
• Beer styles and their origins
• Emerging styles and trends
• Beer and Food pairing
• WA Breweries and styles

The language and terms used in the presentation are directed towards wine enthusiasts in an effort to guide them to understanding beer in greater depth. After this presentation, attendees will be able to answer the question "What am I looking for?" when presented with an unfamiliar beer.

Biography:

Brian Fitzgerald is the Director and Brewer of Artisan Brewing; a small farmhouse brewery in Denmark, WA focused on complex Belgian-style Ales. Brian is also the first Australian Certified Cicerone^tm (an accredited beer sommelier), a BJCP certified beer judge, holds a Diploma in Brewing Science from the American Brewers Guild, and is currently the President of the WA Brewers Association. He is active in both the beer and wine communities involved with beer education, judging at beer events, hosting beer dinners, and conducting consumer education events nationally and internationally.