Two of beer's most important ingredients are shrouded in mystery: hops and yeast. What do hops look and taste like? How does yeast make beer, and what flavors does it create? Join the Grain Barge and Rich Higgins for a special beer tasting class to find out! Rich is a Master Cicerone (1 of 18 in the world), an American craft brewer, and a beer educator internationally.

Hops are flowers that taste and smell different depending on their variety, where they're grown, and how brewers add them to a beer. And yeast (whether you think it sounds cool, geeky, or gross) is a key part of every pint of beer, glass of wine, and slice of bread you've ever had. Brewers only make wort; it's yeast that makes beer.

In this fun class, Rich will take you on an exploration the role of yeasts in creating the cornucopia of flavors in the beers they ferment. Plus, you'll smell hop varieties from different continents, navigate the history of IPAs, and learn about the good (and occasionally bad!) flavors that hops can offer a beer.

Perfect for beer fans, brewers, bartenders, and anyone who wants to know more about beer. Rich will teach tasting tips while discussing biology, history, fermentation, and flavor, and you'll taste 6 delicious beers he's picked to illustrate the various secrets of hops and yeast. Learning never tasted so good!

Topics:
hop geography, flavor, and biology, bitterness and aromas, gruit, noble hops, British hops, New World hops, classic C hops, tropical, dank, hopping techniques, dry hopping, fermentation, ale yeast, lager yeast, Brettanomyces, bacteria, hybrid beers, spontaneous fermentation, sugars, carbohydrates, esters, phenols, ethyl alcohol, fusel alcohols, hangovers, and more

Beers Included (subject to change):
New England IPA, American Pale Ale, Double IPA, British Bitter, Belgian Tripel, Brettanomyces Beer