BEER CRAFT CLASS
(disclaimer: I bought a Groupon for a sushi rolling class back in DEC thinking I would use it as a Valentine's Day gift. Then V-Day came around (actually the 13th of Feb.) only to get an email around 3:55pm that our 7pm class had been cancelled. Um.....not much time to come up with a new plan. So in exchange for the snafu we rescheduled and got this class too as an apology.
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Hi again Kate,
I meant to write you earlier about this, but time got away from me.
So Lauren and I went to the Craft Beer Class the other week and I can only say we were more than disappointed. In fact, the class was laughable. Please understand Kate, I'm not trying to gain anything out of this other than letting you know---if your other classes are anything close to the experience we had @ Black Finn's then I'm not sure I Wish Lessons will be in business much longer. Had we paid for this class I would have made a scene right then and there.
THE BEER
To begin, the class is misleading. In the class description it reads as follows:
Complex beers are thicker, richer, more flavorful and more spirituous than your garden-variety beer. So, if you prefer a heartier, more substantive suds experience than you'd get from your typical domestic, then this is the class for you. Students will sample several varieties while learning about the creation process, history, economics, and etiquettes of beer. If you're a beer aficionado of any sort, this is the class for you.
So why is it that we sampled....
Stella Artois
Smithwick's
Fly Dog IPA
Sam Adams Summer Seasonal
???
I agree that complex beers are thicker, richer and more flavorful than your garden-variety beer----so why serve us garden variety beer???? These are all beers I can pick up at 7-11 or the Safeway down the street. And if I'm a beer aficionado, I'm pissed. This class is not for me. It's for the person who's never had a beer in his whole life. You may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. DC is a haven for great tasting beers from all over the world, and though Stella Artois and Smithwick's may technically be considered an import, I consider them on the level of imports with Foster's and Corona. They are NOT complex beers and no aficionado would make them their drink of choice.
To add insult to injury, the beers had been poured PRIOR to the class into these large funnel contraptions (something like an ANIMAL HOUSE style bong for 20 people). I'm not sure if you drink beer Kate, but this is the worst idea for serving beer. So what did the Smithick's and Sam Adams taste like because of this? Room temperature flat coke. These beers are not meant to be served at room temperature nor should they be sitting for 30-50 minutes in a funnel. Lastly, all the beer was served in RED SOLO CUPS. Are you kidding me? We were at a bar/restaurant and I was staring at over 100 pint glasses behind the bar. Let's have some class and use big boy cups.
ENVIRONMENT
As for location, I have been to Black Finn's before and it's an OK establishment, but there are many better choices to be made in and around DC that will offer a larger and better selection of beers. I'm surprised this location was chosen.
The ambiance was another thing all together. The Washington Capitals were playing that night in the playoffs and of course---the sound was on. I love hockey, but this made in nearly impossible to listen to the instructor. Either he needed to speak up or a new venue is needed. Either way, it was not conducive to learning.
INSTRUCTOR
This is where the icing gets put on top of an already terrible evening. He was not good. And that is me being polite. You said we will be "coached by our "mad scientist" beer expert, Mr. Arthur Fort." I have taught classes in middle school, high school and at the University level, I have been a tour guide in DC and I was a professional actor for over 14 years-----this man should not be teaching this class. There was no stage presence, an inability to be audible and frankly---a lack of knowledge on the subject. Granted, when he was asked a question he didn't know, he admitted it----but I knew the answers. He also was unsure of what beers we were tasting and he hadn't even tasted one of them before. Would you think you would arrive at a "Craft Beer Tasting Class" early to learn these things?
This all harkens back to the description of the class. This class is for someone who has NEVER had a beer before NOT for an aficionado. It is rudimentary. Even the hand out describing the history of beer was poorly written and in many instances grammatically incorrect. Seriously?
The best part was when he let the class know that he also teaches a wood carving class and then promptly passed out his card. WOW!!! Just Wow.
At point the Mrs. and I just laughed and chalked up the experience as a story we could tell at parties.
Finally I asked her what we should do next and she said she was hungry---but that we were to eat anywhere read more
