 | Rob Miller
owns and operates Goebel Liquor, family owned since 1971, located at the corner of Maple and West Streets. Rob's World of Beers selection, offers over 450 microbrews and imports. Rob has worked hard to make his beer selection the best available, short of taking a drive to Dallas or Denver. When not on the road prospecting new products for the store to introduce to Wichita, you can usually find Rob at a sporting event, or any activity involving one of his five children. You can contact Rob at Goebel Liquor, e-mail: stoutsman@aol.com, or by phone at (316) 943-2911. |
Beer, Wine & Spirits
2003-10-01 11:35:00
How to enjoy a beer festival
ANSWER: Attend! A Beer Festival is a great place to expand your beer horizons. Don't waste time and energy tasting the beers that you're already familiar with. Live on the edge. Be a rebel, but be responsible. Attend a Beer Festival with a group of friends and make it a social event. You'll find plenty of good food, entertainment, and a diverse variety of beers. It doesn't hurt to take along a designated driver (usually they attend free, or at a huge discount) or arrange for a ride home, either by cab or have a friend drop you off and pick you up later. The servings of beer are only one ounce, but it doesn't take too many ounces to add up. So, make those one-ounce portions count. Accessorize! Make a pretzel necklace. It's important to cleanse the palate between tastings to fully appreciate the different flavors of the beers. Using either hard or soft pretzels, make a chain to wear around your neck. Break off a piece of pretzel to munch either with, or after tastings. In Germany, the soft pretzels are so big; they can be stretched to fit over the head to form a necklace. The pretzel necklace allows your hands to remain free for reaching out, and it's a great way to keep track of how many beers you've tasted. Ladies, leave the purses at home, they just get in the way. Remember to bring your ID (you will be asked to show it upon entering) and bring some cash. You'll want to purchase souvenirs at the silent auction, commemorative Beerfest T-Shirts, and great foods provided by local restaurants. Do your homework! Learn the difference between an import and a micro-brewed beer. Imports (imported from other countries) are brewed with bottom fermenting yeast, thus will have a full-bodied flavor, with a smoother refined finish. Micro-brews (brewed in smaller specialty batches within the US) will be mainly brewed with top fermenting yeast, giving the beers a unique flavor style the brew master wants to achieve. Make a plan! Have a particular style of beer in mind! Try samples of those beers first. For example, if you enjoy ales, try every India Pale Ale available. Ask questions! Volunteers serving the beers can be very helpful. Test their knowledge with questions like, "what region are the breweries are located in?" Different breweries each have a particular style (taste). Beers from different regions of the country have distinct identifying flavors. The breweries of the Pacific Northwest will have a hoppy flavor, where the Midwest and Northeast brews will be less hoppy and maltier tasting. Let your taste buds do the talking! How do you identify the different flavors? Just ask your tongue. Tastes are detected by special structures called taste buds, of which we have about 10,000, mainly on the tongue's surface. There are four sensitive types of taste buds: sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Many different tastes can be distinguished because of the combination of taste and the more discriminating sense of smell. The sense of smell is estimated to be about 10,000 times more sensitive than the sense of taste, although the two are closely related. It is usually correct to say that one smells more flavors than he tastes. When presented with a beer to sample, place your nose as far into the glass without reaching the liquid. Close your eyes and deeply inhale the aroma of the beer. Try to visualize the aroma reaching your taste buds. Identify which senses it appeals to by locating the area of the tongue that is stimulated:
