beer school graduation

Bryan and I graduated with honors (with "Magna Cum Lager" designation, to be exact), from Beer School last night. No joke! Last night we joined 38 other wannabe beer scholars at Great Lakes Brewing Company in Ohio City (adjacent to downtown Cleveland). It's right across the street from the West Side Market in a cool, fun, trendy area. We asked ourselves, why have we waited so long to check this out!

We toured the brewing facilites and learned the complicated process of brewing beer. I had no idea what was involved. From the malting barley, to the gristing of the barley, to the 4 different stages of something (I forget), then to the fermentation process . . . although I'm not a genius, I do consider myself somewhat intelligent, and I left the tour thinking that brewmasters were equivalent to rocket scientists. Who actually figured out how to make beer? I now know what most people have already known . . . there are 2 types of beer: ale & lager. And the 4 most common ingredients in beer: barley, hops, yeast, and water.

After the tour we sat in a room and sampled five of Great Lakes' different beers: Holy Moses, Dortmunder, Elliot Ness, Burning River, and Edmund Fitzgerald. These are Great Lakes' staples. They offer many other promotional types (i.e. "seasonal brews") throughout the year, in addition to their "pub-only" barrel brews. Our samplings were in small glasses (I'd say about 7 oz. each) and they filled them nearly to the brim (Yea!). Our group was great, and we had a wonderful time chatting with others (who wouldn't have fun sitting in a room drinking beer?). At the completion of the event we each received a glass and a T-Shirt reading "Beer School Graduate-Magna Cum Lager". All for $15 a pop - sometimes I feel like Rachael Ray - what a deal.

Afterward, Bryan and I went next door and enjoyed a glass of wine at the first wine bar in Cleveland, the Market Avenue Wine Bar (est'd 1994). We enjoyed the perfectly temperate night air while reflecting upon different ideas on how to keep our current residence, while also securing a spot in this trendy area.

We completed the evening with a savory fast-food favorite, Wendys. :)