In my February Beer 101, I shared some of my approach when introducing beer to someone who claims to not like beer. In it I highlight some of the probing questions I use and how I try to ensure their first beer is one that matches their palate where it is at teh moment. I don’t force-feed them something big and bold.

In this month’s Beer 101 column, I offer the next steps, what you might describe as the syllabus for a generic beer appreciation course (Read it here). I walk through my logic on how I would introduce the various flavours and styles of beer to a relative beer newbie. I start with a pale lager like Creemore, and then begin the process of isolating flavours to develop a sense of what the student likes and doesn’t like in beer. For example, the second step is to offer up a dark lager (like Paddock Wood’s Black Cat) and a pilsner side-by-side. This gives an early indication about whether their preferences (at the time) tend toward sweet or bitter.

From there it is impossible to lay out an exact game plan, because the whole point is to respond to the student’s reactions and take them in an appropriate direction. However, I do try to lay out a plausible route to take. As you read it, I think my logic becomes self-evident. The focus is on developing the different charactistics of beer one step at a time, allowing us to isolate particular qualities and build on them.

As I mention in the column, this is not the only way to go about a beer appreciation course – and it may not even be the best way. But I find it works for me, and it does have a natural flow to it. Of cousre, the important part is not which beer to do and in what order, but to make sure that at the end of the process we have created a brand new fan of craft beer. And that makes the world a better place.