There are 1,545 breweries operating in the United States. Thousands more are scattered worldwide — from traditional beer-drinking countries such as Belgium and Germany to newer craft-brewing hot spots such as Italy and Norway. With many, if not most, of those breweries regularly releasing new offerings, seasonal brews and limited one-offs, there’s a never-ending supply of new beers to learn about and sample.
But who has the time, energy or alcohol tolerance to keep up?
Well, you don’t have to devote your waking hours tuned in to the buzz on beer-geek Web sites, boning up on the latest bourbon barrel-aged stout or the newest brewery to expand its distribution into Illinois. Rather, let others impart their carefully edited and fine-tuned beer knowledge unto you when you head to one of Chicago’s many so-called beer schools.
Classes range in size from the dozen or so people who typically attend Whole Foods’ monthly class at its West Lakeview location to 70 people at Goose Island’s Beer Academy. And they’re geared toward a general audience — from the novice to the aficionado.
“I just want people to know that there is more to beer than just light lagers,” said Greg Browne, the brewmaster at Libertyville’s Mickey Finn’s Brewery who has served as the Map Room’s beer school instructor for the last 16 years.
“I want them to know that just like there is a whole world of wine or liquor, there is also a whole world of beer. Just because someone thinks they don’t like beer there probably is a beer that they’d like if they tried it,” Browne said.
Each venue’s class is unique, based on the space, the crowd and the instructor.
Both the Map Room and Goose Island classes are taught by brewers with firsthand knowledge of the brewing process. Not surprisingly, the Whole Foods classes incorporate food.
Although the Goose Island class is fairly structured, the Whole Foods class is loose and malleable.
Christopher Kolodziej, Whole Foods’ beer and wine buyer who leads the Whole Foods class, says he avoids lecturing attendees on beers’ taste profiles.
“We realize everyone’s taste buds are different,” he said. “And there are differences between people’s tastes and smells, and what they like and dislike. So there are no wrong answers.”
Although the Map Room, Goose Island and Whole Foods classes meet once a month, a host of other bars, restaurants and liquor stores, such as Sheffield’s, Fat Cat bar and grill and House of Glunz irregularly host classes as well.
Whichever class you take, with the combination of beer and a little more knowledge about what you’re consuming, you really can’t go wrong.
Goose Island
1800 N. Clybourn Ave., 312-915-0071
Unique spin: Being a brewpub, the Beer Academy is able to offer up two or three beers that are brewed on premises. Beyond those brews, classes routinely feature 9 or 10 other beers.
Instructor: Wil Turner, brewer at Goose Island’s Clybourn brewpub
Typical number of attendees: 70
Typical topic: Even though classes rarely feature more than a couple Goose Island beers, the sessions follow the brewpub’s brewing schedule, which means it focuses on wheat beers in the summer and moves into darker beers in the fall and winter.
Cost: $15
The Map Room
1949 N. Hoyne Ave., 773- 252-7636
Unique spin: The class grew out of training lessons that Greg Browne, brewmaster at Mickey Finn’s Brewery (then a homebrewer), held for the Map Room’s bartenders. But 16 years after he began holding the classes for the general public, Beer School aims to expose people to beers they might otherwise never encounter.
Instructor: Greg Browne
Typical number of attendees: 45
Topics: Focused on a particular style or region, the classes typically follow a particular season, such as bock beers in May and Octoberfest beers in September.
Cost: $25
Whole Foods
3300 N. Ashland Ave., 773-244-4200
Unique spin: Every class features food — typically either cheese or food cooked with beer — to help people learn about pairing food and drink. For instance, a recent breakfast beer class featured Belgian waffles made with yeast extracted from Duvel beer.
Instructor: Christopher Kolodziej, Whole Foods’ beer and wine buyer
Typical number of attendees: 12 to 15 people
Typical topic: Whether it’s East Coast breweries or summer seasonals, the classes aim to expose attendees to obscure styles they haven’t heard of or brands they haven’t tried.
Cost: $10
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