Page # 6-7
Date published: Monday,
February 21, 2012
Author’s name: Emily Van
Zandt
Title of the article: Your
Ph.D. in Beer?
Kahle is
a certified master cicerone (a seldom-used term for “guide”) and part of an expanding
expert pool that has been working in Chicago and elsewhere since 2008, when
Craft Beer Institute President created the credentialing program. Through
rigorous online and hands-on testing, beer experts can reach one of three
levels: certified beer server, certified cicerone and master cicerone. To date,
just four people have reached the level of master cicerone, and only one of
those – Kahle – lives in Chicago. Still, most people are unaware of the huge variety
of beers and, because of that, they don’t think they need advice when choosing
a beer.
In my opinion,
any good beverage like wine, champagne, beer, tea, coffee, etc. has its own
complexities. In order to notice those complexities, we need to treat these
other beverages the same way we treat wine. Factors such as how to store the
drink, what kind of glass to use, the temperature, which beverage is better
with which food, in which event, season, weather, etc, should all be considered.
If we don’t know, we can ask and learn from the professionals in each beverage
(cicerone, sommelier, tea merchant or barista). The point is we shouldn’t feel like
dummies to ask a professional; we should instead enjoy learning because each
beverage is a world on its own.
