This Week in Beer (TWIB) is a feature where I’ll highlight some craft beers I had during this past week mixed with some related (and unrelated) thoughts. Yes, it’s a play on the name of the show This Week in Baseball which I grew up on and loved.
Phew. Life has been flying by at a million miles an hour the past couple of weeks. Fortunately I’ve been having fun along the way and more importantly, have been drinking some good beers.
Inaugural SOB Dinner
Over the weekend I hosted the inaugural Short On Beer Dinner. The crowd consisted of 11 people, including myself. I served Port City Derecho Common, 21st Amendment Bitter American, New Belgium Hoppy Bock, Stone IPA and RJ Rocker’s Son of a Peach. I had everyone rate the beers on different qualities. I’ll tally up the results and posts some awesome pictures next week. My wife slaved over the decorations and dinner. It was a mini crafting sweatshop for the few days leading up to the event. She even etched glasses with Short On Beer on them (she’s a keeper). More on this next week complete with a photo gallery!
**Note — I’d like to host a SOB dinner each season. Contact me if you’re interested in joining in on the fun.**
Wilmington!
Wilmington is without-a-doubt my favorite place on earth. I have many memories there and it’s where I first started getting into craft beer. And while attempting not to brag, I went on the best work trip ever which should explain my absence the past week. We had a company retreat there in Wilmington where we yes worked, a lot, but also went to the beach, took a boat cruise, ate fresh seafood, drank aged rum and smoked fine cigars (well only one cigar for me — my lungs hated me enough after the first). I managed to get a couple local brews in by Carolina Brewing. My head was still spinning from the boat ride when I had them but they were decent. I didn’t have the opportunity to properly appreciate them though. I guess I’ll have to make another trip down there…
Final Thoughts
If you were hosting a beer dinner, what would your number one goal be?
Short On Beer 
If I were hosting a beer dinner, my #1 goal, in addition to making sure everyone has a good time, would be to turn some people on to the whole Craft Beer scene. Of course this needs to be done in a gentle way so that you don’t come off as a douchey beer snob (I am one, but I don’t have to be douchey about it ALL the time). The key is to find out what people usually drink and try to pick better alternatives. No point in serving a Double IPA to people that usually drink macro lagers.
Good point. I went a little too hoppy on my crowd. I should have listened to the Mrs. but I was so excited to share all these great beers I love.
In my mind, you gotta find the gateway.
Great job on the beer dinner. Did you pair the beers with food from the kitchen?
I think my number one goal for a beer dinner would depend on the audience (whether they are newcomers to beer or veterans). For newcomers, I definitely agree with G-LO, gotta find some great gateway beers. I actually think you chose some terrific beers for this. Also, I would provide info on the beers, but would try not to over-provide, which might be intimidating.
Veterans to beer want beers that they can’t get everyday. Harder to find beers, beers from out of state, etc. I feel you need to provide something special for them to come out.
Just my two cents though!
The Mrs. cooked each meal. I’ll give a full breakdown of the pairing in the post next week.
As for the information, I didn’t want to impede on the fun but also wanted to make it worth while. I told a couple quick, fun stories and some facts — what a session beer is — those sort of things. Thanks for the feedback!