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Attendance is no problem in brew-pub class
Foothill students eager to learn
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Published: August 2, 2009
Some people might balk at going to a two-hour class on a sunny Saturday afternoon. But no one seemed to be complaining yesterday at Foothills Brewing's Beer School.
The class was taught by Sarah Bartholomaus, the general manager of the brew pub on Fourth Street in downtown Winston-Salem.
She went over the history of beer, how it's made, and the differences between types of beers. Patrons also got to sniff and taste the barley and hops used in beer manufacturing, and, of course, sample the final product.
And the 64 people who attended yesterday's class seemed eager to learn.
"We wanted to learn more about microbrewery beers," said Amanda Smiley of Mooresville. "This is our first time here (Foothills), and it seemed like a good opportunity."
She and her husband, Michael, have been host to their own beer tastings for the past two years.
"We're really trying to get our friends exposed to better beers," Michael said.
Yesterday's beer class was the first for Foothills; another class, scheduled for next Saturday, is already full. If there is enough demand, Bartholomaus said she may make the class a monthly event.
"I didn't know I'd have the response we've had," she said. "I thought it would just be some home brewers and a few regulars."
The class, which cost $10 a person, is based on the training that new Foothill employees are put through.
Bartholomaus estimated that at least 10 percent of the participants in yesterday's class were home brewers. Among them was Mark Stoehr, who has been brewing his own beer for several years.
"I wanted to come see what Sarah was presenting," Stoehr said. He said that Foothills is his favorite brew pub in the Triad.
Ben and Jenny Cookson from Wilmington had come to town to visit friends who had learned about the class through Smitty's Notes.
"I don't know much about beer, but I love beer," Ben said. "I'm trying to expand my knowledge."
After presenting the basics, Bartholomaus and her husband Jamie, the head brewer at Foothills, answered questions. The students then had to take an 18-question quiz.
"It is a beer school," Sarah Bartholomaus said.
The class then took a tour of the warehouse area in back of Foothills where the pub's beers are brewed.
"It's interesting," patron Tannon Hardy said as he took photos of the machinery. "It gives you the background on how your beer is made."
Anthony Ramber, another of the brewers at Foothills, was on hand in the warehouse to answer more questions. "A lot of people don't know what goes into their beer," he said.
But the most popular part of the class was probably the sampling of eight types of beer.
Ben Cookson compared the beer sampling to how he had learned about different types of coffee while working at Starbuck's -- by trying one type right after another.
"It's like wine -- there's a lot of different flavors you can find in beer," Amanda Smiley said.
Smiley said she found the class inspiring.
"At one point, I leaned over to him (her husband) and said, ‘let's try to homebrew.'"
■ Tim Clodfelter can be reached at 727-7371 or at tclodfelter@wsjournal.com
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