Extra Credit, Women's Beer Forum: Haze Craze

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending Eagle Rock Brewery's Women's Beer Forum. The crowd was very friendly, and the beer was incredible. To be frank, I don't drink beer often- I prefer wine or tequila. But occasionally I'll enjoy a can of Bud Light or Coors Light, depending on where I am and what food I'm eating. At Eagle Rock Brewery, the co-owner shared a few humorous stories as we tasted five flights of beer. Either the beer was hitting me, or she had a really good sense of humor-- either way, we shared many laughs throughout the two hour event. She shared personal stories about her arduous experience opening up this brewery, along with the sister Eagle Rock restaurant, which is down the street. Doing so was not easy by any means, as she explained. She even contemplated getting a divorce on several occasions, because she and her husband bickered a lot on topics regarding the business.

When I told the group of women that I was there for a school extra credit assignment, they were amused that we have such a cool professor! I told them I agreed, and explained to them how Professor Hansen is a beer fanatic. They suspected that this could be for a chemistry class, because we spoke about the science involved in the process of fermentation. This really interested me, because I love science. I learned that alcohol is a product of yeast in beer making- it is produced by yeast during fermentation (fermentation: the process in which yeast converts sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide)

The speaker said that it is very attractive to a man when a woman is knowledgable about beer, so she taught us interesting facts that I didn't know before. For example, I learned that the four ingredients found in every beer are:
1. Yeast (needed for fermentation)
2. Water (~95% of beer)
3. "Hops" (grown in many different varieties; give the beer flavor)
4. Grain (typically malted barley)

My favorite part about this event was the fact that we tasted the beer, and then talked about what flavors we tasted. My favorite flight of beer was the one from Offshoot Beer Co. I really enjoyed its fruity, tropical and citrusy flavor.