Photo courtesy of the QoQa.ch collective
“Thank you so much, I had no idea beer can go so well with cheese! I definitely have to try some other combinations now!”
Is there any better feedback a beer educator can receive? I hear similar comments throughout my impromptu stint representing Monpiër de Gherdëina brewery at the Qbeer Birthday Celebration in Switzerland. I had stepped in at the last moment since the brewer couldn’t come, and have a fantastic experience explaining to attendees just what a Lichtenhainer is, and urging them to taste beer with cheese made by an artisanal cheesemaker from the same region.
Lichtenhainer is a rare and quirky breed of beer, tart and smoky at the same time, a love-it-or-hate-it style. I always wonder how to present Lichtenhainers at their best, especially for people who are new to the style, or to beer in general. Should you tell someone to expect something weird before they taste? Gauge their expectations? Or let them ride the wave and make the discovery by themselves?
Probably because I am irreparably verbose, I go with cautious explanations while I am pouring a sample. But the ultimate goal for me is always making everyone happy, brewers and festival attendees alike. I see how people’s faces strain a bit after the first sniff, so I joke, yes, Lichtenhainer is a very historical beer style, and probably people in the Middle Ages drank a lot of it, but we are not an inquisition, so if you don’t like it, I have a bucket here. It is OK not to like it, but I hope you will. And please have a sip, get acquainted with the flavor, and take a bite of this rich, creamy cheese on the side. How do you like them together? If I’m lucky, we loop back to the first sentence—and then it’s time to introduce the beer, and the cheese, to the next person waiting.
Words by Lana Svitankova