The Beer Retard

To all three of my readers, I apologize for the four weeks between updates. In my defense, I’ve been busy working two jobs while finding time for trivial things like sleeping and eating. But really, that’s no excuse. I’ve got to make time for this because I’m not ready to kill it just yet.

I’ve been working at Bottleworks for five weeks. Despite the challenges of working 50-60 hours a week at two jobs, I’m enjoying Bottleworks and I’ve settled in to the job. I can work the cash register. I know where almost everything in the store is located. I can pour draft without wasting any beer. I feel comfortable, but I realize I still have a hell of a lot to learn. For instance:

Even though I’ve only homebrewed once and have never worked in the industry, I thought I had decent beer knowledge. I’ve been trying beers like a fiend and have been writing about it for a couple years. You’d think that’d put me in a good position to answer questions from customers. Wrong. My knowledge of American craft beer and Belgians is okay, but I have serious blind spots. The most obvious one is Germany. We have two columns of a cooler dedicated to German beer and I don’t know a goddamn thing about any of it (except the Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lager and rauchbiers). To remedy this, I’m taking home weissbiers and dunkels and bocks. When I’m through with those, there’s plenty more to try.

Also, I’ve realized that I need to revisit beers I haven’t had in awhile. When a customer comes in and asks me to recommend a good IPA, I have no problem. I can easily reel off four or five options that I know they’ll enjoy. If they ask about ambers or porters or other styles, I can only name one or two, and even then I can’t really describe what they’re like since I haven’t had them in a long time. So once a week I’m taking home a mixed sixpack of beers I haven’t had recently.

Overall, I’d say my time at Bottleworks has been great, but it’s also been humbling. I realize how little I know and how much I have to drink before I’m able to discuss beer with authority. But how cool is it to have a job where you’re forced to drink more beer?