Tap Time Goes to "Skool"

Keith and Christa Berciunas just keep upping the ante when it comes to the enjoyment of good beer in South Brunswick County. Last evening, they hosted the very first Tap Time Beer Skool at their craft shop in Ocean Isle Beach.

Seventeen Beer Nuts populated the Tap Time bar to sample, analyze and evaluate six outstanding selections of what Keith calls "Beers We Like." The "lesson," taught by a distinguished (and by all accounts, a highly engaging) "Visiting Professor," it was a night filled with good times, good beer--and even an Ein Prosit song. The requisite "Ein, zwei drei g'suffa siggi-soggi hoi, hoi, hois reverberated throughout the place.

The students came from far and wide, including the recently transplanted-from-NJ Walsh family (above) from Longs, SC to learn how to taste beer with all five (!) senses, to distinguish among various beer styles and to enjoy the camaraderie usually associated with quality beer events attended by quality people.

The beers under "study" included Lonerider Saloon Pilsner, Tightlines "Carterican" Vienna Lager, Fishtown Sandbar Hoppin' IPA, Skytown Chocolate Porter, Shortway Sweet Tater Ale and Wicked Weed's S'mores Stout. The "aperitif" beverage offered at the outset and enjoyed by all was Appalachian Mountain Cidery's Mystic Dragon.

The pilsner would pair well with most seafoods and salads, though I'd opt for the Carterican Vienna Lager with lovely Holly's Shrimp and Grits (which she promised to make for me). The Chocolate Porter was a solid hit, and the Sweet Tater Ale would enhance any Thanksgiving feast. The S'mores Stout could easily be the dessert beer for that meal, and many expressed delight at how it paired with Keith's M&M's.

Sam Adams' owner Jim Koch's favorite quote is "All beer is good; some beer is better." So which beers were "better" and which was BEST in Tap Time's Beer Skool experiment and in the opinions of our first "class"?

Skytown Chocolate Porter--299

Fishtown Sandbar Hoppin' IPA--287

Wicked Weed S'mores Stout--261

Shortway Sweet Tater--257

Tightlines Carterican Vienna Lager--255

Lonerider Saloon Pilsner--226

The number one and two spots were very close, which, considering the difference in styles, is very interesting. As I tell all my students, beer is a very personal subject. Anyone who's being honest in this business will never tell you which beers you should like. If mainstream light lagers are your thing (as in my man's shirt above), have at them. Just be aware that there is a whole world of beer out there waiting for you to sample--and, hopefully, enjoy. Maybe you'll come across that one style or beer that puts you squarely into the craft beer lover's ballpark.

But you won't know until you try them.

And, as Beer Skool proved, trying is half the fun.