Prof. Sixpack @ Swarthmore
On Tuesday, I ran a small beer fest for graduating seniors at Swarthmore College. It’s a tradition on the campus to take the week off before graduation for fun and games… and beer drinking. But rather than just blow out with a drunken binge, the class actually wanted an opportunity to learn about their beer.
I gave them a 30-minute presentation, called Beer 101, which I told them would be the last class they would ever attend at Swarthmore. (And, yes, there was a test!) That led to a 3-hour festival featuring great beer from Yards* (Rick Anstotz), Iron Hill (Mark Edelson), Sly Fox (Brian O’Reilly), Gen. Lafayette (Russ Czaka), Troegs (Nick Johnson) and, via Muller Distributing, Brooklyn, Erie, Leinenkugel & Stegmaier. Also, a big shout out to Jordan Fetfatzes from Bella Vista who showed up with so many bottles (Lakefront, Sprecher, Ballast Point…) that I lost count.
The students loved the beer, of course, and the brewers and volunteers all told me they were impressed by the kids’ interest in great beer. As for all college students, a tight budget and campus culture means they’ve been drinking mostly Natty Light for the past 4 years. But most of them knew the basics and took time to ask questions about the variety of styles on hand. As the event wound down, a few of the kids secretly hustled me to a back office where they pulled out a stash of – no, not weed – bottles of New Belgium, Cantillon and Russian River.
Importantly, there was not a single drunken incident the entire afternoon. The two security guards on hand just watched the whole thing with grins.
Personally, I think this is the kind of event college campuses should run for students when they’re freshmen! Teach them there’s more to beer than excessive drinking.
*How great is this: Yards used the festival to informally unveil its new version of Saison. Very crisp spiciness, not too huge on the orange, with firm but not overwhelming hops - a definite upgrade on the old version.
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