The other day a magazine from Argentina published an article about the Beer Tasting Courses that will be given at the Escuela Argentina de Sommeliers (the same one whose director doesn't seem to know too much about beer).
The article not only reads like a plug, but is so full of bollocks that it is almost funny. According to the people who will be in charge of the courses, a Sommelier and the Head Brewer of Quilmes (AB-InBev's branch in Argentina), beers can be divided into two categories: "Refreshingment" (loose translation of a stupid made up word in Spanish), i.e. pale beers, and "for delight" (another loose translation), i.e. dark beers. They also tell us that the head affects the "refreshingment" of the beer and that, therefore, dark beers don't have head, etc.
But the best line comes from the mind of Raúl Falcón, the head brewer of Quilmes, who says that the consumer should be "gourmetised" and that beer should be "uncommoditized". Let's forget for a second that this comes from the person in charge of producing the most commoditised beer in Argentina and focus on that "gourmetise" bollocks. WTF is that? Convincing people that they should pay top money for mass produced imported products that are, at best, mediocre if not downright crap, methinks. One of the photos in the article shows several beers, which I assume will be course material, among which are Corona, Negra Modelo and Birra Moretti. I would love to see anyone being gourmetised while drinking those beauties at 7-8ºC.
I'm all for things that aim to open the minds of people towards beer, even if they are part of the PR strategy of a macro brewer, but sometimes I wonder if some of them aren't doing more harm than good. This one in particular seems as something put together in a hurry just because "Gourmet Beers" are the latest market fad and they want to profit from it.
One the other hand, do you think beer tasting courses are really necessary?
Na Zdraví!
Travel to the Czech Republic and stay at the best Prague Hotels
The article not only reads like a plug, but is so full of bollocks that it is almost funny. According to the people who will be in charge of the courses, a Sommelier and the Head Brewer of Quilmes (AB-InBev's branch in Argentina), beers can be divided into two categories: "Refreshingment" (loose translation of a stupid made up word in Spanish), i.e. pale beers, and "for delight" (another loose translation), i.e. dark beers. They also tell us that the head affects the "refreshingment" of the beer and that, therefore, dark beers don't have head, etc.
But the best line comes from the mind of Raúl Falcón, the head brewer of Quilmes, who says that the consumer should be "gourmetised" and that beer should be "uncommoditized". Let's forget for a second that this comes from the person in charge of producing the most commoditised beer in Argentina and focus on that "gourmetise" bollocks. WTF is that? Convincing people that they should pay top money for mass produced imported products that are, at best, mediocre if not downright crap, methinks. One of the photos in the article shows several beers, which I assume will be course material, among which are Corona, Negra Modelo and Birra Moretti. I would love to see anyone being gourmetised while drinking those beauties at 7-8ºC.
I'm all for things that aim to open the minds of people towards beer, even if they are part of the PR strategy of a macro brewer, but sometimes I wonder if some of them aren't doing more harm than good. This one in particular seems as something put together in a hurry just because "Gourmet Beers" are the latest market fad and they want to profit from it.
One the other hand, do you think beer tasting courses are really necessary?
Na Zdraví!
Travel to the Czech Republic and stay at the best Prague Hotels
I am starting to notice a worrying trend towards "gourmetization", usually from people who've realised they can flog mediocre imported beer for 50% more than mediocre local beer. It needs to be resisted.
ReplyDelete