Since the arrival of COVID-19, all of my various beer events have been put on hold. I fully believe that is the right decision and am confident they will return when it is safe to do so, even if that might be a few months away still.

However, thanks to the brains at the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension, I am offering up an online course about the world of beer. It runs four weeks and will cover a wide range of beer-related topics of interest. The course is titled Around the Beer World in Four Weeks, and I hope to do exactly that. It will run from August 18/19 to September 8/9.

Each session will be a one-hour Zoom meeting. I will talk for some of that time, we will taste four beer each week (curated by me), and there will be time for discussion. The cost is $75 per household (multiple people in the house can participate for the one fee). We have partnered with our good friends at Sherbrooke Liquor, who are creating a “course-pack” with the 16 beer to be sampled. The pack costs $100, and is not part of the registration fee. That may seem a bit pricey, but trust me, there are some real gems in there.

We are running two sessions of the course simultaneously – one on Tuesdays and one on Wednesdays. You can register for the course here.

The Eventbrite page is a bit sparse on details (and includes a stupidly out-of-date photo of me – sorry). So, here is a quick overview of the course:

• In week one we discuss the basic elements of beer, beer history and tradition and sample malt-forward beer to highlight the role of malt in beer.
• In week two we examine the craft beer revolution and taste some hop-oriented beer to cover that part of the palate.
• In week three we talk about the most recent wave of craft beer developments and explore beer where the yeast makes a significant impact.
• In week four we look at experimentation in the beer world and taste some beer with unusual flavour profiles.

As for the beer I have worked hard to create a good mixture of classics and innovative new approaches. Plus there is a healthy representation of Alberta craft breweries in the list.

I encourage you to sign up. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Even if my ramblings end up boring you, you will at least be able to sample 16 amazing beer (distantly) alongside 30 to 40 new friends.