Educational Tools

Beer Glassware Feature Guide

While specialty beer glassware isn’t essential, it has been proven to enhance appreciation of craft beer. Download this guide and learn about the most popular beer glass shapes and which beer styles benefit most from each type of glass. Read More

Enjoying Craft Beer Out of the Glass

In this video, Julia Herz shares four techniques to detect beer-clean glassware and what you should expect when ordering a beer. Read More

Choose the Right Glass

In this video, CraftBeer.com's Andy Sparhawk describes a few of the most common types of beer glassware and how the glass enhances beer's flavors and aromatics. Read More

Frosted Glassware Is Not Cool

Temperature plays an important role in beer service. In this video, learn why you shouldn't serve craft beer in frosted glassware. Read More

Beer Serving Temperature Tips For Retailers Guide

This beer serving guide lays out how four crucial beer temperatures make a difference in the beer drinking experience. Download it now. Read More

How to Pour the Perfect Beer

In this video, CraftBeer.com's Julia Herz shows you how to pour the perfect beer. Julia goes into detail about glassware, presentation, pouring techniques and tips. Read More

Learn to Pair Craft Beer and Food

The CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course is a one-of-a-kind resource that provides all the knowledge culinary professionals need to pair beer and food. Read More

Create Experiences with Beer & Food Pairings

Beer and food pairings create an unforgettable dining experience. CraftBeer.com shows you how valuable this experience is to chefs and restauranteurs. Read More

How Chefs Can Lead in Beer and Food Pairing

Chefs, restaurateurs and beer lovers who are looking for answers about beer and food pairings can look no further than the CraftBeer.com Beer and Food Course. Read More

Craft Beer and Cheese Style Guide

In this guide, the American Cheese Society shares classic craft beer and cheese pairings. Discover how to perfectly pair beer and cheese with this guide. Read More

Beer and Food Pairing Guide

The CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Pairing Chart breaks down pairing by looking at food components and beer flavors to describe potential interactions and provides examples of familiar dishes. View and download the pairing guide now. Read More

Menu Development and Tasting Form

If you're planning a meal around beer and food pairings, this menu development form is built to help. View and download the sheet now to build your test tasting. Read More

CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course

The CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course is helping beer and food professionals create memorable experiences for customers. The course is designed to guide anyone, including brewery employees, culinary educators, and students through the principles of beer and food pairing. Read More

Craft Beer & Cheese Interactions Guidelines

With help from the American Cheese Society, we’ve put together a beer pairing guide for six of the most common varieties of cheese. View and download the guide now. Read More

Interactive Beer Tasting Worksheets

These beer tasting worksheets take you through tasting common beer styles alongside common food ingredients to allow you to quickly form generalizations about common interactions between beer and food. View and download the beer tasting worksheets now to learn more about beer and food pairings. Read More

Beer Tasting Mat

This simple beer tasting mat helps you keep your beer samples organized and tasting notes organized. View and download the tasting mat now. Read More

Beer Tasting Sheet

This beer tasting sheet helps you analyze the main characteristics of beer, including appearance, aroma and mouthfeel. Read More

Best of Beer & BBQ

A panel of brewers from areas with rich barbecue cultures discuss what makes their BBQ unique. From traditional regions like Kansas City, St. Louis and Austin to lesser-known areas such as Hawaii and Kentucky, the brewers will make their case for whose is the best. Each brewer will pair one of their beers with BBQ from a restaurant in their home region. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Beer Dinner Epiphanies

There’s more to putting on a successful beer dinner than meets the eye. Complement your SAVOR experience by attending a mini beer dinner hosted by Julia Herz, craft beer program director of the Brewers Association and co-author of the CraftBeer.com Beer & Food Course, Jeremy Cowan, founder of Schmaltz Brewing Company, and Doug Constantiner, brewer for Societe Brewing Company. Learn how to plan beer dinners, how to approach a test tasting, how to pick a theme, how to incorporate beer ingredients into your meal, and gain a better understanding of pairing practices, all while working through a three course mini-meal that is sure to impress and inspire. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Urban Creole vs. Rural Cajun: Comparing Traditions through Beer

Bayou Teche Brewing and NOLA Brewing Company present an inside look at Louisiana’s Creole and Cajun cultures. The two breweries will share stories and traditions through regional foods and beers, explaining the differences between the two. Each brewery will present special release beers that are only available in their home regions. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Pairing Craft Beer with American Food: The Growth Years

This Salon will explore 25 years of pairing craft beer with American foods, focusing on the period of great growth in American cuisine between 1990-2000, and the role that culinary education played in that development. Principles of pairing, the process of flavor discovery and cooking with beer will be discussed. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Advanced Beer and Cheese Pairings

Virginia’s Adroit Theory Brewing Company focuses on esoteric ales in very small batches. Hear about how they rely on non-traditional brewing methods and barrel aging to achieve liquid perfection. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Boston Beer Presents: Beer vs. Red

Join Samuel Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch and brewer Jennifer Glanville as they discuss the parallels and differences between red wine and beer when paired with food. More and more, drinkers are appreciating craft beer in the same way they would a fine wine (e.g., smelling, tasting and attending to proper pouring) and are using full-flavored beers as an alternative to red wine in cooking and food pairings. Jim and Jennifer will address how beer and red wine interplay with grilled steak, dark chocolate and cheese and demonstrate how craft beer is the perfect complement to a wide range of food. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Cooking with Hops

Throughout history, people have been cooking with hops. One of the greatest chefs ever, Auguste Escoffier, writes about using hops shoots as a vegetable. The bitterness of the hops can balance out the sweetness or fat in a dish. In addition to adding bitterness, hops can afford an herbaceous or spicy note. Professor Douglass Miller from the Culinary Institute of America and Chuck Bassford of Brooklyn Brewery will do a tasting of sweet and savory food dishes that utilize hops. The dishes will be paired with a variety of beers from Brooklyn Brewery. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Flying Dog Brings the HEAT: An intimate look at how hot peppers are spicing up craft beer

Flying Dog brewmaster Matt Brophy is a hothead. He’s always been fascinated by the distinct types of heat that individual peppers impart on food. Naturally, that fascination (and now expertise) found its way into beer. Matt walks through the recipe development process and what ingredients their brewers look for to balance each pepper. He’s joined by Ed Currie, CEO and mad scientist behind PuckerButt Pepper Company, and Thom Toth, founder, president, and chief sauceologist at Voodoo Chile Sauces, who will speak to the dynamics of peppers, spice, and the relative scale of heat. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Craft Beer & Girl Scout Cookies 

There’s more to putting on a successful beer dinner than meets the eye. Learn how to plan beer dinners, approach a test tasting, pick a theme, incorporate beer ingredients into your meal, and gain a better understanding of pairing practices. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Beer as Dessert

Join Stone Brewing craft beer ambassador and Certified Cicerone® Bill Sysak as he discusses Master Pairings concepts and his belief that craft beer can pair with any food in the world, even Girl Scout cookies. Bill will offer ideas to create your own pairings and also explore the versatility of craft beer when it comes to pairings other than food, such as whiskey and cigars. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Developing the SAVOR Menu

Ever wondered what goes into creating the SAVOR menu and trying to pair food with 176 different beers? This salon is your chance to find out from the chefs behind SAVOR: An American Craft Beer and Food Experience. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Pairings with The Red Hen & Country Boy Brewing

Join Kentucky’s Country Boy Brewing founder Daniel Harrison as he teams up with Mike Friedman of DC restaurant The Red Hen to offer attendees a look at regionally inspired craft beers and food pairings. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Flavor Components in Beer

This chart takes a look at common flavors people experience when tasting craft beer, what causes them, and if they should or shouldn’t be present in a particular beer style. View and download now. Read More

Beer Flavors Six Pack

This sheet overviews the six major flavor profiles in craft beer. Common flavors found in these profiles ultimately help you build your beer and food pairing knowledge. Read More

What’s Wrong With My Beer?

This handy chart looks at some common flaws caused by the mishandling of beer. Learn what to look for and why these flaws occur. Read More

Deconstructing Craft Beer

In this video, CraftBeer.com’s Julia Herz deconstructs the beverage of craft beer by explaining ingredients, statistics (SRM, IBU, ABV), and perception. Read More

Tasting Craft Beer

In this video, CraftBeer.com's Julia Herz walks you through the steps of tasting a craft beer. She'll show you how to evaluate aesthetics, aromatics, and mouthfeel to get a well-rounded beer tasting experience. Read More

The Evolution of Style: Vintage Tastings with Rogue & New Holland

Some beer just keeps getting better with age. Join us for an intimate sampling of more than three decades of vintage brews from Rogue Ales and New Holland Brewing Company. Both breweries will showcase some of their favorite products and share insight into the aging process. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

A History of Wood Aged Beer

Join New Belgium brewmaster Peter Bouckaert—co-author of a 2016 Brewers Publications title on wood- and barrel-aged beers—in exploring the intimate role wood has played in the history of beer. Peter will discuss the incredible flavors and attributes that wood can impart on beer, dive into various historical wood aging techniques and explain why wood remains an exciting ingredient today. He will be showcasing beers that each display the results of a different wood aging technique. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Sour Families: A Tasting of Sour Beers Aged in Different Spirits Barrels

Allagash brewmaster Jason Perkins will guide tasters through an exploration of how residual spirits in barrels can impart a variety of different flavors in similar sour base beers. Jason will showcase extremely small production beers with limited availability, a few of which have not yet been sold commercially. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Farm to Bottle: We Grow Beer

No farm, no beer. The incredible growth of craft brewing in the U.S. and around the world has led to explosive demand for new hop varieties as well as high quality malted barley. Learn about the importance of relationships with farmers and the specialty suppliers that provide craft brewers access to the ingredients necessary to make the beers we all want to drink. Get an in-depth look at the most sought-after hops and malt and sample a variety of Lagunitas beers to taste the differences resulting from the raw materials. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Hops for Heroes: 10 Breweries, 1 Cause

Hops for Heroes was created in 2011 by craft breweries that wanted to team up and support our men and women of the armed forces. The result is Homefront IPA, a beer aged on Louisville Slugger maple bats, proceeds from the sales of which go to a military charity each year. This year, 10 craft breweries are participating in Hops for Heroes, including Center of the Universe Brewing Co., Cigar City Brewing, Fremont Brewing and Maui Brewing Company who will be at SAVOR to discuss the Hops for Heroes project and the importance of craft brewery collaborations for charity, and to sample various versions of the beer. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

A Collaboration of Barrel-Aged Wild and Sour Ales

Upland Brewing Company and Yazoo Brewing Company discuss their barrel-aged wild yeast and sour ale programs. Both breweries will present one of their wild/sour beers paired with a regional food dish, as well as reveal a collaboration beer blended from beers produced at the separate breweries. The breweries will provide an exploration into the sour beer brewing process and sours’ unique flavor characteristics. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

IPAs Across the Country

Hoppy beer lovers always enjoy a good comparison and exploration of differences between coastal IPAs. But now that many “Mid-Coast” breweries are fully immersed in the beer style as well, how has the category evolved? Join brewmasters from Coronado Brewing Company, Boulevard Brewing Company and Flying Dog Brewery as they dissect the most popular beer style in the U.S., while enjoying their favorite charcuterie and cheese pairing with their own brewery’s IPA selection. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Cold Gold: Award-Winning Lager Beer

Lagers are the most-consumed style of beer in the world. Today’s craft brewers are putting their own spin on the classic style and creating intensely flavorful lager beers. Virginia’s Devils Backbone Brewing Company and Pennsylvania’s Troegs Brewing Company showcase their gold medal winning lagers and describe the lagering process. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Grain and Grape Fermentations

Grapes and grains have been combined in fermented beverages since the dawn of the civilization. In fact the oldest known (based on botanical evidence) fermented beverage in the world was discovered in the Jiahu province and contained sake yeast, sake rice, honey and white grapes. American craft breweries have revived the traditions of combining these ingredients to create intensely flavorful and complex beers. Join Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Schlafly Beer as they discuss beer and wine hybrids and each present two of these beers from their arsenal. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Hop State New York

Brewery Ommegang is helping to reenergize the New York State hop farming industry. Ommegang partnered with local farmers and developed Hopstate NY, an American pale ale using only state-grown hops. Ommegang brewer Eric Van Schoick discusses the collaboration with hop farmers and Cornell College to craft beers with hops from the brewery’s own back yard. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

SAVOR Collaboration Beer

This year’s SAVOR commemorative beer comes from a collaboration between Baltimore’s Heavy Seas Beer and Philadelphia’s Yards Brewing Company. Both breweries have strong ties to British brewing traditions, traditions that are reflected in their Philtimore Collaboration Ale, which also features an American twist to the beer. Hear the story behind the beer, taste it before anyone else and try additional beers from each brewery. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Ninkasi Space Program: The Mission to Make Space Beer

Eugene, Oregon’s Ninkasi Brewing Company has boldly gone where no brewery has gone before. They launched yeast into space hoping it would survive the g-force leaving Earth’s atmosphere, the cold weightlessness of space and the hot and hard re-entry to Earth—all in the name of science (that is, making beer with it). Learn about the trials and tribulations of the Ninkasi Space Program and taste the resulting out-of-this-world beer, Ground Control Imperial Stout, along with other offerings. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Little Breweries with Big Flavors

While you may or may not have heard of 4 Hands Brewing Co., FATE Brewing Company, MobCraft Beer or Right Proper Brewing Company, that doesn’t mean they aren’t crafting quality beers full of flavor. Learn about each of these up-and-coming breweries and their unique station within the brewing community. Sample a limited release offering from each as you discover some new favorite breweries. Read More

Presented at Savor 2015

Getting Bigger but Keeping it Small

Oskar Blues Brewery was the first brewery to put craft beer in a can and has continued to grow exponentially since. While it has added a brewery in North Carolina and has one in the works in Texas, Oskar Blues has never forgotten its roots and the place that started it all. Hear how a growing brewery can still manage to keep that small-town feel. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Foeder Beer: A Search for Delicious

Perennial Artisan Ales of St. Louis and Right Proper Brewing Co. of Washington, DC both use large oak foeders as a conduit for the expression of their house mixed-fermentation cultures. The goal is character-filled beers with layers of complexity and charm. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Fruit Beers vs. Fruit Flavored Beers

A fruit beer is defined as a beer fermented with fruit. A fruit-flavored beer has been flavored after fermentation with a fruit concentrate or extract. Schlafly Beer and Hardywood Park Craft Brewery share examples of both and provide suggested food pairings. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Coopers Dance: Wood and Beer

Barrels, the ultimate container from the past, have made a comeback in brewing. Many brewers prefer used barrels to deemphasize the wood flavor and explore flavors from previous fillings. Maintenance of used barrels is a beautiful art that brewers are having to relearn. The simple yet complex nature of this skill will be demonstrated by Peter Bouckaert and Dick Cantwell, authors of the new book “Wood & Beer” published by Brewers Publications. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

20 Years with Coronado & Stone

Coronado Brewing Company and Stone Brewing are both celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2016, and have teamed up to brew a 20th-anniversary small-batch collaboration beer released at this SAVOR tasting salon. The panel will revisit the history of San Diego’s beer scene and discuss how it has influenced craft beer globally. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

A Confluence of Visual and Liquid Art

What did the first beers brewed in America taste like? Join Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and “Brewing Local” author Stan Hieronymus as they provide insight into the beers Native Americans had been making for hundreds of years before Columbus arrived. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

A Journey through 30 Years of Craft Beer

Join brewery owner and co-founder Patrick Conway as he provides a retrospective of craft beer over the last 30 years through story and beer. He’ll relive the early days of craft beer, talk about changing consumer tastes and discuss what it takes to keep up in today’s current market. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Allagash & Deschutes: Beers Inspired from Local Terroir

Join Allagash and Deschutes for an intimate session to introduce the special, one-time-only SAVOR symposium collaboration beer, showcasing local ingredients from both regions. You’ll also hear about sustainable agriculture practices. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

All Things Trappist 

Join Father Isaac Keeley of The Spencer Brewery for an insider’s look into America’s only Trappist brewery. Learn how St. Joseph’s Abbey has brought centuries-old monastery brewing to today’s world. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

Nitro Beers with Sam Adams founder Jim Koch

Join Samuel Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch as he discusses the Sam Adams Nitro Project. Attendees will have the chance to learn about the science behind nitrogenated beers. Read More

Presented at Savor 2016

CraftBeer.com Flavor Triangle

The CraftBeer.com Flavor Triangle demonstrates that flavor is more than just taste, it's a combination of taste, aroma and sensation on the palate that all work together to create an intensity that you perceive. Read More

Dark Beer Myths Debunked

CraftBeer.com's Julia Herz debunks three myths surrounding darker-colored beer styles like porters and stouts and black ales. Don't be scared of the dark--beer color is not an indicator of a beer's body, calorie content or alcohol level. Read More

Craft Beer Styles

With more 100 recognized world beer styles, it is helpful to learn what you should expect from a beer of a certain style, including: aroma, flavor, bitterness, alcohol ranges, color and carbonation. Read More

Flavor Components in Beer

This chart takes a look at common flavors experienced when tasting craft beer and what causes them as well as if they should or shouldn’t be present in a particular beer style. Read More

Draught Beer Quality Manual

The Draught Beer Quality Manual was written to help retailers consistently pour great beer and preserve profits through industry accepted best practices. Read More

Operators Guide to Receiving Beer

Use this checklist when accepting beer deliveries to help keep quality at the forefront of your distributor and in-house staff. Read More

Beer Aging Considerations for Retailers

This quick guide will help you decide which beers styles to age and what qualities to look for in beers that are the most likely to age well. Read More