Elite Experience: Beer School @Town & Country Distributing

I had a marvelous time at the Beer School at Town and Country Distributing is Itasca. The event was intimate — not as well attended as I would have expected. That could be due to the fact it started at 5PM, or it might have been the Hawk’s game. But, the intimacy made for a better time.
This was not a traditional Unilocal event. This was a classroom setting where there were multiple presenters talking about (wait for it…) craft beer. After learning some of the history of beer and a little about the nuances that distinguish different kinds, we had a tour of the warehouse. It was stressed — one million cases of beer were housed there. Wow.
One of the more fun aspects of this which brought it back to Unilocal was a discussion about how to pair beer with different foods. This stood out as the highlight of the event. I’m not sure who catered, and frankly, much of the food offered was off my diet, but it looked good. Each mini-​course was served with a different beer. Beers from light to full bodied, lagers and ales; even fruit flavored beer. (They paired a strawberry lager with a chocolate brownie.)
All in all a great time. Now, when I order a beer, I’ve learned to tell the difference between certain types. Clearly, you won’t be an expert after this, but I walked away with more knowledge of what to order and when.

Very cool event!
Education plus good food plus good beer?! …how can you go wrong?
The pairings were fantastic, the presenters were funny and knowledgable, and the insight into beer distribution was eye opening.
We did run over a bit, but probably due to the other party that was supposed to arrive not making it and us getting a late start. I do wish that the class covered the brewing process a bit better (or maybe slower and with examples), but considering the timing that may not have been an option. Maybe tipping the time scale for this would be better for a public audience vs a distribution audience, but I definitely can’t complain.
Big thanks to the presenters for a good time and staying a bit late! Just as big of a thanks to Town & Country Distributing for helping bring beer knowledge (and with it, good beer) to our great Chicagoland!

This class solidified my beer nerdiness. What an awesome course for anyone who wants to find out a little bit more about beer or go over what they already know! Granted, I do work for a competing distributor and should have given them a little grief, but this class is such an awesome concept that I would recommend it to anyone!
I could have easily spent another hour sitting at this class (which if they do offer a crash study course for the cicerone program I would most definitely attend). I mean I’m more than happy to sit around drinking and learning about beer!
Great food and beer pairings — especially that Boulevard IPA with spicy sausage! I am going to use that to impress some of my friends when they want to have a beer next time!

This event was hopping! Beery cool. Ok, I got it all out of my system. What a great opportunity to come see what a distributor is all about, take a tour, learn about beer and have some great food & beer pairing!
The class was very educational and I had a great time. Did you know Hoegaarden is pronounced WHO-​garden? Apparently, the phonetics is on the box, which I never see because I normally drink this beer onsite.
As an added bonus, they gave us a bottle of Southern Tier Mokah (stout brewed with chocolate and coffee) to take home!
Thanks Candice and Town & Country!