Every year, for the last seven, I've had the distinct pleasure to presenting beverage and chocolate pairing sessions at the venerable Oregon Chocolate Festival. With my hat off to the founder and brilliant colleague, Karolina, it was this year – the 7th anniversary for me – that just transpired, deliciously.
A few of the delicious DAGOBA chocolate we featured at the fest sessions.
As promised to my sold out Saturday session and my fabulous Sunday guests, here's the menu we savored.
I hadn't thought to offer this as a warm up to the pairing menu before; so this year, I did. Wow. What a way to welcome chocolate to the chops! These two in specific are quite astringent and eye-opening. They aren't designed to be snackers – and they aren't. It was enlightening to taste them with my guests, to reset and refresh what exactly bittersweet and unsweetened chocolates taste like, to keep their profile in mind when using them in cooking.
It was the first year there was an alcohol free beverage in the mix. When I went to the DAGOBA showroom in Ashland to secure the chocolates, Jill (showroom manager + most excellent colleague) reminded me they carry plenty of chocolate AND other complementary goodies. As a tea drinker, I bought a tin of this tea, took it home, tried it and decided that it would be in the menu.
Is this a great (crazy) crew, or what!!??
What a fun surprise the final menu is for me, every year. I want to provide guests with unique flavor mixes and ideas. To that end, I believe I was successful.
The guests make the party – thanks to everyone who joined me. Apologies to the folks we turned away on Saturday (100 seats were full before we started!). Please come again next year – earlier, as well you can join us on Sundays. There are sometimes available seats then.
I'll wrap with BIG THANKS to my venerable and unflagging chocolate partner, DAGOBA. From the first year where, 20 minutes before my session I was combing the floor, asking people I'd never met before if they'd like me to feature their chocolate, they've generously given.
Enjoy tastings and pairings, mixing and matching as you and your taste buds find fun. Props to my crew who helped me taste in advance, helping the winners this year rise to the menu, letting the not-so-hot test pairings quietly disappear.
With a nod to the Ancient Mariner, one of the very best aspects of beer is flavor – hands (and pints) down. And one of the reasons is that we all enjoy flavor.
Do we all enjoy the same flavors? Oh goddess, no! That's not important. What is important to is to enjoy beer and the beer community for all it offers, all beer flavors and characters included.
In my travels and adventures of beverage and food, I frequently lead beer and food pairings – often beer and chocolate. This eye-opening and often unexpected partnership of two everyday goodies is met with skepticism and enthusiasm. "Really, we're going to have chocolate with beer?" Yes, really. Here's why.
Beer's grain bill – the actual grains in the beer recipe – has so many affiliations with flavors in various chocolates. In fact, since they both have a prominent base ingredient (beer = grain, chocolate = cocoa), they are naturally set up to deliciously co-exist. While I may sound bias, I can tell you that the light bulbs I see go on in a room experiencing beer and chocolate make the effort so incredibly worthwhile.
Teaching to flavor, opening minds by starting with our palate is gratifying and satisfying. Gratifying because there are always people in the room who have epiphanies. Voila! "Whoa – who knew??!!" reactions that in turn make me grin. Satisfying because I get to refresh my taste buds with beer and chocolate at the same time, thereby renewing the joy of flavor exploration.
Join us January 11th as the fine Fermenta folks and I host a lively educational event at gracious host Arcadia Ales in Kalamazoo. I'll be giving the talk, HerStory: The Story of Women & Beer, with the bonus goodies of fresh beer, Dagoba chocolate and Rogue Creamery cheese. Bring your open mind and open palate, good humor and a friend. Space is limited so register today.
See you soon in the Great State of Michigan for a flavor filled night. Cheers till then!
this article was originally written for Fermenta, 2017.
Ditch the Appetizers, Sell them Beer.
Why do so many places feel compelled to cut into the already thin margins of food as attractant for business for 'happy hour' or other reduced price events?
This practice makes no sense – in fact it can only damage the business. And never mind reducing prices on beer. That's sacrilege in real life. Good grief.
Here's what we need to all focus on: VALUE.
Value is the worth we place on some thing, experience and all other whatevers in our lives.
Are they worth our time? Our money? Our attention? Our repeat business? Our talking about them? Our sharing them? Our buying them to give as gifts?
Value is what matters most.
Value is the true proposition we can all embrace and really sit back and ponder. It's how we perceive worth. It's also a smart business practice: to price on value.
For instance, I don't offer my services by the hour – that's simply encouraging the practitioner to keep you in the loop for longer to make more money. Is that really an ethical idea? No. Is taking care of your customers within one project rate better? Absolutely. Will you sometimes spend more time and others spend less in accomplishing what you agree to do? Yes, and it all evens out in time.
Appetizers are teasers. They warm up our palate and theoretically get our (literal) juices flowing to entice us to order more food. Is offering a reduced price appetizer the best way to get people to come to your business? It may get them in but it won't keep them. There's no value in discounting.
Don't ask for a reduced price and don't offer one. Offer value, in all ways, all the time.
Beer deserves to be a full value for everyone, all the time. Get the appetizers, order a beer and simply let it all be.
There was a time when we simply described things as they were: carrots, beer, cars, songs. Hot cold, spicy, bland, fizzy, flat, red, blue and green.
Now it feels very different to me. Words like craft, artisan, farmhouse, and custom are bandied about with a carefree nonchalance that the most hardened foodie may find appalling.
And to what end? Are all these words used in context to what we put into our mouth merited? Does it truly matter to you where they came from or is it trendy? Said another way, do you think you need to be aware and care or do we fundamentally and genuinely care? Do we use the words because they really matter or because we're keeping up with the organic-farm-eating Jones'? Here's a few food words to consider.
Paired is a "craft beer + food" event offered to attendees of the Great American Beer Festival, fall every September. What was once titled Farm to Table is now Paired. Why the switch of the name, is my first question. Are we in a day and age where single glib or seemingly gravitational words are how we want to sum up an entire experience? Do we want the feeling of something or do we want to enjoy the literal fruits of someone else's labor? Farm to Table is straight forward and descriptive.
Don't get me wrong: the Paired event is quite a show. The host organization, The Brewers Association, has deemed me worthy of a media pass several years, for which I'm grateful. Trappings of that badge include admittance to this event. Any time I get to eat with drink I'm happy. The planning and effort that goes into this one event, for example, looks to be a remarkable undertaking. Kudos.
So let's look at the menu. Read one way, we can safely say it's chock full of learning opportunity! An overflow of words that are new to me, so no doubt a collection of new vocab to others as well. Take for instance: rillette, mignonette, tataki, fromage fort, taleggio, membrillo, fish headcheese, chorizo seco, duck pipian, loukaniko...and on it goes. A crash course in Italian and French in many ways. Cool! I love to learn so there's a build in homework option.
And if we're looking at keeping it real and every day, this isn't the event for you. I honestly think that someone looking for everyday food they cook (in a broad general sense) would not fully enjoy or appreciate. Words that are unfamiliar and to some unpronounceable don't really engender new ideas; they engender fear of mispronunciation and sometimes, due to that, simple avoidance.
I've found the best way to navigate this event is to simply wander and ask lots of questions. The crews present are always very knowledgeable and it's a good way to make new connections. Simply know that the next person in line will likely also ask some of the same questions of the crew. It's gotta be a long repetitive day, and that's what this is about: meeting, talking & educating on a redundant soundtrack to help people learn more about what they are eating, beverage paired with food.
To that end it's a smash. Again, I enjoy it. I also find that by the time I'm ready to go all I want is a plate full of one food I know and recognize and to fill up on with a full glass of beer.
Have we taken the beer & food pairing too far?
Likely it'll get pushed farther still. So be it. For me it's about knowing what I'm getting into, embracing it for what it is – Italian lessons beforehand be damned – and then coming out the other side. Enlightened, fuller and perhaps more curious, "Woman overboard!" an infrequent call.
Are you a professional and in some way selling or marketing beverages to women?
Do you want more high-value customers?
Do you understand the value of both building more long-term customers AND professional development for you and your team?
Then call Ginger today at 515.450.7757 to register for your seats at this exclusive event.
Please join us for cocktail & beer hour + hors d'oeuvres between 5 and 6 pm. The program will start promptly at 6 pm. We recommend you arrive by 5:45 to settle in.
Agenda of The Evening: Based on the newly published book, How To Market Beer To Women: Don't Sell Me A Pink Hammer, this singular groundbreaking-book seminar is designed for beverage pros who want to develop and hone their customer service and selling skills. The program will go through specifics in the book, you take note and makes notes in your copy of the book, and walk out of the event with Real Useful New Insight to apply to best sell beer to women.
This seminar is designed for beverage and beer brands, brand representatives, beverage marketers and operators, distributors and importers, retailers and restaurants and bars that sell 21+ beverages.
You get a custom menu 3-course delicious dinner prepared exclusively for you, for this event. Our fine friends at Immortal Spirits are planning a menu to include beverage and food for each course. It's one of my Third Places and they make stellar spirits and pour delicious beers.
Why Should You Attend: Because women buy 75-85% of all goods & services in America. Because you want to sell more beverages. Everyone who sells adult beverages needs women. Women want these drinks. This exclusive seminar connects the dots, giving your company a competitive advantage over those who do not attend.
SEATS ARE VERY LIMITED. Call today to reserve your seats (payment in full saves your seats; registrations are non-refundable once purchased.) And frankly: you should be there if you're in the business.
Investment: You'll more than recoup your entry fee of only $99 per person. The ROI will happen quickly when you apply what you learn at this seminar and from the book in totality.
If you love your beverage, if you want to sell more, if you respect women as the world's most powerful market then plan on joining me for this incredibly high value event.
The videos we've been posting get you started…reserving your seats assures your increased success. Talk soon.
Julia's a wise and savvy person. And I agree with her entirely.
We all have the power & tools to be better.
I know we can do better to invite women into beer. I know we can do better to describe beer flavors and attributes. I know we can do better to explore pairings of beer and food together. I know women can pull a chair up to the table to get involved. I know beer brands must be fully respectful to everyone they wish to sell beer to. I know we can do better in so many ways.
Doing better means you have to have a mark in which to see what 'better' means.
So if we think, say, pairing beer and pizza is good, I'd say – we can do better. Let's look at focusing in from the way too generic Beer and Pizza to something like Porter and Crimini Mushroom Pizza. That's better.
To pair beer and cheese: we can do better by pairing not just any beer and any cheese. We can use a great resource like Janet Fletcher's Cheese & Beer book to educate ourselves and learn to match flavors.
To market beer: we can do better by universally assuming full respect for all people, all makes, models, identifications and preferences. Who cares what all those 'things' are when what the human population simply craves togetherness. Let's do better by getting together over what is universal: flavor.
We can do better. And we can do a bit better every day. In the interest of continually improvement, we can all do better when we realize that doing better makes the world better too.
Doing better means one thoughtful action at a time, adjusted to be better. Try it. Have fun, see improvements domino.
Julie is right. And that lesson is on my mind a lot these days since I've got a variety of non-beer (focused, yet included) work coming up soon.
The Texas Restaurant Association is one such audience. It's a thrill to be returning to the nation's second largest restaurant industry show to talk about marketing, beer, and business.
Julie's quote above will help guide me to success as I keep a few things in mind.
All of us in business need marketing guidance; no matter where our beer education is.
Beer has much to teach us in the business world, like how important it is to savor the experience.
Marketing is critical to success of all kinds, no matter tax-status or locale or size of business entity.
When I head to Houston in a few weeks, I'll be delivering a few talks: Beyond the Deep Fryer Better Beer & Food Pairing for Better Business Success as well as What's New Right Now? in craft beverage.
Clearly the titles have been set…and to paraphrase my friend Marti, I'm ready to direct the talk where ever the best direction seems to be, outline or not. The audience always knows more of what they want to know, than I can surmise. So it's really important to me – as an educational speaker – to take care of the questions they brought with them. I can always send a follow-up outline to attendees afterwards.
The show hosts thousands and thousands of people, hundreds upon hundreds of vendors, and dozens of speakers & events. It's important to me – as it is the attendees – to invest our time wisely and give & get what will provide value and meaning.
Beer invariably infiltrates talks I give, including my TED talk. I bring it into the conversation because it's part of who I am. And I'm aware that the TRA crowd will be interested insofar as whatever beer insight I give them will help them improve and build their businesses.
I could talk about marketing all day long – I love it. The TRA Marketplace is be an ideal opportunity to integrate, overlap and connect the dots. Sound hospitality business includes smart marketing; if you hold a license to serve, then knowing about beer and how it affects your success is also important. I combine both, for varied audiences, with success.
Speaking is an activity and work I truly love. Making sure the audience can relate and find useful takeaways is my goal. Call me when I may be at your service in this capacity. 'Tis always a pleasure.
A few years ago I introduced CAMFA, a beer learning concept I based on 5 elements of enjoying beer: Color, Aroma, Mouthfeel, Flavor, and Alcohol.
As we head full on into summer, I'd encourage you to use this fun, easy & memorable concept to fully enjoy your beer.
Color. Color is only color. Said another way, it's not flavor so lets your taste buds speak to flavor, leave the color for your eyes only (, James).
Aromaaaaahhhhhh! It's one of the most delightful and oft overlooked elements of beer – aroma. Really breathe it in. It's lovely to smell your beer.
Mouthfeel, aka Texture. Mouthfeel is that surreptitious friend who enables us to really get our oral sensory receptors fully engaged. Put them to work.
Flavor, aka Taste. Flavor is the number one reason women engage in beer (WEB research 2008 – present). Learn to try every beer you have opportunity to do so.
Alcohol. Moderation is Alcohol best friend and is ours too. Beers full glory can be best appreciated when it's consumed and therefore enjoyed in a modest fashion.
Enjoy your summer schooling in beer with CAMFA. I'd love to get your "What I Did This Summer" essay come fall – send 'em my way! And tell me all about your beer, CAMFA adventures.
What The &%$! Is It??
So true. We can often identify that something may be 'off' yet we can put our taste buds, olfactory or brain on precisely what we think is wrong. Or we can't name the flavor we're trying to isolate. Or we can't remember where we've smelled that aroma before.
Smell & taste education = fun!
It's all part of the learning curve in beer and all things gustatory.
Here's the key: Keep learning.
Self-education combined with outside education is the answer to all improvement and progress. We can't learn it all ourselves – and to think we can would only be fooling yourself. The smartest people around know that they must keep learning from others. They proactively pursue what they don't know and surround themselves with people who know what they don't.
And why would you want to?! Half the fun and magic of education is when you get to do it with other people who are also turned onto the idea of learning.
Think of it this way: the last time you really enjoyed any type of presentation, what did you enjoy about it? The more we enjoy it, the more we remember. The more we remember, the higher the value and impression of the experience.
So get out there. Find a class, host a class, take a class, and invite friends or plan to go solo to meet new folks.
Education makes the world go 'round. I'll drink to that!
Ninkasi's Believer Red has long been a beer that makes me smile. Yes, it's delicious. More importantly I really like the philosophy around the name: Believer.
We all want to believe in something and last night I made believers of new beer & chocolate tasters. April's quote, my host of last nights event, nails it: remove your prejudice and simply fall into the possibilities.
Beer: Just Add Chocolate to pair.
As part of the annual Oregon Chocolate Festival, I deliver lively & tasty "Beer & ____" sessions each year. This year – my 5th year doing so – I also introduced what I dubbed the ClassPort. Everyone who attended all three of my tasting sessions over the course of the Friday – Sunday weekend event was eligible to win a complimentary private beer & chocolate tasting; they got their ClassPort stamped at each class.
Three people dedicated themselves to the task (!) and I ended up giving away 3 sessions. Why not!? They made the time and participated, I love engaged guests, and it's fun all the way around.
Last night I delivered the first of the three private tastings to 8 game and mostly unfamiliar-to-this-concept folks. Suffice to say minds were changed!
Here's what I find are 3 of the consistent surprises when people put beer and chocolate together.
Most people have never even thought of putting beer and chocolate together, never mind attended an actual planned tasting event. The element of Surprise & Delight is on my side!
The tasting first of the beer alone, then the chocolate alone, then the two together is a good pattern for the S & D factor. "Wow! Who Knew? Really??" are all rallying exclamations from guests.
Since beer is so incredibly diverse, it's easy to blow minds multiple times with however many courses you choose to feature. I planned 3 last night (menu below).
The next time you think of beer, think of chocolate.
The next time you think of chocolate, think of beer.
Then invite some friends over and make some new believers out of them.
Oh – and Ninkasi beers, by the way, make great choices. I've featured them many a'time with success. Choose the beers and chocolates you like, mix and match, and simply have fun exploring.
I'm looking forward to seeing you at our new class: Chocolate in the Kitchen. It's a 3 part series of demo classes to fill you up with ideas on how,where, and when to include chocolate and cocoa in your cooking adventures. Simple, lively, fun and tasty. You're sure to walk away with loads of ideas and meet other terrific new people.
Dress comfortably and know it's a cozy space. I recommend you bring a water bottle – we'll have some tea available too.
Chocolate In The Kitchen – ideas aplenty!
Since the classes are during the dinner hour for many, feel free to bring snacks as you wish. We'll have you taste & nibble, though it's not a full meal.
Please call me to reserve your seat/s. You can print off and mail all necessary information below & send payment in for each person and we'll look forward to welcoming you in April.
Add more as desired – NOTE: we have room for 8 guests total. You'll get confirmation when payment is received.
Payment can be made with checks (yep!) & cash.
Send registration and payment of $129 to: Ginger Johnson, 509 James Street, Talent OR 97540.
Payment for the class is due in full before April 10th to ensure we're ready for you – and ready we want to be for a great time.
I'll be glad to connect with you in person if you'd like to pay with cash. We're fine tuning online payments – my apologies for any inconvenience at this time!
Note: Once you buy the series, the seats are yours. Like a scheduled concert, you're welcome to pass your seat/s forward to someone else if you have a conflict with any of the dates once you pay (said another way, sorry – no refunds).
Thanks to those who are seeking this out do to your attending one of my sessions at the 12th annual Oregon Chocolate Festival. As a returning presenter, I'm very glad to share the menu + recipes (or links therein) so you can do this at home.
Of course, if you liked the presentation – if you like lively engaging entertainment period – call me for your own events. Business and home, private and public events are all fair (and fare) game.
In a medium saucepan, stir together the stout and browns sugar, then add cream and bring to a steady boil. Remove pan from heat, stir in chocolate till all melted. Keep warm to serve. Fresh fruit, biscuits, and cookies are all good dippers.
Grease an 8 x 8 pan with butter.
Combine: 1.5 c unrefined sugar, 2 T unsalted butter, .5 t salt, .5 c evaporated milk in a roomy saucepan over medium heat. Stir continually until boiling, lower heat slightly, and simmer & keep stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate until smooth. Add 2 t vanilla extract and stir again. Quickly pour into the pan, smoothing the surface as desired. Place in fridge for 1 – 2hours until firm. Cut & serve. Store in airtight container at room temp for up to 1 week.
Peel, quarter and core as many Bosc pears as desired. Chunk if desired (hint: more surface area = quicker cooking) Make sure they are just ripe, not overripe. Place them in a pot and add roughly 4 cups of barley wine + water so they are gently floating. Add mulling spices for extra flavor. Simmer until pierceable with a fork. Remove from heat, letting them cool down in the liquid. Place pear pieces in serving dishes, drizzle with Fast Fondue (above), garnish with fresh mint if desired. Serve.
Tip: Keep the liquid to keep cooking with.
I adapted the Gingerbread cookie recipe above, replacing fresh lemon & orange zest for the savory spices and cocoa. These cookies will cook best if the dough is chilled for .5 – 1 hour before scooping & cooking. I rolled the dough into fat logs to cut into coins for baking.
Both the Sour Cherry Jam & the Apricot Lemon Marmalade are from the excellent book, The Canning Kitchen, Amy Bronee. I highly recommend you buy it for the recipes.
and mingle. The previous venue is now too small for this ever-growing destination event.
It marked my fifth year presenting at this yummy Theobroma cacao saturated festival. Each year I've given lively & tasty beer and chocolate tastings. We've gone from a room that'll seat 30ish to a tent that seats 45/50ish to (now) a roomy room for 80+.
When people started coming in, 30 minutes before the sessions started, I knew we were in store for more incredible crowds of enthusiasts. I'm happy to report, every single person who was our guest at all three of the sessions was a pure pleasure to have in the room! I especially liked the multi generational families with offspring of varying ages.
With 22+ Friday night, 80 – 100+ Saturday afternoon, and 80 – 100 Sunday, it was a packed crazy good time had by all. Can't wait to return next year! I'm always humbled by guests who return to my sessions on purpose – so a special thanks to them all.
The sessions ran smooth in large part thanks to my exceptional (not exaggerating here) crew, starting with my second in command for the weekend, Russ. He's a service professional, kept it all going, gave directions to the hotel staff (who are always fantastic too!), and made my job easy. Hats off to my colleague and occasional assistant Stacy, equally competent, sharp and guest focused. The hotel staff & crew, management and security hired – all of them were smiling, helpful and fun to work in delicious harmony with and for.
Standing Stone* Chocolate Stout with chocolate gingerbread cookies & Dagoba** Lemonberry Zest chocolate.