Not so fast: Christina Perozzi and Hallie Beaune would like a word with the distaff dispossessed, and the word is "flavor." Forget those pale, lifeless, low-cal lagers they call "chick beer," the two Southern Californians write in their new book, "The Naked Pint" (Perigee, $19.95) - today's new craft beers offer dynamic flavors that wine can never match.
Though their fun, well-written book will be enjoyed by both men and women just dipping into the craft-beer pool, Perozzi and Beaune's toes are decidedly clad in 5-inch stiletto heels.
Indeed, in a world where most beer geeks look like . . . well, me, Perozzi and Beaune are standouts.
Both have decent beer chops: Perozzi, named "best beer sommelier" by Los Angeles magazine, founded the popular Beer for Chicks blog. Beaune is the beer pro at Father's Office, in Santa Monica, Calif.
They proudly write that they built careers in beer without getting their T-shirts wet. Better yet, they take special glee in dumbfounding gawking guys with their hoppy knowledge.
"The ones who they think they know more than me," Perozzi told me in a phone conversation earlier this month, "those are the ones I like to have fun with."
Their advice ("How to Get the Beer You Want") reads like something out of Cosmopolitan.
First, know what you want. You might prefer an ale, but asking for an ale at a bar is like going onto Match.com and looking for brown-haired dates, they write. "If you do, every brown-haired freak under the sun is going to think you have extremely low standards . . .
"Like sex," they continue, "specifics are best. And also like sex, you probably know what you really like but are afraid to ask for it. . . . Some people are embarrassed about doing the 'dirty talk,' so practice in the mirror, look yourself in the eye and say, 'Nutty, chocolaty.' "
Sounds kinky.
