Suzanne Woods: I'm sipping on a De Dolle Special Reserva 2006.
Whitney Thompson: I'm currently enjoying a 2010 750mL bottle of Iron Hill West Chester Saison, goes great with my lunch (and so many foods!).
CL: Suzanne, you have quite an amazing 'beer palate' - winning this year's Mystery Beer blind-taste competition at the Memphis Taproom by correctly identifying 27 of 30 beers. How does one train their taste buds to be so sharp? Are there techniques we can all work on to hone our own tasters into shape?
SW: I've pretty much devoted the last 10 years of my life to beer. Everybody has their "thing" and I chose for my thing to be just that. They say women have more tastebuds then men, which gives them better palates. I am not sure if I believe that. I was just having a convo with Tom Peters and I agree with him that it's a mere matter of articulating what you're tasting, not gender specific. As far as tasting tricks, I'd pay attention to your surroundings constantly on a sensory level. Also - some beer experts suggest drinking wine from time to time then revisiting beer . . . how about that?
Reader: Whitney, can you tell me about the collaboration beer with Stone and Dogfish Head?
WT: Saison DuBuff is a super-cool collaboration with Victory, Dogfish and Stone breweries. The brewmasters have been teaming up at each location to make this herbaceous brew on-site and Victory's brewery is the next stop! On June 10, Bill Covaleski, Sam Calagione & Greg Koch will be at Victory to brew the Buff in the morning, and will be joining fans for lunch and happy hour on the same day. Reader: Suz and Whitney, what do you make of all these collaboration beers? Are they just a marketing gimmick or a sign of camaraderie in a competitive world?
