Holiday Beer & Food Pairings for the Season from our Certified Cicerone™

Our very own Director of Marketing has some thoughts to share on pairing seasonal beers with seasonal foods. For today's pairing suggestions, Ben give us his best Certified Cicerone™ thoughts on what to pair with Saisons, pumpkin beers, and holiday ales which fit this time of year all too well.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The weather has changed and parts of the country are about to see their first snowfall. It’s time to fatten up for the winter. May as well do it in style. Right?

This is a great time of year for both food and beer. It’s not too hot to enjoy something hearty or spicy and it isn’t too cold that a frosty beer seems out of the question. There are great new vegetables popping their heads up at the farmers market and all of those malty holiday ales are starting to hit the shelves at the local bodega. So, where do we begin? As with any classic tasting, let’s go light to dark.

Six Questions on Becoming a Certified Cicerone

The word Cicerone (pronounced sis-uh-rohn) has been chosen to designate those with proven expertise in selecting, acquiring and serving today’s wide range of beers ... Only those who have passed the requisite test of knowledge and tasting skill can call themselves a Cicerone. -- Cicerone.org

Tomorrow is another round of the Certified Cicerone® exam in Southern California and we look forward to supporting this organization by offering up our conference room to host the testing. Our very own Patrick Rue and Director of Marketing Benjamin Weiss are both Certified Cicerones® so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to ask Ben a couple questions about becoming a Cicy!