Craft Beer Tastings and Corporate Events

The folks at John Zink Hamworthy Combustion wanted to do something different for their customer appreciation event. The event would take place on the last night of the Power Gen Conference held at the Rosen Hotel / Orlando Convention Center in Orlando Florida. The company does this each year and wanted more then the some old bar table and foods. Working with the hotel staff and the corporate group at John Zink a fun event was put together. Six craft beers were brought in for the occasion and a caricature artist added to the fun. My table proved to be one of the most popular of all the groups presenting that night. It was set up with beer realted handouts and breweriana. There was plenty of beer available and great sampling glasses provided. The hotel provided a bartender to pour the beers and I stood outside with the customers and answered many questions about craft beer, it's history and the growth of the industry in general. All questions were answered satisfactorily and people left the table with new knowledge of craft beer. I also created the invitation and poster for the event. The caricature artist added to the fun; mine is to the left. Overall the event went well and it could be done again next year. There are several photos on the GBL FB page and the event poster is HERE.

This event was held at the Eggersmann USA showroom at DCOTA in Dania. The event was on 'Kitchen Day' when all the kitchen showrooms had special events. The theme was all things German; beer, foods and kitchens. Working together with the Eggersmann staff this event turned out great. There were over 15 different German beers; most paired with the various foods at the event. To start the event I gave a short history of German beer including mentioning Reinheitsgebot the German Beer Purity law. The law states that beer can only contain 4 ingredients: water, malted barley, (or wheat) hops and yeast. All the beers at the event were brewed following this law. There were 4 food items with several beers paired with each. Roast Beef and Horseradish on Brioche paired with Helles Lager and Pilsner. Veal Meatballs Beer Braised with Weissbier and Kolsh. German Sausage and Potato Skewers paired with Dunkel and Schwatrzbier. Black Forest Ham with apple Beer Butter paired with several Dopplebocks and Oktoberfest. Some favorite beers form the event: Weihenstephaner Helles, Schneider Edelweisse, Bischoff Black Lager, Spaten “Optimator” Dopplebock (with Ayinger "Celebrator" also enjoyed) and Spaten Oktoberfest. The Aecht Schienkerla Rauchbiers (smoked beers) interested many as well. Overall the event went well; people tried beers then came back for favorites later. The attendance was great and everyone had a good time. Eggersmann hopes to do something similar again. Event photos on my Facebook Page. View my original invitation and event page.

The Floridean is a local, well respected, rehabilitation center. They offer many different activities for patients, treating them like guests in their home. Once a month, there is a "Lunch and Learn" session in the on - site dining room. The purpose is to give people a chance to do something different and learn about new things. On October 12th, the subject was 'Discover the Wonderful World of Beer presented by Beer Expert Larry Goeser'. The menu was set up as a beer and food pairing; the staff really got into it too. Each course was paired with a beer of my choosing. Several of the dishes were cooked with beer. There were five beers presented; several seasonals and reliable regulars. The Oktoberfest and Pumpkin Ale really went over well. I would talk about each pairing and then ask people how they liked it. Several thought it was great and one told me "You have a different outlook on the world than most." I took it as a compliment and management was pleased with the event. See photos from the latest event: Spring 2014 Website

The 33rd annual food and garden festival has garden and local cooking demonstrations on two weekend days in April. There is also a plant sale at the festival. My demonstration was on Saturday April 14 at 11:00 AM. The garden demo tent was set up with chairs for about 50 people. My lecture was on spring and summer beer styles. We had a fairly dry spring but not this morning. It rained overnight and for the early part of the morning. This didn't help attendance but, as it goes with me and beer, the rain stopped about an hour before the demo. My lecture started with a few people and finished up with the tent almost full. The latecomers kept asking beer questions which held up the next plant demo which was running late anyway. After introducing beer styles in general I then spoke about the different styles of spring and summer. Spring styles include Maibock, Lager, Belgian Amber Ale, Red Ale, Irish Dry Stout and Wheat Beers. Summer styles are Hefeweizen (German wheat beer), Belgian Wit, Pilsner, Helles (German Light Beer), Kolsch, Blonde ale and Lagers. The beer sampling area was now officially open and the group was able to try most of the styles they had learned about. Festival Website - also links to current events at the garden.