"Hey, you're a beer guy, right?"

"Information is not knowledge." Albert Einstein

Expertise, be it perceived, feigned or actual/factual, can certainly put one in a precarious position. When it seems like you know a lot about a subject, or have some kind of qualifications suggesting to the world that you SHOULD know a lot about a subject, people tend to test you on that knowledge on a regular basis. Medical practitioners get "heydoc'd" all the time - "hey doc, my knee hurts, think anythings wrong with it? hey doc, my back hurts, what kind of stretches should I do? hey doc, wanna check out this rash for me - we should go to my room though, I gotta take off a few layers for you to see it." Lawyers get a myriad of legal questions to which they nearly always respond "I don't practice that kind of law" or "you should speak to a real lawyer", somehow using self-deprication as a shield against the frigthening truth that law school teaches you jack shit.

We brewmasters feel a similar pain. Once you endeavor down the path of making beer, as opposing to solely consuming it, an assumed degree of actual knowledge is imparted to you in a way that people like to test. They aren't trying to blow up your spot or make you feel silly, quite the opposite in fact - they genuinely want to know what you think. "Brewmaster," they'll say, "you're so smart and handsome. You create such fine brew that just thinking about your soon to be released and as of yet unnamed chocolate stout, my toes tingle with excitement."

Thanks, I'll respond.

"But Brewmaster," you'll continue, "what makes stout different than the red ale?"

Uh oh. Time to test that brew-q, mr. fancy pants. Do you say its the grains? The yeast? The whole process? Or do you be a weisenheimer and say something like "stout starts with an s!" Well I'll tell you what, we don't like word play here at the EVBC, so mind your p's and q's.

The real difference between being able to spit back the facts of how the two beers differ and really knowing the differences comes with time and experience...and those cannot be easily bought like so many extract kits. Nay, like a deliciously low-alpha-acid hopped beer with the perfect balance of malt to spice, really knowing what you're talking about takes time, repition, and in this case, drinking. Much like the hops in our tasty brews, this type of knowledge is the most noble. Your faithful Brewmaster Eric is still endeavoring to get himself signed up to become a BJCP certified beer judge, so in the future he can answer your questions with some serious knowledge, and not just some information he's picked up along the way.

You know the true upside about a brewmaster's knowledge is that you can always go back to the "its a pretty solid beer" argument for nearly anything. Doctor's sure as hell can't say "that's a pretty solid knee injury" and have that be the end of the inquiry. Lawyers probably shouldn't say "that's a pretty solid perjury you did there" without expecting to get in trouble. Yessir, this brewmastery thing sure has its perks. Drink in the knowledge my friends, lord knows I will.