Sarah Huska lives in the Chicago area. An area known for the 1893 World’s Fair that spawned the first Ferris Wheel and also brought Chicago back from the dead after fires nearly destroyed the city in 1871. But why stop there? Chicago is home of the Cubbies, the White Sox, Blackhawks and Bears. Mike Ditka, Al Capone, Wrigley Field and Chicago style deep dish pizza. For me, it’s one of the cleanest metropolitan cities in the United States. Chicago has had quite a history the last 150 years. But Chicago is also becoming known for other things. Sure the allure of Michigan Ave. is hard to resist. Lake Michigan is gorgeous to look at, but Chicago is also known for its involvement in craft beer. It also home to Ray Daniels and the Cicerone Certification Program.
What has this to do with Sarah Huska? Quite a lot actually. She is the sole employee for the Cicerone Program and responsible for most of the administrative duties. Don’t et that fool you though. Sarah knows a hell of a lot about beer. Not just the styles, how to pour, or what the 3-tier distribution system means to beer in the U.S., no she knows what is needed in a particular style, how it should look and feel and taste. She’s seemingly taken what was an interest and turned it into a passion. Oh, and she’s only 24.
I spoke to Sarah recently about several topics and she was gracious enough to indulge me. With out further ado, here is Ms. Sarah Huska:
Classic question, how did you get into beer, and more importantly when did you get into craft beer?
I have my ex-husband to thank for that. He pushed me to open my mind to beer after hearing my ranting and raving about that swill that is yellow fizzy nastiness. He insisted that beer was more than that. Being the stubborn mule that I am, I didn’t believe him at first but I would try small sips here and there. I remember my craft beer epiphany like it was yesterday. We were in the garage with a batch of homebrew boiling, he poured me a Brooklyn Brown Ale and as I sat there on that concrete step I took a sip. I can still remember what it looked like outside the garage door: bright, sunny, green grass, blue sky, a beautiful azalea blooming (very domestic, eh?)… I remember saying “wow” and not much else; but I finished that beer and loved every sip. There was no turning back.
In Europe, women have been very involved in beer and brewing. Why is the culture in the U.S. so different?
Until recently much of the involvement of women in beer consisted of commercials for Coors Light in which beach babes in teeny weeny bikinis played volleyball in the sand. Ugh…moving on. In all seriousness, I think beer has been stereotyped a “man’s drink” just like Cosmopolitans are stereotypical “ladies’ drinks.” Our society is so focused on gender roles that when a man orders a salad and a woman orders a steak while out for a nice dinner; the inevitable joke is made about role reversal. What’s so manly about a steak? Why is a salad girlie? Same with beer and mixed drinks. As far as brewing and women, well I think that’s coming around. We’ve seen the culinary industry make a shift in the past few years; men used to be THE chefs and women the home cooks. Now we see people like Julia Child, Alice Waters, or Elizabeth Falkner making innovative changes to the industry; I feel it’s not long until we begin seeing this in the brewing world as well.
What are your favorite watering holes?
I love Chicago….so, so much. Piece Pizza is always the place I know I can fall back on and not be disappointed in the beer or the environment. Goose Island Clybourn does an amazing job pairing their food with their delicious beers, which is always appreciated by someone who knows food. Revolution Brewing is fantastic as well, a seriously good brewpub with a great waitstaff and management (also 2 blocks from my new apartment, woot!). My new favorite place is Fountainhead, it’s just a few blocks from the new Cicerone offices and very much appreciated after a long day at work.
How did you get involved with the Cicerone program? What’s Ray like?
Well this is a funny, and short, story. I first connected with Ray Daniels via Twitter last summer and finally met him face to face at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver in 2009. Seriously nice dude, very approachable! Later I emailed with a few questions and Ray responded, answered my questions and said he’d been so busy lately that he was surprised he’d had time to reply! I merely replied with “Well, it sounds like you could use an assistant” and, half jokingly, “I’m really good at assisting!” All he said was “OK, let’s talk about that.” So we did; I had about a 1 hour phone interview with him and he told me to come to the office the following Monday. Done and done.
What are your goals with regards to craft beer? For women in the industry?
I suppose I want to understand beer better. It’s still new to me, there’s so much to learn and wrap my little brain around. I think that’s what I find so fascinating about it; you can make beer as simple or as complex as YOU want. There’s not many things in this world like that, it’s pretty spectacular. My goals for women mostly consist of helping other women understand that beer isn’t gross but actually much better than those sugar drinks they call wine coolers. (Yes I have prejudice against wine coolers…get over it.) I hate it when I hear “I hate beer”, all I want to say is “no you don’t, you just haven’t had a beer you like yet!”
Why do you think there’s a perception women do not like good beer?
I think I’ve touched on this already….it’s heavily laden in our society’s gender biases. Plenty of women like good beer. Also, women are generally better tasters than men. Perhaps this is why so many say they hate beer after trying that swill served during college frat parties.
How do feel this perception is changing?
I feel as beer education increases, stereotypes are decreasing. It’s why I believe so strongly in the Cicerone Certification Program. The more knowledgeable beer professionals we have out there, the better the beer will be and the more we will be able to enjoy it.
What’s your favorite beer? Why?
I always answer this question with Rodenbach Grand Cru. I would prefer to answer with “Ohhhh honey, that is one long list.” But usually people just look at me like they’re annoyed. I choose Rodenbach Grand Cru because it suits me. My perfect moment would be sitting outside watching a beautiful autumn sunset with a loved one, sipping on the beer and nibbling on a charcuterie and cheese plate. Oh my….it makes me happy just thinking about it. Great…now I’m hungry.
Classic Sarah. What’s great is she’s serious about craft beer itself. It’s not enough to appreciate good beer, it seems she wants to know everything about it. To appreciate it as the art for that it is.
Thanks to Sarah for her time. It will be great to see her in person at GABF this month!
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