Beer

One of the great ironies of the beer world is a common familiarity with the idea of "Trappist beer", but little understanding of what the label actually means. Today, there are only eight Trappist monasteries in the world that brew beer, and these are the only breweries allowed to use that name. Contrary to popular belief, the Trappist breweries are not all in Belgium. One is in the Netherlands and another -- the most…

The following feature is co-written by Drew Larson and Sayre Piotrkowski, two Certified Cicerone ® beer directors based in Chicago and Oakland, respectively. 

With beer pairing dinners taking place at Michelin rated restaurants, craft-beer festivals featuring celebrity chefs, and people like Ferran Adria and James Syhabout creating proprietary brews, the integration of craft-beer into our contemporary culinary culture…