2022
I Want Your Job: Cicerone (Beer Sommelier)
[An interview with me published on 16 August 2022 on Meritales]
Josh Stevenson
Una Más’ Kirsty Dale is in a pretty exclusive club — she’s one of only 4,200 cicerones in the world, (and also happens to have a double degree in arts and law). We sat down with her (over a beer) to find out a little bit more about her uniquely covetable job.
How did you come to be a cicerone?
I’ve always loved beer and studying, so it was like my two favourite things combined. When I was in Belgium, I loved going to various breweries to learn about different beers. But really, becoming a cicerone came to fruition through work. I did an online course called Certified Beer Server as a bit of a lockdown project. Then an opportunity arose to take the next step and become an official cicerone. I thought, “Oh, what the hell! I love learning, I might as well apply”… and my application got accepted!
How long did it take to get accredited?
To get qualified takes about 9 months. It was intense – lots of study. But I loved it.
What does being a cicerone involve?
It’s essentially being an advocate for beer – selecting and acquiring beer, ensuring it’s stored and served properly, as well as educating people about the wonderful, different styles out there and its extensive history. It’s all things beer, from the ground up.
Is it similar to a sommelier?
In a sense, yes, as people are quite familiar with that term. When you’re analysing beer, for example, you’re going to look at how much head has formed, what it looks like, the colour, the opacity, whether it’s cloudy, etc. Then you smell it in a few different ways. There’s a drive-by sniff, where you run it under your nose quickly, as well as short-distance and long-distance sniffs. Beer is a little different to wine as well, in that, when you’re tasting it, you don’t spit it out. Wine, you can swirl around your mouth and spit it out. Whereas beer, you really have to swallow it to get the retro-nasal taste – which means you taste it more when you breathe out after swallowing.
What’s your all-time favourite beer?
BentSpoke Crankshaft IPA. When I was at Uni in Canberra, that was my drink of choice, and now I have so many good memories attached to that beer, which is often just as important, if not more, than the beer itself.
What’s your favourite food and beer pairing?
I love drinking Gueuze, which is a Belgian sour ale, with oysters. The beer is lemony and sour, so the two pair absolutely gorgeously. Amazing on a sunny day!
What sort of beer would you pair with the menu at Una Más?
There’s this really crazy German beer called a Rauchbier, which is a smoked beer. When beer originated, they didn’t have any way to toast the malt, other than direct flame. They used beechwood, which infuses the malt with quite a particular flavour. Nowadays we use indirect heat to toast the malt, so you don’t get that flavour anymore, but there’s this town in Germany, Bamberg, that still makes smoked beers, and they’re so smoky and bacon-y, it’s wild. It’s not an everyday beer, but I think that would pair really well with some of the dishes at Una Más, because we cook over fire a lot as well.
When people think about beer, they often think of standard brands, the stuff you’re likely to get on tap. What can you tell us about bespoke beer?
That’s definitely a rabbit hole. Once you get into premium beers and start collecting them, you’ll want to get a Vintec (beer fridge) to keep them in. There’s a lot of beers that are aged, and aging them can increase their value. And then there are really little breweries in Belgium where the beer is made by monks. They only release a certain amount, and only a tiny bit makes it to Australia. Some of it doesn’t even get exported —you have to go to the Abbey to taste it with the monks. There’s lots of cool stuff like that.
What would you say to someone who’s on the fence about beer?
I would say try some Belgian beers. Try a fruit lambic or a kriek. If you don’t think you like beer, give one of those a chance. My housemate tried a kriek the other day, which is a Belgian sour beer fermented with cherries in it, and had difficulty believing it was beer. It’s so winey and fruity. I would also say, don’t be scared of dark beers. People think they’re really strong and full-on, but there’s some that are really chocolatey and malty, which can be really nice with dessert, or on a cold winter’s day.
Dan Hong & Michael Fox are throwing a beer and yakitori party at hemmesphere for Beer-Oh-Beer. What can you tell us about Japanese beer?
Yes — I’m so looking forward to that! Japanese brewers use some of the best technology in the world— which is no surprise — for their brewing. They often use cold-brewing techniques which allow them to make super clean, crisp lagers. Additionally, a lot of Japanese beers like Asahi and Sapporo use rice in their recipes which lightens the body and allows them to brew these ‘super-dry’ beers. Kirin sometimes even freeze the foam on beer in summer to keep their beers cooler for longer…genius!
Why should people come to Beer-Oh-Beer: The Merivale Beer Festival?
I think it’s a really cool opportunity to taste and experience a lot of new beers. You’ll have the opportunity to talk to people who make beer, serve beer, and work in the industry. You can ask them so many questions — we can talk about this stuff all day! For me, every day’s a school day. So if you’re drinking, you might as well learn something about it.
We’ll cheers to that, Kirsty!
Check out the original article here:
Image credit: merivale