Making Beer out of Lemons....

Not everyone is letting the economy get them down. In fact, when we ran across this sign in Austin, Texas recently, we thought, "huh, isn't that clever?" Little Woodrow's is known for offering 100 beers, 30 of them on tap.

I never drank beer until college, and even then, I never took a liking to it. Kegs of Bud Light and Coors just don't have much flavor to me. During my beverage classes in culinary school, we took a field trip to a local microbrewery. The Brew Master took us on a tour and then we gathered in a private dining room to sample all of his craft beers.

He described the aroma and flavor notes just like winemakers describe their wines. We picked up on hints of caramel, chocolate, smoke and blackberries. It was a revelation to me that beer could actually have flavor.

Since then, I've studied beer making in more detail. I wrote a story about Arizona's only female brewer, Melissa Osborne, from Four Peaks Brewery. I spent the day with her, watching with fascination, the process of turning grain into brew. It's not a glamorous job. It's heavy lifting mixed with a bit of chemistry and a touch of art.

These days, I'm just as smitten with discovering a local brew as I am discovering a new, boutique wine. Really what I'm saying is that I'm doing my part to help the economy by sampling local beer wherever I happen to be. You should try it, too. Let's all do our part to get this economy moving again, even if it means downing a few brewskies.