Beer, beer, everywhere
Denver's own Cody Christman hopes to become Beerdrinker Of The Year
Cody Christman
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It’s time again for the Wynkoop—one of Denver's most venerable microbreweries—to select its Beerdrinker Of The Year, a crown that comes with it all the pomp and honor of being recognized as an unexcelled expert in the field of beer-drinking. The final round of competition kicks off at 2 p.m. tomorrow at the LoDo institution, and for the first time one of the three finalists is a Denver native: local software engineer, home-brewer, and beer educator Cody Christman. The Wynkoop regular took a break from his rigorous training and spoke with Decider about—what else?—his favorite malty beverage.
Decider: You teach a Beer 101 course. What inspired you to put it together?
Cody Christman: I have a lot of friends who enjoy drinking craft beer, but a lot of them didn’t really know that much about it. I don’t think you have to know a lot about beer to enjoy it, but sometimes having a little bit more knowledge can really make a difference. We get to eat raw malt and smell fresh hops, then we drink these beers and discuss them. [It helps] people have an understanding of what they like, what they don’t, and why. And I get a chance to learn from them, because everybody’s got different beer experiences. My basement’s a brewery, and now it's a classroom, too.
D: What's been your best brewery experience?
CC: On a trip to Germany in 1988, I went on an impromptu tour of the Winkler Bräu brewery. They don’t give tours, but I talked the head brewmaster into giving me one. He didn’t really want to at first, but then he warmed up, and at the end of that tour he invited me into his private guestroom. A couple of years ago I did a tour of the Cantillon Brewery in Brussels, and the Lambic brewery also. They both make such unique beers; they’re spontaneously fermented, and they’re wild and funky. The thing that struck me immediately when I walked into that brewery was the smell of that beer. You really get a feel for the terrior. It’s not just the beer. It’s the walls. It’s the beams. It’s everything about that brewery.
D: What beers top your drinking list?
CC: I’m a variety freak. I never drink the same beer twice. I have so many different favorite beers. Churchyard Ale at the Wynkoop is one. It’s a rotator, so it’s only on about a third of the time. That one's a cask-conditioned, dark, malty, rich, sweet, strong Scottish ale. And there’s a wonderful beer that you can start to get now from Belgium called Kwak. It has a wonderful, rich, fruity, yeast character to it, but kind of a malt, sugary sweetness in the body. I haven’t said a lager yet, so I'll pick Pilsner Urquell. The original Pilsner is just a brilliant, awesome beer. Just make sure you buy it from a liquor store that has a lot of turnover, because it’s in green bottles. And one final one: There’s a beer called Duchess De Bourgogne, and it’s a Flemish sour ale. It’s something very unique, because sourness isn’t a taste people usually associate with beers.
Cody Christman: I have a lot of friends who enjoy drinking craft beer, but a lot of them didn’t really know that much about it. I don’t think you have to know a lot about beer to enjoy it, but sometimes having a little bit more knowledge can really make a difference. We get to eat raw malt and smell fresh hops, then we drink these beers and discuss them. [It helps] people have an understanding of what they like, what they don’t, and why. And I get a chance to learn from them, because everybody’s got different beer experiences. My basement’s a brewery, and now it's a classroom, too.
D: What's been your best brewery experience?
CC: On a trip to Germany in 1988, I went on an impromptu tour of the Winkler Bräu brewery. They don’t give tours, but I talked the head brewmaster into giving me one. He didn’t really want to at first, but then he warmed up, and at the end of that tour he invited me into his private guestroom. A couple of years ago I did a tour of the Cantillon Brewery in Brussels, and the Lambic brewery also. They both make such unique beers; they’re spontaneously fermented, and they’re wild and funky. The thing that struck me immediately when I walked into that brewery was the smell of that beer. You really get a feel for the terrior. It’s not just the beer. It’s the walls. It’s the beams. It’s everything about that brewery.
D: What beers top your drinking list?
CC: I’m a variety freak. I never drink the same beer twice. I have so many different favorite beers. Churchyard Ale at the Wynkoop is one. It’s a rotator, so it’s only on about a third of the time. That one's a cask-conditioned, dark, malty, rich, sweet, strong Scottish ale. And there’s a wonderful beer that you can start to get now from Belgium called Kwak. It has a wonderful, rich, fruity, yeast character to it, but kind of a malt, sugary sweetness in the body. I haven’t said a lager yet, so I'll pick Pilsner Urquell. The original Pilsner is just a brilliant, awesome beer. Just make sure you buy it from a liquor store that has a lot of turnover, because it’s in green bottles. And one final one: There’s a beer called Duchess De Bourgogne, and it’s a Flemish sour ale. It’s something very unique, because sourness isn’t a taste people usually associate with beers.
