Wellesley beer guru hosts the epicurean class of a lifetime

For many students, taking a class at Wellesley usually involves hours of reading, problem sets, writing essays or memorizing countless facts. But for those enrolled in Jim Olson's class, "The Beer Necessities," a Wellesley education can also entail drinking (and appreciating) good beer.     

Olson, the coordinator of technology for the Davis Museum and a part-time instructor at Tufts University, said he came up with the idea for the class eight years ago when he was looking through a list of Wintersession non-credit classes.   

"I noticed one year that they were offering a knitting class and a yoga class, and I thought, ‘Wouldn't it be interesting to have a course for students to learn the finer points of drinking beer and to debunk some of the stereotypes of beer being reserved for fraternity keg parties,'" said Olson.  "I wanted to design a class that shows how beer can be appreciated like wine or food or anything else."

So that's exactly what Olson did. Despite any misconceptions, Olson stressed that his class is "one hundred percent about quality, not quantity" of beer. "One of the main aims of the class is to get students to appreciate beer—to sip it slowly and enjoy it responsibly," Olson said.  

The "Beer Necessities" began as a Wintersession elective;  more recently, the course has been offered during the first four weeks of spring semester..

 "When the class first started, people found out about it just by word of mouth," Olson said. "Now I get emails as early as September asking if I'm going to teach the class." Olson reported that this year there are 54 students enrolled in the class, which is more than he has ever had before. He also said that the class was even mentioned in the 2009 Kaplan College Guide.

"The pub was completely full," Erin Bineham '11 said about the first class, which met in Punch's Alley, the student-run pub, last Monday.

Olson, a self-proclaimed "beer geek," said he spent much of the first class going over his own beer "resume."

"I like to say I have 37 years of beer drinking experience," Olson, who is now 39, joked. "According to my family, I would waddle over to my father's empty beer bottles when I was two years old and suck the foam out."

Although his affinity for lagers and ales started at a young age, Olson said it wasn't until he was 21 that he really started to develop his taste for beer. Since then, Olson said he has tried 1,932 different beers in total, and he ranks and takes a picture of each new beer that he tries. Olson's top 99 favorite beers are listed on his website (http://bostonbeerman.com/top-99-beeers.html), along with a link to his extensive blog that details some of his favorite beer tasting adventures.

"I was definitely convinced that he loves beer by the end of the class," Amelia Iuvino '11 said.

While Olson has a great deal of experience taste testing different types of beer, he was careful to add that he is by no means a beer expert.  

"There are no beer experts, just experienced beer drinkers with opinions," Olson said.

In addition to going over his own beer resume, Olson spent the first class describing some "beer basics," including how to pour a beer properly, how to describe the way beer tastes and a little bit of information on how breweries make beer. In between his mini-lectures, students tried four samples (four ounces each) of some of Olson's favorite beer.

"The beer that I offer is often hard to get; it is sometimes made in limited editions, and I select beers from all over the world," said Olson about his assortment of samples, which come from a number of different countries, including Belgium, England, Brazil, Germany, Scotland and the United States. Olson gave students a special sampling glass, which they will use to sample beer over the next three classes as well.   

"One of the goals of the class is to have each student discover a new favorite beer," Olson said.

"It's a really great set up," Bineham said about the beer sampling. "It's great that he doesn't just talk all the time and that we actually get to taste the beer that he talks about." Bineham reported that her favorite sample from last week was the Anderson Valley Brewing Company's "Boont Amber Ale" from Boonsville, California.   

"I'm excited to try all the beers," Kelsey Savage '11 said.  "I can tell a lot of effort went into picking them out, and I think taste testing will help me be more adventurous in my own beer selection."  

  While many students commented on enjoying the samples, most students also mentioned enjoying the lecture portion of the class just as much. "His presentations on each beer were really quirky and fun," Ali Rucker '11 said. Rucker, who just started bartending at the pub, agreed to help serve beer for the class in exchange for being able to listen to Olson's lectures.

"He's really funny and entertaining," Bineham said. "He incorporates a lot of personal, anecdotal stories with factual information, which makes his presentation really engaging."

"The first class meeting was a blast," said Savage.  "Jim put a lot of effort into the PowerPoint, and he's been sending us articles on beer all week. We even had trivia questions that we could answer to win free beer glasses."

In addition to providing anecdotal stories, Olson said that he tries to incorporate the most recent, up-to-date information about beer that he can find into each presentation.

"I am always changing the slides," Olson said. "I get new information all the time. I attend Beer Festivals and talk with brewers, and I try to incorporate all that new information into the class. I am also always on the lookout for new beers, so I am always tweaking the menu." Olson also added that he incorporates student feedback from student evaluations into the curriculum each year.