This past weekend I stopped by New Leaf Market for their weekly beer tasting. When I first heard about it, I expected something epic. I imagined endless amounts of frosty beer mugs on serving trays carried by fleets of German beer maids. Everyone's favorite Polka hits would be blaring over the speakers and every so often polka renditions of traditional holiday music would come on to get everyone into the holiday spirit.
When I got there, the reality of it wasn't as grand as I expected. It was a calm and orderly crowd of 8 or so people enjoying samplings of beer. We all stood at the front of my favorite section, the beer aisle, and chatted about what we thought of the samples. The clear plastic medicine cups that we drank out of were neatly disposed of in a bag and didn't end up all over the floor or stashed behind the merchandise in neighboring aisles. It was a pleasant experience. Even though it wasn't the Oktoberfest-like shindig that I dreamed of, I appreciated the fact that it wasn't intrusive on customers' regular shopping experiences.
It is really a practice that I wish more places would take on. The customers were able to try new beers during one of the more prolific seasons in beer. Offering small samples solves a huge hurdle that many people have with trying new beers. I can't tell you how many beers I've purchased on a whim that have turned out to be duds. I don't want to name names because it's all up to preference but I wouldn't recommend trying out beers just because they have a dog on the label.
New Leaf Market has been putting on beer tastings every Saturday since mid November to usher in the new season. It coincides with the beer industry's shift into pumping out their holiday brews for their fans to enjoy in a festive manner. Various pumpkin ales, sweet and fruity Dunkelweizens and nutty lagers start to appear on the shelves. It truly is a beautiful time of the year for beers.
If you don't know anything about New Leaf Market, you should stop by to check it out. As the largest force in the locally grown and organic market in north Florida and Southern Georgia, it offers a great alternative to the Wal-Marts and Publixs in Tallahassee. It's a cooperatively owned business that has been active in Tallahassee since the early 1970's. Aside from their vast beer selection they offer organic wines, vitamins, supplements, health foods, meats, fair trade coffee, and both hot and cold lunches.
For those interested in getting a taste for wines, every Friday they have a free wine tasting. I can imagine the crowd to be a little different, but free tastings really draw an eclectic bunch of curious customers. I heard some talk of increasing the number of days that they have free tastings of wine and beer during this holiday season, but nothing has been confirmed.
If you're thinking about bringing in the holiday cheer with some holiday beer, don't buy on looks. Buy on taste. Nothing's worse than buyer's remorse during the gift giving season.
Tags: Beer, Grocery, New Leaf, Tallahassee, Wine
Pedro SemperteguiPedro Sempértegui is a recent graduate of Florida State University's English department. After growing up in the quiet suburb of Coral Springs, Fl, he moved to the capital to pursue writing. Since Tallahassee's nightlife has introduced him to new music, awesome food, and delicious microbrews, it's only right that tries to pass on that knowledge.
