Brew fest broadens student horizons

It's said that while in college much of the learning goes on outside of the classroom. Thursday night it went on inside the Bloomington Convention Center. The learning might not have been conventional, but for beer lovers and anyone over 21, Big Red Liquors' 12th annual BeerFest was an amazing learning experience. \n"This is the best drinking experience I've ever had in college," said senior Steve Farbstein. "I've been standing here all night. I paid $25 to try every beer I've ever wanted to try. I've seen half a room full of beer I've never seen; 50 or 60 types of beer I would have never gotten to try. Tonight I get to experience the unknown."\nAnd experience the unknown he and others did.\nWith more than 200 beers being sampled on Thursday and again tonight, Big Red Liquors is offering unlimited single ounces of beer to anyone who can shell out $25 for admission and the chance to become a beer connoisseur, or at the very least expand their knowledge about beer. \n"We want people to come out and sample beers and know what they like," said Rob Williamson, director of promotions for Big Red Liquors -- favorite beer: Spaten Oktoberfest. "People come in (to Big Red) and look at a six-pack of $10 beer and say 'Why should I buy $10 beer?' This way, they know what they like and are educated on all types of beer."\nThe lessons learned inside the Convention Center didn't begin and end with which beer to buy on a Friday night, but expanded to geography. \nThe geography lesson came from the far side of the room, which was stacked with international breweries. Every exotic beer import was represented -- many from England and Germany. \nEscaping into the unknown names of obscure beers, such as Westmalle (from Belgian), Rogue, Sprecher, Summitt and Moosehead (from Canada), made it comfortable for some to be able to return to their old favorites on the other side of the room. While many of the offerings were exotic and unfamiliar to some, the usual suspects were in attendance: Budweiser, Miller, Samuel Adams, Bass, Corona and Pabst Blue Ribbon. \nThe geography lesson and the chance to pour beer all night was one of the reasons Big Red employee Ramzi Furman -- favorite beer: Barley Island Bourbon Finish Stout -- came out to the event. \n"I love the fact they can try the beers," Furman said. "You can get things here you can't get anywhere. For me, it's remarkable. It's definitely worth it."\nEven if the learning was over for some, the company of other beer lovers and some food samples was enough. Senior Mark Lazarus -- favorite beer: Fullers London Pride -- brews his own beer at home for friends. Fuller said even though he would have liked to see a better international representation at the event, he still learned more than he thought he would have coming in. \n"I like how this is bringing people out," Lazarus said. "Beer is so similar to wine in that people collect wine, they taste wine, they learn about wine, and beer can be the same: People taste beer, they get a better understanding and learn what they like. This has been very educational."\n-- Contact managing editor Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.