Students Get Schooled In the Fine Art of Beer

The Cambridge Queen’s Head Pub hosted Brendan Maclean and the Magic Hat Brewing Company last night as a continuation of its Beer School series.

Beer School—which began in the spring of 2007 when the Pub opened—brings in local brewers to host beer tastings and to talk about life in the brewing industry.

Beer School takes place about two or three times per semester.

MacLean, the leader of the series, is the sales representative of Magic Hat Brewing Company in the greater Boston area.

During his presentation, he spoke about Magic Hat’s most successful beers, the process of brewing, and the history of Magic Hat.

Magic Hat, or the “Willy Wonka of Breweries” as described by Maclean, was founded in 1994 in Burlington, Vt.

For the company, Maclean said that Beer School presents an opportunity to spread the taste of the new beers to college students and to have a fun time while doing it.

“It’s a great way to get to our target audience,” he said. “And I get to interact with people and spread the good word about beer.”

Students in attendance enjoyed the experience.

“To a certain extent, we try to be beer connoisseurs,” said Thomas E. Southworth ’10, one of several student managers of the pub. He added that the event was intended to attract both new and old customers.

While most of the faces in Beer School were familiar to the staff of Queen’s Head, this session was a first-time experience for many students, but not their last.

Alyssa H. Devlin ’11 and Anna R. Schulz ’09 said that they thoroughly enjoyed their first experience at Beer School.

“I found out on my house list, and wanted to try it,” Schultz said.

While most students at the session showed an inclination towards Magic Hat’s “#9,” Maclean said that he did not necessarily agree.

“I guess I should say Magic Hat,” he said. “But it definitely depends on the situation. I can’t say I have one favorite beer.”