Beer Sommelier-style Tasting at SAVI Urban Market

Last night, my brother Ben, his girlfriend Becca and a few other friends hit up SAVI Urban Market's open-house type shindig. Our reason for going: the Beer Sommelier. Ben saw on Facebook that Matt Simpson, the beer sommelier, was participating in the open house.

SAVI is a mix of health foods market, beer mart, wine bar, butcher shop, bakery, deli and convenience store. The shop is located at in Inman Park (287 Elizabeth Street; Atlanta, GA 30307). http://www.saviurbanmarket.com/

Matt Simpson, as always, was spreading beer cheer with samples of delicious hops served with a side of beer knowledge. Matt doesn't sell beer; his expertise is explaining how beers are made, how they differ from one another, what flavors to pay special attention to and what foods to pair with particular beers.

How do I know this? My friend Kirsten found Matt and we hired him for our friend's bachelorette party back in April. Imagine a group of 20 girls, giggling while tasting Belgium beers and answering beer trivia questions. We had the greatest time, and Matt did a good job of choosing beers the bachelorette loved (wouldn't you say, Moeko?) and giving us some beer 101 without assuming we didn't know anything about beer. Check out his resume (he knows his stuff).

I felt a little sorry for the other vendors last night, as things like the (delicious) quinoa pilaf were not getting as much attention as the brew samples. I can't recall all that we tasted but I did enjoy the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (good but a little more bitter compared to what I'm used to), Old Chubb (smooth taste, caramel notes and oddly enough served in a can!) and Victory Golden Monkey (light, golden and tasted more like the Belgians I love so much).

I left with a six pack of Old Chubb Scottish-style Ale ($9.99/six pack at SAVI, out of Lyons, Colorado - http://www.oskarblues.com/).

Check out SAVI Urban Market for some healthy and eclectic food and drink -- and consider hiring The Beer Sommelier (Matt Simpson) for your next private party.

p.s. while he may not be writing for beer publications, I think my bro Ben may one day give Matt a run for the money. Ben's girlfriend says he gives a mean beer academy.