[jables]

Hey all,

Not entirely sure if this is the correct place to post this but I'm taking a more active interest in learning as much as I can about beer styles in hopes that it will make me a better homebrewer. That being said, I was wondering if there are any sort of events or anything that I might be able to attend which go over beer tasting and styles with the focus on teaching people about them. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[morticaixavier]

Do you have a homebrew club in your area? that's a great place to start. Go to the AHA website and find one if you are not sure. Lot's of clubs will organize BJCP study groups and classes.

There are lots of books as well but I am not terribly familiar with them.

[mpietropaoli]

It's not purely dedicated to what you are looking for, but The Brewmasters Table is a GREAT read that goes through the taste profile, history, and FOOD PAIRINGS of most BJCP styles.  A great thing to do as well if u do not have any structured live tastings is to print out a copy of the BJCP style guidelines and a bottle of one of the commercial examples of a particular style, and read it as you taste. 

One more rec: download The jamil shows podcasts where he goes through how to brew the styles.  Great notes on flavor profiles, etc.

[thetooth]

There are many events.  It depends on where you are.  Here is SoCal, we have a bunch of beer events.  There is a wine/beer shop near me that does themed tasting nights where they taste and explain beers from a particular style or region, sometimes paired with food.  Many restaurants are starting to do beer pairing dinners, often themed to a brewery in which the brewer has representation there to explain the beers being poured.  The BJCP guidelines are available online, and include commercial examples in the notes that you could buy, drink, and compare with the style descriptions if you want to do some stuff at home.  Just a few ideas.  Let us know where you live and I'm sure someone in your area can point you to some events.