Flavor weight

Garrett Oliver's 1997 book - The Good Beer Book (with Timothy Harper) - might be overshadowed next to its big sibling - The Brewmaster's Table - but it is worth reading in its own right. Sprinkled throughout, Oliver offers written snapshots of people who have contributed to the good beer revival but may not have the notoriety of the big names like Maytag, Caglione, Sisson, or Oliver himself.

assistant manager Derejie (l); David Battey (r)

Here's one in our area: David Battey.

David has been the beer buyer for several DC-area shops. He is an unabashed hophead and an authority on alternative music and cinema. Just ask!

He is now running the beer department at Rodman's in DC.

I mention this because he has done something with his beer cooler there that I've seen only done before with wine.

If arranged in any real order at all, beers are often placed together by style or by brewery, or alphabetically by name. Battey (pronounced BAY tee) has done something different. He arranges his large selection of beers by flavor weight. The Pale Ales for example:

• Session Ales
• Pale Ales
• Full-flavored Pale Ales
• IPAs
• Full-flavored IPAs
• For Hop Heads Only

He says it's a work-in-progress; at this point, these are the only categories David has arranged. But it's a fabulous idea and I'll be returning to see how it develops.