Meet Chicago's Women Of Beer: Virginia Thomas Of The Cicerone Certification Program
By Lorna Juett in Food on Dec 22, 2012 5:00PM
Meet Chicago’s Women of Beer is an ongoing series about the women who make up Chicago’s craft beer scene. We hope you enjoy reading about these dynamic ladies and their roles in the beer industry.
We first met Virginia Thomas at a Barley’s Angels meeting, where we were struck by her enthusiasm and knowledge of beer, and then by her Cicerone.org logoed collared shirt, which beamed her beer cred straight into focus. While the world’s interest in beer grows, education and certification outlets like the Cicerone Certification Program become more important and valid, and both genders are drawn to educating themselves about beer. We wanted to find out how Thomas grew her love for craft beer, and what led her to working in the intimate, behind-the-scenes world of the Cicerone program.
Like many women trying craft beer for the first time, Thomas first turned to hard ciders. As it was difficult to find the dry ciders she craved, she sought out craft beers. “I know I thought all beer was like the macro lagers out there,” Thomas told us. “Once that myth was dispelled; once someone sat down with me and asked me what I liked and put beer in front of me that was perfectly suited to my tastes, I never looked back.” She first fell for Bell’s Two Hearted and Oskar Blues Gubna. While she maintains that a super hoppy beer isn’t her first choice, and tends to reach for Belgian tripels, sours, and dark lagers, the revelation of finding the grapefruit notes in Two Hearted and in the balanced flavors in the Gubna blew the doors open for what a craft beer could be. From there, her love of beer grew into a consuming educational process.
“I loved beer, and I did what I do whenever I love something; try to find out as much as I can about it,” Thomas told us. “A part of that for me was finding the Cicerone Certification Program and following Ray (Daniels) on Twitter.” Ray Daniels is the founder of the Cicerone Certification Program, an independant education and assessment program that tests applicants on their beer knowledge, and assigns levels of mastery, from Certified Beer Server to Master Cicerone. This program has been lauded for bringing a level of sophistication and credibility to the beer world.
Like many job opportunities, Thomas’s role started with an introduction, albeit this time in the social media arena. Thomas was unhappy with her job, and saw Daniels had posted a job opening on Twitter. She replied to him that this must be "job manna from heaven." She then had what she describes as “the best job interview of her young life,” and started working with the organization shortly thereafter.
Thomas calls her current role as Business Manager to The Cicerone Certification Program part “den mother” to the office, a personal assistant, a meeting and event planner, and an upper-level exam administrator. She’s also the main customer service and technical support contact. Much like any small business, she’s there to complete whatever task needs to be done to keep things running smoothly. “A lot of people don't realize how small of a company we are,” Thomas said. “When I was hired a year and a half ago, the company was just Ray, Nicole (Erny), and myself. Now we are up to 7 total, with two of those employees part time.”
The demographics of the small office are certainly lady friendly, with 3 women and 4 men. While this is not reflective of the beer industry as a whole, Thomas doesn’t see her gender as an asset or hindrance in her career. But she admits that “maybe it is just the circle I work and run in. I think that around me, if you are good at your job and love beer, you're respected. It probably doesn't hurt that I'm pretty direct and very at home being ‘just one of the guys.’ I know that if I were on a sales route or in a brewery things might be different.”
Her advice to other women who want to join into the craft beer employment scene? “Get educated. It is how I got into beer, and it is my belief that the general public is sorely undereducated about beer. Know your stuff and you can get far. Aside from that, be yourself. The beer community is like any other microcosm, the if you are really passionate and driven that will get you farther than any persona will.”
When she’s not running the Cicerone Certification Program office, Thomas can be found sipping Tripel Karmeliet, or enjoying a meal at City Provisions, The Grafton, or Owen and Engine.