Probably the best job in the world

How to make a living off tasting and recommending beers? All you have to do is to become the Chief Beer Officer for the Four Points chain of hotels by Sheraton.

It must be hard. Very hard indeed. Tasting beers and choosing beers. But that’s what his job comes down to. Scott Kerkmans is Four Points’ and the world’s first Chief Beer Officer, whose job it is to go over the hotels’ beer list and decide which 12 bottled beers and 6 draught beers are to be offered to discerning guests.

Four Points’ management which look after a chain of 120 hotels worldwide, the majority of which are in the U.S., have come to realise that their guests like to drink local beers but are often at a loss as to where to find them.

Arriving in town late at night for an early morning business meeting, many guests have expressed an interest in a well-stocked hotel bar which would save them from having to go out into town.

Although many hotel chains have tried to offer interesting beers, not a single one has succeeded so far in making beer a unique selling point. At Four Points it has become a company policy to offer a diverse range of beers, half of which are local. In the U.S. that means that the Four Points hotels will stock craft beers.

Reportedly, there were more than 7500 applicants for Scott Kerkmans’ job. He still cannot believe that he got it, being only 28 years of age and the founder of a draught beer magazine which he will continue to edit part-time.

Mr Kerkmans’ Best Brews Programme at Four Points will run for six months until early next year. Then his contract will need to be renewed.

Let’s hope the Chief Beer Officer was not a mere PR stint to provide a chain of rather nondescript three-star hotels with some (undeserved) glamour.