Kathleen Rake is one lucky oenophile. As a perpetual student of wine, she's managed to marry her decades-long love affair with wine to her craft—writing. Kathleen is happy to swirl, sniff, sip and spit her way through all sorts of vinic pleasures so she can share those experiences with her readers at both her blog, www.BetweenTheVines.ca, and her monthly column, ‘Wine Trends’, in the Abbotsford News. Kathleen holds the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Wines & Spirits and is currently working toward achieving the WSET Diploma and her French Wine Scholar (FWS) designation.

Just Here For The Beer (JHFTB) is a Vancouver based beer education and consulting company. JHFTB has been teaching beer tasting and education classes for the past 4 years at UBC, local community centres and private seminars. During this time period JHFTB has also organized 3 beer festivals at UBC and its members have been guest speakers at major industry events and at local community colleges. The company has also been featured on television and radio and in the newspaper several times in the past 3 years. All of our sponsors and venders who participate in the festivals, events and classes benefit from the exposure we bring to the industry.

JHFTB has travelled to several breweries in British Columbia and the Western US. This has created a base of knowledge that goes far beyond simple product knowledge. This means that not only do we understand unique brewing techniques and flavours in beer we also know what makes different breweries special and unique. Brewery tours have also created a knowledge depth that is second to none and have increased company credibility among the brewers and in the North American beer industry.

JHFTB prides itself as being the first 100% independent beer tasting company in Canada. We are not influenced by marketing and work with a huge list of clients including domestic brands, microbrews, brewpubs and specialty importers in BC.

JHFTB also understands the current market trends and tastes dozens of new beers each year. This means that we keep current with new products available on the market including specialty imports and seasonal beers. The number and type of products available in BC is always changing and as Vancouver’s Beer Experts it is our responsibility to remain current.

JHFTB has built a strong relationship with students in the class and has a great rapport with media, former students, and other industry professionals. This has been the most important aspect of the company’s success over the past 4 years and this is a source of pride for JHFTB.

JHFTB is dedicated to providing consumers an opportunity to expand their beer experience through various tastings and festivals. These events are fun, great value, educational and contribute to strengthening the beer culture in Canada.