What comes to mind when you think of a sommelier? An impeccably dressed gentleman, bowing at the waist while pouring from a bottle of obscure red wine? Glass swirling? Cork sniffing? How about a cold, crisp…beer? Though the word, by definition, refers to a wine expert, beer aficionados like Sang Yoon have adopted the title of 'sommelier' as a way to add credibility to their extensive knowledge of all things hops and barley.

Yoon, the executive chef and owner of the California gastropub Father's Office in Santa Monica and Los Angeles, actually preferred champagne to beer until he swilled his first Belgian brew (ironically, while in France, the vineyard motherland). Now he keeps an impressive and ever-changing array of 36 beers on tap at Father's Office, a funky, trendy eatery that perfectly pairs spectacular food with stellar suds.

"Throughout my cooking career, having worked with great sommeliers, I learned about pairing food with wine, cooking with wine, wine's properties," he says, "The same techniques and principles of wine tasting and pairing really apply to beer. They pair differently, of course, but it's easy to learn."

Born in Korea and raised in Los Angeles, Yoon studied at the Culinary Institute of America and trained with such master chefs as Joel Robuchon and Wolfgang Puck, all the while cultivating his passion for beer; a zeal that he's confident will be contagious to his patrons, especially once they've experienced the perfect marriage of food and beverage. "The easiest way to introduce people to pairings is to introduce them in a food setting where wine would be very difficult to pair," he says, mulling over his favorite dishes, "My example dish is our Thai beef salad. It's a popular dish, with lots of lime juice and chili. It's just screaming acidity, and has lots of heat; a very unfriendly environment for any wine, but it's the perfect place for a high malt, high alcohol Belgian beer, like a Chimay white."

In fact, most Asian dishes are best paired with beer because of their acidity and spice. Wine can be a tricky, fickle friend. What tastes like a mouthful of fruit and spice can quickly transform into a bitter mess if paired with the wrong cuisine. The basics of wine and food pairings are pretty well known; white wine with poultry and fish, red wine with red meat. Even cuisines match up pretty nicely; a rich Italian Chianti, for instance, mingles nicely with pasta and pizza. Yoon loves to introduce skeptical beer-phobes to a new brew experience. He shrugs off the ill-conceived notion that dark coloring indicates a rich, bitter flavor; a misconception that is pretty common among beer novices. "A lot of times beer is judged by color, which doesn’t tell you anything but how much the malt was roasted," he laughs, "You can alleviate the fear of dark beer sometimes by asking the right questions."

While Yoon and his staff at Father's Office is happy to ease people into unfamiliar taste territory, his own preferences range from the basic Belgian wheat beer to the more obscure. One of his favorite beers is Craftsman Brewing Company's Triple White Sage, an aromatic beer that entices drinkers with its unusual sage flavor. Yoon loves to play around with pairing this beer, and makes it available at the restaurant whenever the limited-edition beer is available.

One of the best things about cultivating a taste for beer is that you won't have to cultivate an enormous bank account! While wine appreciation can be an expensive hobby, beer remains relatively affordable, something that Yoon relishes. "Craft beers are one of the most affordable luxuries in the world! You can literally buy one of the best beers in the world for fifteen dollars."

Affordability, taste, and malleability? What about beer isn't to love? Even if you're a suds skeptic, nobody can resist a beer, any beer, paired with one of Yoon's award-winning burgers with aged blue cheese; a palate friendly combo that will ease your tastebuds into a lifelong love of complimentary food and beer. Move over, wine; there's a new sophisticated beverage in town.