Beer making is indeed an art. The brewer deals in gorgeous colors; the play of light through liquid; the ineffable, in-the-mouth-of-the-beholder appeal of flavor. But brewing is also most certainly a science. Where would it be without botany (the cultivation of hops and barley) or zymurgy (the fermentation, in which ravenous yeast cells turn sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide)? And don’t forget all those weights and measures and gauges, all that tubing and sterilized stainless steel.

So in some strange way, drinking beer at a science museum actually makes sense. At next Tuesday’s "The Science of Beer," Jim Koch, brewer and founder of Boston Beer Company, will be at Boston’s Museum of Science to lecture on the interaction of molecules in a pint glass — and demonstrate the science of matching food to beer.

The four-course meal kicks off with a hearty, warming Samuel Adams Winter Lager, paired with spiced-butternut-squash bisque. A salad of greens, sun-dried cherries, and ricotta follows, accompanied by the dry sweetness of Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat (which is also a key ingredient in the salad’s vinaigrette dressing). For the main course: peppered New York strip sirloin with a carmelized onion and Samuel Adams Boston Lager reduction sauce, coupled with a pint of Boston Lager. And, finally, the event will showcase the new Samuel Adams Holiday Porter (the first porter Boston Beer Company has brewed since its Honey Porter was discontinued five years ago). It’s a delicious brown-black brew, possessing a frothy mouthfeel with warming notes of cola and chocolate fudge, and a delectable finish that evokes rich chocolate cake. Appropriate, then, that it will be served alongside a double-chocolate cake with a melted ganache center. The rigors of scientific inquiry never tasted so sweet.

"The Science of Beer" takes place on November 30, at 6:30 p.m., in the Skyline Room of the Museum of Science, Science Park, in Boston. Tickets are $35, including a four-course meal with a different Sam Adams beer accompanying each course. Call (617) 589-0185.