Fall is the perfect time of year to host a drink tasting event with all the pumpkin beers, ciders, seasonal stouts and porters hitting the liquor store shelves and craft beer venues. Instead of just sipping on beer, why not take the drinking experience to the next level with a more structured approach. No matter if you’re a seasoned beer expert for new to the game, hosting a beer tasting party can be a fun way to try something new or get out of your comfort zone.
Not a beer fan? Take all these ideas and change the drink selection to ciders or even wines.
Pick your mood. Are you wanting a sophisticated upscale event? Or something a bit more casual? Set the mood with lighting, music, where you are hosting it. If you want a bit of both, consider having a separate room for the tasting and one place to mingle in between flights.
Designate the drinks. First you’ll need to figure out if you’ll have a BYOB tasting or if you’ll be hand selecting the brews you’ll be tasting. If you are doing a BYOB have each person bring a different style or flavor of beer. Ideally, you’ll want beers from light to dark, or you could even try different varieties of the same style of beer. Be sure to have some type of palate cleanser such as unsalted crackers, water, or you can even sniff coffee grounds in between beers.
Pair with food. The typical beer pretzel combination is always a hit. But you need to decide if you’ll have soft pretzels, or pretzel bites. Salty snack mixes are other great appetizers, as well as cheese dips, nachos, or chicken wings.
Choose your glassware. To enhance your drinking experience having the proper drinkware is vital. Chalice, stein, mug, and tulip are just a few of the shaped glasses you may want at your tasting. Pourmybeer.com has a full run down of which glasses will compliment which beers.
Need some accessories for hosting your perfect tasting party? Check out some of these beer flight caddied below!
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