A How-to Guide: Host a Beer Tasting Party
Wine tastings. Been there, done that, got the cork. So this year we are trying something new … a beer tasting party. And with this ‘how to guide’, it’s as easy as barley, yeast, hops!
The number of guests determines the quantities you need for catering – in this case, the number of beers you need to purchase – and food to accompany. A six-pack of each beer for a party of 20 people is encouraged. This works out to be three servings per 340ml bottle of beer.
Beer variety
Provide your guests with a variety of flavours ranging from crisp, hop, malt, roast, fruity to flavoured.
Served chilled
Make sure you serve chilled beers to optimise the tasting experience so keep them in the fridge or an ice bucket until they are served.
Remember the water
In between beers, you should cleanse your palate with water so have plenty of ice-filled water jugs available.
Glassware
The best part of a beer tasting (besides the beer, of course) is you are not limited to serving your beers in standard beer glassware. Mix things up with a variety of glassware styles for each beer style – standard/classic, snifter/goblet, tulip, flute, pilsner/ weizen or stange. Glasses with a wide bowl and narrow mouth help ‘trap’ the beer’s aromas in the glass, making for a better tasting experience. But don’t worry if you do not have a vast selection of glassware – all that matters is that it is clean with no soapy residues as this will kill your foam. It is best to use smaller glassware in a beer tasting as you will only be pouring the beer into a third of the glass. Remember it is a taster only.
Food
If you are only providing snacks, then make sure you have an assortment of low flavoured foods as to not compromise your palate – think unsalted pretzels or crackers and raw vegetables like carrot and celery sticks. If you really want to wow your guests, host your beer tasting with a food pairing (loads of great suggestions below). Take your time serving each dish because a beer and food pairing is best enjoyed slowly.
Décor
Depending on cash flow and style, you can have fun setting up the décor for your beer tasting party. You can label ice buckets with the various beers you will be tasting and have beer tasting key notes printed, explaining the beers you will be serving. You can even go as far as printing beer score sheets – allowing guests to score the beer tastes for themselves.
Blind Taster
If you are into party games, you could build a blind tasting into the evening’s proceedings. Away from eyeshot, pour a beer of your choice into jug and then serve to guests with the notion they need to guess what beer it is. Prizes a must … a six pack of their favourite beer or dinner on you.
Designated drivers
Because you want your guests to drink responsibly, ensure everyone has booked a driving service to get them safely home.
Edutainment (education + information)
Encourage discussions among your guests so they are having fun while learning about the tastes of beer.
Pairing food and wine
The two keys to pairing beer with food are either accentuating a food flavour or balancing it. Keeping in mind that every taster has a unique palate doesn’t hurt either. It’s all about finding harmonies to complement each other and staying away from any overpowering flavours.
It can be difficult to find the perfect match, but perfection should not be the goal here … creativity and enabling others to open their minds by tantalising their taste buds is your benchmark. If you take that approach then your tasters will undoubtedly enjoy their experience and discover something new.
(Source: SAB)
