Denis da Silva, SAB Trade Brewer at Newlands Brewery in Cape Town believes that beer is more versatile than wine because “beer is food”. Beer has many different characteristics thanks to its varied ingredients, with hundreds of malted barley varieties, yeast strains and hops.
“Beer is good, food is good, but nothing beats good food with good beer,” said Da Silva.
So here’s how to get started:
1. Confirm number of guests for catering
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).
2. The beer
Provide your guests with a variety of flavours. Da Silva suggests the following beers:
- Crisp: All round lightness, less body with a sharp crispness and gentle lingering bitterness, like Castle lite.
- Hops: Hop bitterness like a Hansa Pilsner with its unique Saaz hop or the Jacob’s Pale Ale from Newlands Spring Brewing Company with earthy and peppery notes.
- Malt: Clean, somewhat dry, somewhat bitter, never sweet lager like Castle Lager or some roasted, caramel, toffee notes from Jacobs Pale Ale.
- Roast: Rich and smooth with roasted full mouth feel, like Castle Milk Stout or some chocolate and cocoa notes from Choc Stout.
- Fruity: Low bitterness with a distinctive fruity aroma and taste, like The Newlands Spring Co – Passionate Blond with its distinctive passion fruit aroma or Carver’s Weiss & Mountain Weiss with a zesty banana aroma with hints of clove and vanilla.
- Flavoured: There is a variety to select from – the Flying Fish range of low bitterness fruit flavoured beers (orange, lemon and apple), Castle lite Lime or the most recently-launched Liberado, a tequila flavoured beer with fresh lemon notes.
3. Served chilled
Make sure you serve chilled beers to optimise the tasting experience.
4. Water
In between beers, it is recommended to cleanse your palate with water.
5. 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.
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.
6. Snacks
If you are only providing snacks, then make sure you have an assortment of low flavoured foods as to not compromise your palate. Foods such as unsalted pretzels or crackers and raw vegetables (carrot and celery sticks) work well.
7. Plated courses
If you really want to wow your guests, host your beer-tasting with a food pairing.
8. Décor
Depending on your resources and style, you can have fun setting up the décor for your beer tasting party.
9. Blind taster
If you are into party games, you could build 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.
10. Designated drivers
Because you want your guests to drink responsibly, ensure everyone has booked a driving service to get them safely home.
11. Edutainment (education + information)
Encourage discussions among your guests so they are having fun while learning about the tastes of beer.
