Suppose one has decided to drink 3 beers over several hours of afternoon into evening. Start with the higher ABV, or vice versa? Thank you.
start with the lower work your way up to the higher. If you start high and end low, by the time you get to the lower beers your palate will be exhausted by the maltier hopper more aggressive higher ABV beers.
Drink the piss first. That way you'll have something to look forward to. I can't imagine starting on a BCBS then finishing on a MGD. I d probably be fuking sick.
I don't see a problem with a cycle down from an IIPA to a quality IPA to a favorite APA I don't see a problem with the reverse order either. Enjoy!
I tend to think in terms of flavors rather than abv. So I'll typically save hoppier beers for the end since they cut through other flavors, whereas it's tough to appreciate a good stout when your palate has been bombarded with hops all night. But assuming flavor profiles are roughly similar, I usually go high to low. To me, it sort of parallels the old "liquor before beer" rule.
If it's a tasting then I would go from low to high. If I'm with my friends, then I prefer to have a high abv beer then switch to low ABV beers.
Do you have to drive after? Personally I'd start with the heavier and go to the lighter. The later into the drinking session I get, the lower the ABV I like my beer to be.
I have been experimenting with this over the past week or so. I like to have one higher abv to get my buzz going faster. Then I can sip lower abvs slower and I seem to drink less this way. But it really depends on what beers you have and your flavor preferences. Just cuz its got a higher abv doesnt mean its neccessarily going to ruin your palette. For instance, Im drinking a Victory Hop Ranch(my last one! So sad.) and Ill be following it with a Torpedo. I doubt Ill enjoy the Torpedo any less after the Hop Ranch. Hop ranch is way sweeter, so Torpedo will be a nice change of direction.
Personally, if I'm going to be drinking a variety, I tend to drink what I'm most excited for first. Is it going to change the characteristics of the beer I have after it, sure. But if I flipped the order and drank the other stuff first, the stuff I would be excited for would be affected just as much by what I wasn't as excited to drink. To reference a post above, would you rather have a bit a of a Miller Lite buzz when you drink your BCBS, or would you rather have a bit of a BCBS buzz when you are drinking the Miller Lite? I want my palate as clean as possible for the best beer I'm going to drink that night.
Depends.....if you have super hoppy beers I would save those for last because they will wreck your palate if you are going to drink a brown or pale ale after.
I agree with those saying drink what you are most excited for first then descend to least excited. If your on the fence over two then that is the perfect time to take ABV and IBUs into consideration. That being said, if you are at a tasting and the servings are 3oz or less then I say "listen to your heart, that's what I do."
I usually have an order of style preference rather than an order of abv preference. But not always. Sometimes we just drink the most highly anticipated or best beer first while the palate is fresh in order to get the most fulfilling experience. Now if you go to a bottle share and you're presented with a room full of whales...decisions, decisions.
