BCS Variants Tasting Order and other tips/Help!

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by zrab11, Mar 6, 2014.

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  1. zrab11

    zrab11 Maven (1,450) Dec 25, 2010 Indiana
    Trader

    Not sure if this is the best place for this as it isn't all about food and beer pairings but no other forum looked appropriate for this question.

    So I'm doing a BCS variant tasting for about 10 plp. And I need help with a few things.

    So I plan to have Water, pretzels, Bread and soft mild cheese's to snack on between beers.

    1. Would you bring any other beer into the tasting to break up all the big strong beer flavors ? Or will water suffice?


    2. I need help with the order to drink these in- this is the order I was thinking of doing them in.

    Rare
    Vanilla
    Proprietors
    2009 BCS
    Bramble Rye
    Cherry Rye
    Backyard Rye
    Coffee

    I have King henry and BCS Barelywine but might leave those out as there will be a lot of big beers we will be drinking.

    2a. Is this a good order or would you switch anything around? I have no rhyme or reason to why I picked this order . My only thought was I would like to try rare,vanilla and proprietors on a fresh palate as those are the only ones i have never had. But I'm open to switching this up.

    3. I don't have enough glass wear to pour them all at the same time. So i bought 3oz clear plastic cups. I was planning on writing what each beer is on the cup and pouring all the beers at once. Would you pour them all at once ? Or one at a time?
    - These beers are all kept in my temp controlled cellar(50-55F)

    4. Any other advice for doing a tasting like this?

    Everyone has DD's so we are good there and we are starting this at 4pm so as to not go to late into the night.

    Thanks for any help you can be for this tasting!
     
    #1 zrab11, Mar 6, 2014
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2014
  2. Smakawhat

    Smakawhat Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,191) Mar 18, 2008 Maryland
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Sure water seems fine, do you want to try something different? if so then do so? However, the more you drink the more inebriated you are going to be.. is that what you want?

    How many people are coming? Everybody's different some can handle more than others. There is no right answer... Do you want to pair the Rye beers together? some side by side... such as the two Rye beers per comparison... Is there something here you really want to taste on a fresh palate and go with first??

    The only thing I would do with that list is try Proprietors first (cause I haven't had it) and/or get the Rare and Vanilla out of the way first. Have the Bramble and Backyard and Cherry last.. but that's just my preference.

    I also like the idea of taking the oldest aged beer and doing it last, to get an idea possibly of how the beer changes.


    again there is no right answer, the right one is what you want to do. If that's what you really want then do it, sounds good to me.


    Get some clear glassware. Sensory perceptions is one part of the experience, and you are depriving yourself of that. Even pour them into tumblers if you don't have tulips, snifters, whatever... but if you can't you can't. But a glass of Rare in a clear tuliped angle shape which you wont get in a solo cup is an experience you might miss out on.

    No do not pour them all at once. What if you can't finish them? The other point is to take your time, and you don't want left out beer sitting around. By the time you get around to some of the last brews your beers are also going to be too warm... there's no rush and opening a bottle it is not hard and doesn't take a lot of time to do. If you have enough serving items, you can consider pouring two of them side by side for everyone for comparison.

    Take your time. Also try a few, gauge how people are doing and take a break if you need to and just sit and eat for 15-30 minutes. Make sure also your participants get enough of everything you want to try. That's really all there is to it. Stay hydrated... honestly... don't get drunk... and have some neutral cracker/bread to cleanse your palate for people if they want.

    Most importantly... have fun.
     
    #2 Smakawhat, Mar 6, 2014
    CasanovaCummins likes this.
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