I am hosting a "Pumpkinfest" beer tasting party at my apartment for 6-8 people. There will be about 12-15 pumpkin beers ranging from light bodied to boubon barrel imperials. I never really did a tasting before and I know pumpkin beers are spicy pallet wreckers, but I will have plenty of crackers, plain popcorn, water etc. on hand to help out... plus all the guys are on board and psyched as much as I am. For the glassware, I don't have 75 glasses to distribute to everyone for each beer, nor do I want to buy throw away plastic cups. That would be a waste of resources and $ and I like to stay away from drinking out of plastic. I was thinking of using 6-8 same/similar glasses for this. My question is, what is the best way to keep it flowing? Rinsing and drying after each beer seems impractical and redundant. However, I don't want to "contaminate" the next beer with the leavings of the last. We are only going to be dealing with about 3-4 oz. servings. After reading up on this, it seems like moving through the flights in order of ABV%, lowest to highest is the best way to go. But going from say Night Owl (5.9%) to Fishermans Pumpkin Stout (7%) then to Pumpking (8.6%) it seems like those are quite different, contrasting beers... how do you guys (and gals) do this in a productive way...or am I just thinking too much about this???
I've done MANY tastings.. Only pour 2 oz samples at a time; drink, discuss, rinse glasses, and repeat. When you or others want more (or want to do a side by side with another beer- use another glass) refill with the desired amount to taste. Hope this helps.
I bought a handful of these and use them for tastings. They're 6 ounces, and we rinse them with water between each beer. I love them:
Agree with above. Use your own glasses and have a pitcher of water to rinse and a bucket to dump in. No need to be any fancier than that. Low to high is always good and the pours should get a little smaller with really high ABV. If you are doing some side by sides then you will need ideally about 3-4/person but more than that is just too complicated. I always think a couple of blind offerings adds fun to any event. Cover up the bottles well. Line up three or four and see what people think. Enjoy!!!!!
Thanks guys this all makes perfect sense... Also, I was so busy thinking about the ABV% racking up and trying to figure out ounces to people, that I didnt even think to just make the pours smaller for the higher ABV's... pretty simple concept!
What they said. Besides the tasting glasses themselves, have a pitcher of water and dump bucket - plus separate water glasses. Encourage rinse and dump between beers - don't worry about drying. After 4 or 5 samples, people won't be rinsing anyways. But do encourage drinking lots of water and lots of snacking.
Two additional suggestions. 1) Be sure the crackers are unsalted. (Salt changes the palate not cleanses it.) 2) Get several bottles of spring water (no chlorination) and instead of rinsing each glass have each person pour a couple of ounces of water in their glass, swirl well, and then drink the water. That way you help people stay hydrated and reduce the impact of the ABV.
Agreed with rinse pitchers and buckets. But, a second thought. If you think you might host, or attend, bottle shares with any kind of regularity, considering buying a case of 4oz glasses from your local restaurant supply place. IIRC, it's a case of 72, so you can rotate through and not stress too much during the event.
I would bring my own glass with no problem, water and rinse in between each sample. Or solo cups, that is really easy too.
Wow, alot of great suggestions/advice...thanks everyone. I knew I could count on the BA's on this site. I did some Google searches and many said to use plastic disposable cups and were really too generic ...but I knew better than that
I would ask folks to bring their own glass too and the line for the kitchen faucet forms orderly please. There's no shame in plastic glassware. Some of it is pretty impressive looking and well made and not even that cheap. PLUS you can throw it out when your guests leave and not have to wash anything.
