Having a few couples over for our first ever 'home beer tasting' Looking for recommendations of 5-6 different types of beers styles that would go well in transition. Something elementary in terms of taste.There will be 6 of us. Most of us like IPAs but trying to broaden horizons. I've read to start from weak to strong IBUs IE - cream ale, doppelbock, porter, stout, iipa. I'm just not sure all of those would go together. I don't want anyone getting nausea Thanks
It is not just IBUs, but overall strength and intensity of the flavor that you should concern yourself with. Light to heavy is a good rule of thumb. So, you might consider a transition like this: American Wheat--American Amber Ale- American Pale Ale---American IPA---American IIPA As you see, each step up the chain is a stronger flavor of beer with increasing hop intensity. Therefore, if you are focusing on hops, it would be a good way to do it.
I'd recommend Durty Mud Season Hoppy Brown Ale from Smuttynose. It's a brown ale, but with a good deal of hops, a good beer for some IPA lovers to broaden their horizons with. bismarksays had good suggestions with styles, I'd say maybe skip the American Wheat though (personally I don't drink much of that style in the winter) and go for something like Durty or an American Porter. Pale Ale - Amber Ale - American IPA - Porter and/or Durty - IIPA
If you want to get a good mix of lagers and ales, you could do something like this: Pilsner - Pale Ale - Dopplebock - Porter - IIPA The pilsner and dopplebock, being lagers, are generally crisper with a finer carbonation. They also will have a bit of funk that is unique to lager yeast.
I've hosted numerous beer tastings in a professional setting; teaching people who are new to beer the proper methods for analysis and tasting. If its a "noobish" group i always go in the following order: Pale Lager- something the the effect of Hofbrau Original if tyring to demonstrate a classic, or Kona Longboard Lager for something domestic. It's important to start off easy with something that may be familiar flavor-wise. Wheat beer- I always go with Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen. It's fun to talk about the bubblegum and banana aromas and flavors, and then help the tasters find it. They always get a kick out of it. And Weihenstephaner is, in my opinion, the quintessential Hefe. Belgian Golden or Belgian Tripel- Chimay White is usually my go-to, to demonstrate the subtleties of body, mouthfeel and alcohol warmth, combined with rich malts and spicy yeasts. Another classic brew. IPA- Its nice to go with something balanced, like Two Hearted or something of that ilk, but it can also be fun to blast a noob in the face with IBUs, think Palate Wrecker. This approach contrasts the maltiness of the last beer we tasted, and shows what hops can truly do to a beer. And it also leads into... Sour Beer- I usually go with something more entry level, like a Duchesse or Petrus Aged Pale, as this will likely be the first time someone new to tasting has tried a sour. I like to demonstrate not only the uniqueness of these beers, but after having their palate destroyed with hops, drinking a sour demonstrates their palate-cleansing abilities. Knock all that hop right off their tongues. Imperial Stout- Give them something heavy and viscous, like Ten Fidy or Expedition Stout. Another demonstrator of malts and mouthfeel, which i find to be the most overlooked aspect of tasting beer. Thats just my method, i'm sure there are plenty of different ideas with equal merit. In a professional setting with 4 oz pours and explanations and discussion and whatnot, this usually takes about 2 hours. Cheers, and have fun!
I'd look for some of the more bitter styles (relatively speaking) because you already know they like IPAs... such as German or Bohemian Pils, Cali Common, ESB, American Stout, American Barleywine, etc. Next gathering...another theme
So the list I have for tonight's beer tasting Troegs Nugget Nectar Great Lakes Commodore Perry Stone Reunition Dogfish Head 90min Bells Hopslam North Coast Old Rasputin W/ maybe a Pils/Hefeweizen/Witbier to start it off We will have soft pretzels w/ mustard, bacon wrapped brats, & pepperoni rolls - w/ a certain cheese matched w/ every style (Amber/IPA/IIPA/Sout Is that the order it should be in? Any recommendations on what beer to compliment w/ what food? Any other random tips? Thanks
I'd go; Commodore Perry Nugget Nectar Ruination Hopslam 90 min Old Rasputin You might want to do food with less flavor for during the tasting, something like bacon wrapped brats (although very good) could mess with the tastebuds while tasting beer. If its a more laid back "hang out and have some beers" then its fine, but if you want a hardcore tasting you may be better off with plain crackers, popcorn, etc. and save the more flavorful foods for afterwords.
I ran an intro tasting for a large number of people a year ago, so you might be interested in my similar thread from way back then. I also wrote a bunch of Powerpoint slides for the tasting (there were 40 or so people at it, and that helped keep it structured), which you can view/download here: http://www.slideshare.net/brikelly/beer-tasting-15730286 p.s. Don't be afraid to throw a good sour into the mix. I created about 4 pucker addicts that day with the Cuvee Rene and the Jacobins.
