Hosting a Tasting - Question

Assuming that's going to be split between four people, you're looking at up to about 36 oz/person with your current amount.

Given the size/style preferences of the group, I suggest having 12 picked out and ready, divided roughly evenly between "we're definitely going to open these" and "TBD depending on where the flow of the tasting takes us".

 

I say wing it and go with the flow @LeRose. Those are the only “tastings” I’ve experienced…pick one to start…

“which one do you guys want to try next?” And just keep going from there. Just my two cents which isn’t even worth two cents…

 

This is all I’d want to hear at a friends tasting.

 

Larry,

My suggestion is that you type up a Beer Menu list and provide it to your guests and ask what piques their interest.

I will be attending a New Years Eve party and I will be bringing a case (24 bottles) of a mix of homebrewed beers. I will bias the mix to be a lot of IPAs and Oatmeal Stouts (which is a favored beer for my friends) but an assortment of others. I print out the Beer Menu which I tape to the top of the cooler and I just ask: what'cha want?



Cheers!

 

I have done the same thing - informal tastings limited to about 4-6 beers representing maybe 2-3 sort-of-similar styles (i.e., maybe porter, stout, and some big malty German ale, but not a pilsner and a stout in the same setting) and also "planned" blind tastings, generally using about the same number of beers. I Would pick out an initial offering of not more than 5 beers representing a few different styles, see what is popular, then bring out a couple more of the most popular style(s) during which time maybe not everyone ends up drinking the same thing. Maybe two people split on beer while the others split something different that is more interesting to them. I have had good success with starting out with a blind taste of the initial beers, then do the reveal, then follow with more beers of the most popular styles.

 

Just wing it and err on the side of having too much beer rather than too little. If it's anything like every tasting I've ever been to, some items will be unpopular and left mostly full while people can't get enough of something else that drains instantly. Start with the milder items (flavor-wise) and build to the items that are bolder. They last thing you want to do is serve a Kolsch after something with a zillion IBU's. At the same time, remember that some milder items can still be rather punchy (Lambic, kettle sours).

 

Determine the total Standard Drinks: one 5%ABV 12OZ beer = one Standard Drink (SD)

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, but when I do a beer tasting, I like to have an idea of how many total ABVs the beers I will be offering will be. It's a bit of math, but I simply ballpark it.

1) How many people (including myself) will there be, and how long will we plan to be spending drinking. ie. 2 people for 5 - 6 hours.

2) I think about how many we can handle in an evening. eg. I don't like to have more than 4 - 5 beer equivalents a night, and I don't like to drink more than one an hour. If the others are in general agreement, great; if not, I make sure I have plenty for those that want to drink more (actually I do this anyway). i.e 2 people for 6 hrs. = twelve Standard Drinks.

You can use this calculator to simplify: https://standarddrinks.org/calculator/

3) After figuring out which beers I want to sample, I convert each beer to a Standard drink. This can get tedious, so for an example let's say I am doing an imperial stout tasting: (I ballpark all of these, or round to the nearest SD):

2 Expedition Stouts at 10.5% 12OZ = four SD,
1 BBA Expedition Stout 13.4% 12 oz = three SD,
1 Founders CBS 11.3% 12oz = two SD,
2 Left hand Black Cherry Nitro at 7.7% 13.4oz = two SD,
1 Perennial Intentionally Indulgent at 11.5% 16 oz = three SD.

Total = fourteen Standard Drinks. Not too many more than twelve, and yet plenty for my friend and I to have in a roughly five - six hour evening.

One caveat: It's not likely everyone will drink or empty of each of the beers (depending on the number of people there, and the ABV of the beer, I usually pour out 2 - 4 OZ per person at a time, and there is almost always something left over in the bottle/can), so I like to have more than enough for everyone.

It may look complicated on the surface, but I find it's worth doing the calculation (although I am not an accountant, I am comfortable with math and doing figures, so admittedly, this may be easier for some than for others).

I hope that helped.

Cheers!

 

I think this is worth noting and was one of my original thoughts on the topic. If one is comfortable dumping a portion of each beer, the volume of beers you can try in an evening and comfortably serve a guest increases. Although with roughly four people, that may be only 3 to 4 ounces of beer per person of each beer (unless you are serving larger format bottles). To me, this is the perfect serving for a tasting. Cheers.

 

Give us a post mortem and let us know how it works and what was popular…and not.

 

That's great that you can do it at your house. I am always taking the beer somewhere else, and sometimes driving afterwards, so I have to very carefully plan what to bring.

Yeah, it's not fun pouring out a high ABV beer, but for me most of the big beers I sample were bought years ago, so I look at it as a sunk cost; and the guy that hosts it sometimes caps the beers--wine stopper--to drink for later.

Have fun with your tasting!

 

Larry, you need to have more tastings!

When can I come over and help you out with your 'problem'?

Cheers!

 

I agree with the suggestion of give an initial small pour of 2-3 ozs. Once the "tasting" process is over, folks can make an educated choice of what to revisit with a larger pour.

 

I'm curious what the "purpose" of the tasting is? Or maybe motivation is a better word? Is it just for fun? Did the guests express some desire to learn more about craft beer?

If it's the latter, it might be fun and informative to make up an initial line up of 5 or 6 beers designed to give an over view of the range/history of craft beer in America. And then you can sort of explore off shoots from that framework.

If it's just for fun and socialization then I think you've got a great plan

 

Sounds like you're well prepared then, I'm sure it will be a good time

 

Used to go to a big spring stout tasting party back in the day where lots of people brought all the stouts they had saved up over the course of the year to enjoy while the weather was still cool and clear out some cellar space. By the end we were fighting over the High Lifes at the back of the fridge. So, it's nice to have a theme, but have some other stuff in there to keep from having the palate getting worn out.

 

One idea is to be very informal as I have been. At home I've had tastings where I just keep on bringing beers up from the basement. Nothing as formal as a beer menu or a set amount for each pour. Everything in the basement is well chilled this time of year. Play it by ear and perhaps surprise your guests with something out of the ordinary.