How To Plan A Beer Tasting Party: 5 Tips That Will Make Your Next Event More Fun
February 18•
Whether you’re looking to get a group of friends together for an evening of light-hearted fun or you’re hosting a more formal corporate event, a beer tasting is a great way to please a crowd.
Are you a beer person? Looking to host a beer tasting party?
Well, we all understand how tedious and seemingly complex it can be to host a successful beer party. Getting the various beer brands, organizing the venue, sending invites and keeping everything else in order can easily overwhelm you.
But do not fret. In this post, we are going to look at some of the best tips that will guide you as you plan to host a beer tasting party, ensuring that your event is more fun. Let’s get into it…
1. Create A Theme
The first thing you want to do is to develop a theme. The theme will help you choose suitable beer brands and prevent you from being overwhelmed. There are various ways of selecting a theme. One way is to use styles. Liquor stores and fine bottle shops have an array of styles, including stout or IPA, that buyers can choose from. You can also select wider styles like porters, sour beers, amber lagers, or brown ales. Geographical styles like strong Belgian ales, German lagers, or American West Coast hoppy beers may also be great. Beer styles express how the same ingredients can create unique tastes. They’re a fantastic way of learning more about beers with the same heritage and name but different identities. If you’re the creative type, think about beers with strange fruits, exotic spices, and strange ingredients. You can also ask your guests to carry their favorite beers - ensure they send you their names in advance. Once you create a theme, establish a way of evaluating and reviewing each beer. Hold your guests accountable for the beers they’ve tasted. Let them record what they think about the beer brands. After all, a beer tasting party aims to instill beer knowledge and help individuals be more precise when making orders.
2. Start The Plan
A proper plan will make your beer tasting party successful. Decide on the number of invites to know how much beer you’ll need. Inviting 90% of your friends may make you overwhelmed. Select a number you can accommodate.
Most beer-tasting samples have about 4 ounces, adding up to 72 ounces in a six-pack. A 4-ounce packet will give you a maximum of 8 beers.
The goal of a beer tasting party is to have guests taste and evaluate beers. However, this cannot be easy if they have too much to drink. To prevent them from clouding their judgment, use small proportions.
Small, wide-mouthed, easily rinsed glasses or plastic tasting cups will guarantee your guest’s safety.
It would be best if you also thought about who’ll supply the beer and any additional snacks. Buying all the beer from a single store will reduce stress and save time. But if you requested your guests to carry their beers along, remind them to keep them cold.
Also, ask them to carry starchier snacks like pretzels and crackers to keep their pallets clear. Ask them to avoid foods like hot wings and garlic because they’ll distort the taste of beer.
You should also consider your refrigerator’s or cooler’s space. You don’t want your guests to taste warm beer because it isn’t exciting. If you have less storage, ensure you supplement your fridge with coolers having ice baths.
Stock the beer in them for about 8 hours before the party and pull them out from the cooler, so they warm a little before serving.
Include beer-themed games and diversions in the party schedule. Secondary activities can be a great way to enhance the excitement after a few tastings. You can also engage the guests in sealing beer bottles and asking them to guess the bottle’s labels or styles. Let it not just be about tasting.
Physical space is a crucial component to consider. You need a room that can accommodate at least four tasters simultaneously. Place the beers in stations within the room to minimize overcrowding. Have water pitchers, dump buckets, towels, and napkins in every station to wipe spills.
3. Send Invitations Early
You should invite your guests early to enable them to plan. A month or two before the party can give them enough time to clear their schedules. Anyone can be on your beer tasting party list, but beer skeptics, experienced beer-drinkers, and family members would make the event lively. The location of the party matters: it should be accessible to allow the guests to travel easily. You can offer your guests transportation if it fits within your budget. Your preferred location should also have enough space to host the visitors, match your theme, and accommodate the facilities you’ll require to run the party successfully. 4. Be Meticulous You need to arrange the beers, snacks, and water before your guests arrive. Once all have arrived, brief them. Provide note-taking materials, discuss the guidelines and tell them how they’ll earn marks from the activities. The scoring method shouldn’t be complicated. You can use a 1-10 rating system to evaluate the overall enjoyment and rate specific traits like flavor and aroma. Remind the guests to rinse their glasses after drinking each sample and show them where to find the water pitchers. Also, demonstrate to them how to pour samples and give them the exact volumes of each pour. That’s the only way of preventing some individuals from drinking more beer than the rest. You also need to show them where they can get snacks to cleanse their palates and slow alcohol absorption. Smaller pours may not sound much, and your guests may consume them faster, oblivious of how it affects their bloodstream. Lastly, show every participant the beer-tasting stations and outline the tasting order. Arrange the beers from less intense to more intense to help your guest’s tongues adapt to the sourness.
4. Be Meticulous
You need to arrange the beers, snacks, and water before your guests arrive. Once all have arrived, brief them. Provide note-taking materials, discuss the guidelines and tell them how they’ll earn marks from the activities. The scoring method shouldn’t be complicated. You can use a 1-10 rating system to evaluate the overall enjoyment and rate specific traits like flavor and aroma. Remind the guests to rinse their glasses after drinking each sample and show them where to find the water pitchers. Also, demonstrate to them how to pour samples and give them the exact volumes of each pour. That’s the only way of preventing some individuals from drinking more beer than the rest. You also need to show them where they can get snacks to cleanse their palates and slow alcohol absorption. Smaller pours may not sound much, and your guests may consume them faster, oblivious of how it affects their bloodstream. Lastly, show every participant the beer-tasting stations and outline the tasting order. Arrange the beers from less intense to more intense to help your guest’s tongues adapt to the sourness.
5. Encourage Discussions
Once everyone has tasted the beers, gather them and initiate a discussion. Your main aim should be to get feedback from the guests. Asking them to describe the beers or telling them to vote for the beers they love are some ways of getting feedback. Don’t forget to collect and tally scores.
Also, tally and announce the winners of the secondary activities and games you engaged your guests in. If your budget isn’t tight, you can even buy them awards. An excellent way to reward the winners’ efforts may be to give them a bottle of their favorite beer.
After announcing the final results, offer your guests a meal to slow the alcohol absorption process. And because protecting palates is no longer a concern, serve them food in abundance.
Wrapping Up
A beer-hosting party needs a responsible attitude. Ensure you keep its goal: tasting beers. Don’t throw a drinking party. Food and water may help you keep things under control, but you need to monitor the consumption rate and pour sizes.
Worried about how to host a beer tasting party at home? These tips are all you need.