Anyone hold beer tasting parties/events?

So the wife and I have been thinking about having a somewhat official but intimate beer tasting sometime in October/November. Nothing too crazy, we would probably invite about 20 people. Alot of the people that would come like my beer but arent exactly beer snobs.

I figure the idea is to have between 10-15 different beers. I have been brewing as much as I can and have been bottling off 6-12 beers of each batch I've made. Then I would probably also brew up a low alcohol blonde or cream ale that can be the permanent staple beer. I'd like to have a large variety of styles, but am also interested in slight modifications to a particular batch. Something like 3-4 different types of dry hops in growlers from an IPA. I may even try to build a randall for the event.

Has anyone else held similar 'events'? Any tips or ideas? How about good food pairing ideas (something that is simple to make/serve so we can focus on the brew)?

Single hop IPAs would be educational. Same "beer" with different yeasts would highlight the contribution made by yeast. A randall would be fun, but might be a little over the heads of the crowd you're describing...

As far as beer food pairing goes, this chart has helped me come up with some great ones for parties in the past, just click the PDF:

http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/beer-and-food/pairing-tips/pairing-chart

bigbeergeek said:

Single hop IPAs would be educational. Same "beer" with different yeasts would highlight the contribution made by yeast. A randall would be fun, but might be a little over the heads of the crowd you're describing...

As far as beer food pairing goes, this chart has helped me come up with some great ones for parties in the past, just click the PDF:

http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/beer-and-food/pairing-tips/pairing-chart

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Thanks, that chart is awesome. I haven't seen one that detailed ever. I have saved it on my desktop, and may even try to print it out for the party.

Yea, a Randall is something I think I would be way more into than everyone here. Different yeasts is a good idea, and I usually do this anyhow with my 10 gallon batches.

We do it every other month for our homebrew club meetings. One thing I recommend, don't go overboard on IPA's and hoppy beers. Especially since your invitees are not big beer people. Taste bud fatigue will ruin the event real quick if you give them too many hoppy beers.

We try to mix up the styles and keep the high alcohol beers for the end so people who are starting to feel a little buzzed can decide if they want to continue or not.

Remember, the goal of a tasting is not to get drunk, but to taste a variety of beers. try to get people to drink water in between and not that cream ale, save that for when the tasting part is over and everyone is just hanging out.

Airborneguy said:

One thing I recommend, don't go overboard on IPA's and hoppy beers. Especially since your invitees are not big beer people. Taste bud fatigue will ruin the event real quick if you give them too many hoppy beers.

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Good point. I've been lucky that everyone I've given my IPA homebrew to has actually liked it for the most part. Even if they dont like the bitterness, they can appreciate the citrus flavor and aroma. Since this is going to be in the fall, I think I am going to concentrate on darker beers. Stouts, Porters, and Brown Ales will be abundant. Maybe pale ales instead of IPAs for the most part.

Airborneguy said:

We try to mix up the styles and keep the high alcohol beers for the end so people who are starting to feel a little buzzed can decide if they want to continue or not.

Remember, the goal of a tasting is not to get drunk, but to taste a variety of beers. try to get people to drink water in between and not that cream ale, save that for when the tasting part is over and everyone is just hanging out.

Click to expand...

Yep, water and good food/munchies will be a must. I don't want it turning into a sh*tshow (at least not till later in the night). The cream ale/blonde will simply be a backup when all the tastings have been completed.

I've researched this topic on here and it seems like alot of people have their guests bring either a 6 pack of craft beer or something to eat. I think thats a good idea. It would be cool to explain the similarities and differences between a commercial beer and my homebrew of a similar style. And the less food we have to make for the party the more I can concentrate on the beer.

kpr121 said:

I've researched this topic on here and it seems like alot of people have their guests bring either a 6 pack of craft beer or something to eat.

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I totally forgot to mention this.

When we know its going to be a long, good meeting with a good turnout, we usually tell people to bring commercial examples of whatever we are tasting so we can compare. This month, we brewed a wit and a hefe, so next month we will taste those, and have people bring examples.

Airborneguy said:

I totally forgot to mention this.

When we know its going to be a long, good meeting with a good turnout, we usually tell people to bring commercial examples of whatever we are tasting so we can compare. This month, we brewed a wit and a hefe, so next month we will taste those, and have people bring examples.

Click to expand...

Thats a good idea. Maybe I will give suggestions as to what people should bring based on the brews scheduled. It will also help to minimize the pipeline depletion that is inevitable at such an event.

My boss decided that he wanted to start holding monthly beer tastings at his house.

He had never done it before, so he was looking to me for some guidance. He wanted to go from low ABV to high ABV, but I got him to go from maltier to hoppier.

We started with some darker beers (Barrel Aged Gonzo, Allagash Black, etc.) and moved to a Sour Rye Saison in the middle to cleanse the palate, then to Belgians, and then went to IPAs.

The first time through, there was no rhyme or reason to what people brought, but I think next time around, people will be assigned styles so that we don't get too much of one thing or too little of another.