Organizing an informal beer tasting

Lately, I've had quite a few people come up to me lately and ask for suggestions about beers to try out. It's becoming a very common occurrence, and rather than constantly repeat myself, I've decided the best way to handle this is to set up a beer tasting and get a small group of people (10-15ish) together and give them about a dozen or so different styles to try out and go from there.

I'm trying to come up with a list of beers that would be a good broad stroke of the craft beer world as a whole, and I could definitely use some advice. I'd like to get as wide a variety as possible to give people a good launching point.

What I've come up with so far:

-Dogfish Head Midas Touch
-Schneider Aventinus weizenbock
-Adriaen Brouwer Dark Gold Ale

...

and that's about it.

Can anyone recommend any other beers to add to the list?

I should add that whatever beer is listed should be readily available in the Phoenix/Tempe, AZ area, so please avoid recommending beers on the other side of the Mississippi.

You're in Tempe? I'm right on the PHX/Tempe border. I host a beer tasting event every friday. Recently I documented some of the beers we have tried over the last 5 weeks (ran out of boxes to store the rest).

All of these were purchased from Top's liquors on University Ave in Tempe. You can do "build your own" 6 pack there. Take any bottle from a 6 pack and it's 1/6th of the price of the 6 pack. It's pretty cool and allows me and a few friends to try many different beers.

In case you're interested, here is my (very unorganized) list of beers that my friends and I have tasted:

Sierra Nevada - Bigfoot Barleywine - 9.6%
Wasatch - The Devastator - 8.0%
Lagunitas - The Hairy Eyeball - 9.0%
Firestone Walker - California Pale Ale - 4.8%
North Coast Brewing - Old Stock Ale - 11.7%
Flying Dog - Raging ***** - 8.3%
Odell's - Myrcenary IPA - 9.3%
Pyramid - Outburst IIPA - 8.5%
Avery - White Rascal - 5.6%
Breckenridge Brewing - 471 IIPA - 9.2%
Stone - Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale - 7.2%
Firestone Walker - Union Jack IPA - 7.5%
Anchor - Old Foghorn Barley Wine - 8.2%
Flying Dog - Gonzo Imperial Porter - 9.2%
Lagunitas - Maximus IPA - 8.2%
Odell's - Cutthroat Porter - 4.8%
Zywiec - Porter - 9.5%
Odell's - 5 Barrel Pale Ale - 5.2%
Boulder Brewing - Kinda Blue - ??
Odell's - Levity Amber Ale - 5.1%
Odell's - Red Ale - 6.5%
Bison - Chocolate Stout - 5.0%
Sierra Nevada - Torpedo IPA - 7.2%
Odell's IPA - 7.0%
Sam Adam's - Boston Lager - ??
Sam Adam's - Double Bock - 9.5%
North Coast Brewing - Old Rasputin RIS - 9.0%
Pete's Wicked - Strawberry Blond - 5.0%
Bridgeport - Kingpin Red Ale - 7.5%
Eel River - Acai Berry Wheat - 4.0%
Sam Adam's - Revolutionary Rye - ??
New Belgium - Fat Tire - 5.2%
Samichlaus - Classic - 14.0%
Boulder - Sweaty Betty Blond - ??
Wasatch - White Label White Ale - 6.0%
Widmer Bros - KGB RIS - 9.3%
Andersonville - IIPA - 8.7%
Left Hand - 400 Pound Monkey - ??
Dogfish Head - 90 Min IPA - 9.0%
Sam Adam's - Imperial White - 10.3%
Oak Creek - Nut Brown - 5.5%
Samuel Smith - Pale Ale - ??
Big Sky - Moose Drool - 5.1%
Bell's - Third Coast Ale - 10.2%
Kona - Koko Brown - ??
Sam Adam's - Irish Red - ??
Sierra Nevada - Porter - 5.6%
Odell's - 90 Shilling - 5.3%
Anderson Valley - Brother David's Triple - 10.9%
Sam Adam's - White Ale - ??
Uinta Brewing - 16th Anniversary Barley Wine - 10.4%
Hebrew - R.I.P.A. - 10.0%
Eel River - IPA - 7.2%
Dogfish Head - Raison D'Etra - 8.0%
Abita - Purple Haze - ??
Cave Creek - Chili Beer - ??
Bell's - Hopslam - 10.0%
Rogue - Santa's Private Reserve - ??
Santa Fe - Hefeweizen - ??
Lagunitas - Little Sumpin' IPA - 7.5%
Green Flash - Hop Head - 6.4%
Dogfish Head - Midas Touch - 9.0%
Bell's - Java Stout - 7.5%
Sam Adam's - Imperial Stout - 9.2%
Sam Adam's - Scotch Ale - ??
Speakeasy - Old Godfather Barley Wine - 10.2%
Shiner - Double Wheat - 6.2%
Rogue - St. Rogue Red Ale - ??
Squatters - Hop Rising IIPA - 9.0%
Flying Dog - Double Pale Ale - 11.5%
Samichlaus - Helles - 14.0%
North Coast Brewing - Brother Thelonious - 9.4%
New Belgium - Mothership Wit - 4.8%
Dogfish Head - Burton Baton IPA - 10.0%
Dogfish Head - Palo Santo Maroon - 12.0%
Grand Teton Brewing - ***** Creek ESB - 6.0%



Like I said, this is not the full list. Some beers were much better than others. Some were more "mainstream." I don't buy them all. In fact, the only thing you have to do to taste a ton of beers is bring a mix 6 pack! I tend to buy the stronger ones, but to each his own. Basically by the end of the night, we have all drank a 6 pack of beer, but have tried ~18-24 beers depending on who participates. It's a great way to try new beers and to get bottle's!

Also, send me a PM if you are in the phoenix/tempe area and are interesting in joining our (informal) "beer club"

Um you guys are in the Phoenix area and are not including beers from Four Peaks or my personal favorite Sleepy Dog?

I despise you both for having such fantastic beer markets

mmmmm Kiltlifter

Kiltlifter is good, I like their Raj IPA or Barley Wine the best. However, they don't sell either of those in bottles. Plus I'm pretty sure everyone that has participated in the beer tasting has tried it and the point of it is to try completely new beers.

I love Four Peaks and Santan and Sleepy Dog and Papago Brewing, etc. However, instead of buying something that I've tried a million times, I'd rather buy something that I haven't tried, you know? Everyone buys a 6 pack and we pour it into either 3 or 4 oz mugs to try each beer.

bgrayson726 said:

Kiltlifter is good, I like their Raj IPA or Barley Wine the best. However, they don't sell either of those in bottles. Plus I'm pretty sure everyone that has participated in the beer tasting has tried it and the point of it is to try completely new beers.

I love Four Peaks and Santan and Sleepy Dog and Papago Brewing, etc. However, instead of buying something that I've tried a million times, I'd rather buy something that I haven't tried, you know? Everyone buys a 6 pack and we pour it into either 3 or 4 oz mugs to try each beer.

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Oh oh ohhhhhh. I thought this was geared towards folks that don't drink craft beer and want to start.

What you're saying makes more sense :rockin:

I'll message you guys next time I come down to Arizona, maybe if I'm lucky you'll have one of these tastings going on then Maybe I can even mail down a couple Kansas micros before hand

jaycount said:

Oh oh ohhhhhh. I thought this was geared towards folks that don't drink craft beer and want to start.

What you're saying makes more sense :rockin:

I'll message you guys next time I come down to Arizona, maybe if I'm lucky you'll have one of these tastings going on then Maybe I can even mail down a couple Kansas micros before hand

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The OP's post was about that, and I just posted my list from the last month and a half or so. Any of the beers on that list were pretty good. However if you look at the more "mainstream" beers, those would probably be better for converting someone.

Also, that would be great about sending the Kansas brewery beers! I could pick ya up a 6 pack of kiltlifter or a mix 6er with kiltlifter, 8th street, santan's IPA, hefe, Devil's, and Epicenter Amber!

I'm kinda on the fence about bringing in local craft beers.

On the one hand, it's much more accessible and easy to recognize. Four Peaks beers are everywhere and typically don't involve calling to many liquor stores or searching through bar after bar after bar.

On the other hand, since it's so accessible, then why the hell have you never tried it before?

So after poking around for a bit, I've finally come up with a decent list covering a pretty good range. Now I'm just trying to figure out what order to serve them all in.

My list:
Dogfish Head Midas Touch
Schneider Aventinus weizenbock
Adriaen Brouwer Dark Gold Ale
Four Peaks Kiltlifter
Deutches Brewery Black Butte Porter
Pilsner Urquell
Arrogant Bastard
Dogfish Head 60 min IPA
Sam Adams Boston Lager
Shiner Bock
Big Sky Moose Drool
Bison Chocolate Stout

BTW, I also plan on serving Bud Light at the very end, so everyone can see just how bland and tasteless macrobrewed beers actually are.

Great list. Maybe tack on a run-of-the-mill hefe? Paulaner or similar?

I wish we had a better craft beer community in Wichita, this sounds like a blast