Beer tasting party (remember me??)

LAST UPDATED: 4/4 7:22pm

I posted here about a month ago asking for input on a beer tasting party I was planning on having on my birthday. The input I got was incredible; you guys are truly something. But I'm back, asking for one final revision, before the big day arrives.

I have collected an absurd amount of beer for this party; I suppose you could call the whole thing an obsession. I just moved here, so my amount of friends is small. And also I moved here to go to grad school in physics, and many of my physics friends don't drink at all (go figure). Consequently, the actual amount of beer I have collected is enough to kill every single participant who I imagine would come to the party. Some of the beer I have listed I will withhold completely at my discretion. The point is to experience the goodness of beer, not get trashed (although after it's over and there are bottles open and not finished yet...)

Part of my motivation for doing this beer tasting is to introduce my beer-ignorant friends to types of beers they haven't been exposed to before - specifically the best. I tried to get as many beers off of this list as possible; but I used my own personal experience to add to it.

As far as a drinking vessel I was thinking wine glasses.

Please critique my list and order. In particular what sort of orderves I should serve during the breaks and drinks to have on the side to clear the pallet.

Italicized = On the back burner; will bring out if requested

Day 1

Ale
Highland Brewing Co. Gaelic Ale
Russian River Supplication (BA #13)

ESB
Breckenridge Extra ESB

IPA
SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale
Bell's Two Hearted Ale

Strong Ale
Stone Double Bastard (BA #70)
Boulevard Saison-Bret (BA #92)

IIPA
DFH 90min Imperial India Pale Ale
Russian River Pliny the Elder (BA #6)

Bock/Doppelbock
Left Hand Goosinator Doppelbock Lager

--Break--

Stout
Sierra Nevada Stout
Guinness Special Export

Porter
Highland Brewing Co. Oatmeal Porter

Imperial Stout
Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch (BA #68)
Oskar Blues Brewery Ten Fidy (BA #90)

Imperial Porter
Rogue XS Imperial Porter

--Break--

Barleywine
J.W. Lees Harvest Ale 1999 vintage (BA #98)
Sierra Nevada Bigfood Barleywine Style Ale

Other/Strange
DFH Midas Touch
Rogue Dad's Little Helper Malt Liquor

Day 2

Belgian/Trappist
Trappist Rochefort 10 (BA #17)
Brouwerij Westvleteren 12 (BA #1)
Trappistes Rochefort 6
Trappistes Rochefort 8 (BA #82)
Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (BA #80)

Hefeweizen/German
Wiehenstephaner Hefeweissbier (BA #39)

Strong Ale
Rogue XS Imperial Red Ale

IPA
Homebrew IPA
Hop Rod Rye (BA #71)

IIPA
DFH Burton Baton Oak-Aged Imperial India Pale Ale
DFH 120min Imperial India Pale Ale

--Break--

Stout
Homebrew Stout

Imperial Stout
Deschutes Brewery The Abyss (BA #3)
DFH World Wide Stout

Russian Imperial Stout
Stone Russian Imperial Stout (BA #27)
North Coast Brewing Co. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (BA #97)

Bourbon Stout
Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (BA #8)
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (BA #42)

--Break--

Barleywine
Great Divide Old Ruffian (BA #87)
Rogue XS Old Crustacean Barleywine Style Ale

Other/Strange
Rogue Chipotle Ale
Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

The Master List

Ale
1x Highland Brewing Co. Gaelic Ale
1x Russian River Supplication (BA #13)

Strong Ale
1x Stone Double Bastard (BA #70)
1x Boulevard Saison-Bret (BA #92)*
1x Rogue XS Imperial Red Ale*

ESB
1x Breckenridge Extra ESB*

Belgian/Trappist
2x Brouwerij Westvleteren 12 (BA #1)
1x Trappistes Rochefort 6*
1x Trappistes Rochefort 8 (BA #82)*
1x Trappist Rochefort 10 (BA #17)*
1x Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (BA #80)*

Hefeweizen/German
1x Wiehenstephaner Hefeweissbier (BA #39)

IPA
1x SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale
1x Bell's Two Hearted Ale
1x Hop Rod Rye (BA #71)*

IIPA
4x Russian River Pliny the Elder (BA #6)
1x DFH 90min Imperial India Pale Ale
1x DFH 120min Imperial India Pale Ale
1x DFH Burton Baton Oak-Aged Imperial India Pale Ale

Porter
1x Highland Brewing Co. Oatmeal Porter
1x Alaskan Brewing Co. Smoked Porter

Bock/Doppelbock
1x Left Hand Goosinator Doppelbock Lager*

Imperial Porter
1x Rogue XS Imperial Porter*

Stout
6x Sierra Nevada Stout*
2x Guinness Special Export
1x Overcast Espresso Stout
1x Boulder Beer Co. Obovoid Oak-Aged Oatmeal Stout

Imperial Stout
1x Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch (BA #68)*
1x Deschutes Brewery The Abyss (BA #3)
1x Oskar Blues rewery Ten Fidy (BA #90)
1x DFH World Wide Stout

Russian Imperial Stout
1x Stone Russian Imperial Stout (BA #27)
4x North Coast Brewing Co. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (BA #97)*

Bourbon Stout
2x Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (BA #8)
1x Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (BA #42)

Barleywine
1x J.W. Lees Harvest Ale 1999 vintage (BA #98)
1x Great Divide Old Ruffian (BA #87)*
6x Sierra Nevada Bigfood Barleywine Style Ale*
1x Rogue XS Old Crustacean Barleywine Style Ale*

Other/Strange
1x Rogue Chipotle Ale*
1x Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad*
1x DFH Midas Touch
1x Rogue Dad's Little Helper Malt Liquor*



IHateMayonnaise

BTW, if anyone is in/around Kansas, you are more than welcome to come

Being that you we are going in to spring, I would tend to stick to the lighter beers.

The Stouts, Porters and Barleywines are a bit heavy for a multi-day tasting.
If you do plan on sampling those I would save them for the final day, as they tend to be higher in ABV and do a fine job of confusing the palate.


Here is my Idea for your event ( these are only opinions )
Go to the Dollar General and get a dozen 4-6 oz Glasses (you shouldn't have a tasting with Dixie cups)


Birthday

Stay on the light side, your friends are there to party maybe pick up a few cases of SNPA or something familiar that will not scare them off.

Second Day

Start with the Belgians
1x Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (BA #80)*
2x Brouwerij Westvleteren 12 (BA #1)

For this bunch I would use a strong black coffee (small sips with out cream or sugar) to cleanse the palate, along with having a container of fresh coffee beans to help clear the nose. Be sure your tasters rinse theirs glasses in very hot water between samples, Nothing is worse than tasting with a dirty glass.

A mild chicken and small salad with a non cream based dressing for the lunch.
(Beer and Milk is a really bad idea)

Then to work past the funk fest, I would stroll in to the IPA/IIPA
This is a very tricky category

1x SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale
1x Bell's Two Hearted Ale
1x Russian River Pliny the Elder (BA #6)

I don't think I would go any farther than that!
I know that the bitterness of an IPA bothers people more than the funk of a Belgian
For a palate cleanser I thing a citrus free slightly sweet drink will fit the bill, maybe a green tea with honey/sugar

Med-Rare Red meat for dinner with freshly steamed veggies and a good loaf of bread for dinner, along with dinner I would start the meals with the barleywines.

With the barleywines make sure they are somewhere around 55-60 deg

2x Sierra Nevada Bigfood Barleywine Style Ale*
1x Great Divide Old Ruffian (BA #87)*

That should fill your first day

Day 2

For those that return I might start off really light, work them back in to the torture.

Hefeweizen
1x Wiehenstephaner Hefeweissbier (BA #39)
and another Local offering

A light snack

Than try the "Others"

1x Rogue Chipotle Ale*
1x Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad*
1x DFH Midas Touch
1x Rogue Dad's Little Helper Malt Liquor*

I would call it a day because most people will have to work the next day.

For the brave maybe include them in tasting some of your own beers or your Favorites off of that list

Again this is just my opinion, granted my friends drink quite a bit more than yours so you might have to remove a few steps from this plan


-Jason

I'm sure you probably got this warning already, but just make sure you understand that some people just prefer the BMC beers and there's nothing wrong with that or anything you can do to change it. I have several friends who drink nothing but Pabst Blue Ribbon and can't stand my IPA's, belgians, wheat beers, stouts, or other various types of beer that I enjoy. Hassling them to drink "real" beer would not result in anything other than me irritating them just as much as it would irritate me to have them trying to convince them that Pabst is a superior beer to all of my homebrews

People like what they like, and while there is no harm in introducing them to new things, just keep in mind that there is a difference between "introducing" and "forcing" things onto people.

And for the record, I actually do enjoy a Pabst from time to time, and is hands down my favorite beer that comes out of a large commercial brewery. Though they don't have anything on my home brew

I would use the birthday party as an opportunity to find out who's interested in the main tasting and who isn't. Maybe get 4-5 very different but relatively easily available beers (so you're not wasting hard to find stuff on people who aren't even really going to taste it).

Around here that might be something like Orval, Schlenkerla Rauchbier, Duchesse de Bourgogne, Stone Ruination, and Fraoch Heather Ale. Do a quick tasting at the party, note who actually seems interested, and invite them to the full tasting.

Drink the Pliny the Elder on the earliest date. Preferably within a month of the bottling date.

Thanks everyone for the input. I have decided to just figure out my "birthday tasting" on my own, including it here adds an unnecessarily high level of confusion.

Also, I am changing notation. If i italicize something, that implies that it is in a particular category, but will not be showcased. i.e. it is not one of the "main beers," and will serve to supplement the rest (on the request of the participants).

I have made a rough outline of what to serve on what days; please critique the order, etc.

@dummkauf:

Yes, I am aware of this. Most of the people I will be inviting like a wide range of beers, but just haven't had the opportunity to try them. Some don't like beer at all, hopefully they'll take this opportunity to find out what strikes their fancy.

Man, this is epic! I would love to come to your tasting. Seriously, though, If you have multiple high gravs (SN Barleywine, Founders KBS), then pop one, taste it, take notes and then keep the rest for at least a year. But the pliny needs to be drank within a reasonable amount of time because of the fading of the aroma hops. Some of these beers are insane palate ass kickers. What you are doing for you friends is so stellar. I hope they will sure as hell appreciate this incredible list of beers.