How do other actual brewers feel about 'Beer Flights'?

[Broken Crow]

Am I the only one who is put off and very annoyed at 'Beer Floats'? I first saw those seemingly pointless handmade and overpriced pieces of plank with holes called 'beer flight' at craft shows and when told what it was, I just assumed it was for the mainstream 'Pub Crawl' folk that I always found highly annoying when they'd show up at one of my hang-outs, with their pretentions of 'trying out beer and places' when most places served the same mainstream crap as every other place, when in fact they were just out to get trashed and laid and had no actual palate or discerning taste whatsoever..... Beer is not wine. You don't just take a sip, spit it, have a piece of bread and move on to the next. Something as simple as a strong hop character on the one, will radically alter the taste of the next one.
This is what annoyed me:
https://windsorite.ca/sponsored-stories/county-pints-city-flights-celebrate-ontario-craft-beer-week/ These are some good breweries, and of course, being disabled I can't actually go, but just seeing some of these fine brews being served in a way that I personally know will utterly misrepresent and denigrate everything after the first two samples, just pisses me off.... it tells me that tasteless folk who don't deserve good beer are the true target of the whole event.
Is it just me?

 

[doug293cz]

I don't have a problem with beer flights. If someone tastes a DIPA before a Pilsner, then they obviously don't know what they are doing, and shouldn't be tasting beer.

Brew on

 

[mac_1103]

I like flights. I almost always get a flight when I go to a new brewery for the first time. Let's me see how they do at a variety of styles without having to get completely sloshed.

 

[Kharnynb]

it's not really a thing this side of the pond, back in the netherlands we do have meter of beer, but it's the opposite of "fancy tasting"

 

[DBhomebrew]

Yep. In a new-to-me brew pub? I'm getting a flight. I drink at most 2 pints when I go out. A flight gives me the chance to taste more beers. It's usually a flight followed by my favorite out of the bunch. Plus, most wait staff can't tell me the difference between their five IPAs. I'll figure it out myself, thank you.

 

[day_trippr]

It's been a few years since my last "flight" but I enjoyed them in the past.
Some of these "flights" shown look to be volumetrically quite large - this one looks like at least 4 ounce glasses times 10 beers.
"Hammer Time"?

Someone's gonna have some explaining to do when they get pulled over by the local gendarmes

Cheers!

 

[Airborneguy]

I’ve never encountered a flight in a reputable brewery that wasn’t properly ordered to account for taste bud fatigue.

 

[AlexKay]

Not an actual brewer, and this is just my opinion, but I think you've really got to have a whole glass to properly taste a beer. Take some time! The temperature and carbonation level change as you're drinking. Savor.

If this means I have to drink a little more beer, or make an extra trip to a given brewery, that's a price I'm prepared to pay.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Not an actual brewer, and this is just my opinion, but I think you've really got to have a whole glass to properly taste a beer. Take some time! The temperature and carbonation level change as you're drinking. Savor.

If this means I have to drink a little more beer, or make an extra trip to a given brewery, that's a price I'm prepared to pay.

Are you offended by those who do order a flight? Or by a bar that offers one?

A bar at which you are not a patron?

 

[GoodTruble]

I like having the option if there are 4-5 beers I wanted to try without committing to a whole pint. It also seems to appeal to people that do not ordinarily try our new/different beers.

 

[sibelman]

radically alter the taste of the next one.

True, that. But with some time, maybe a gulp of water to cleanse the palate a bit, and some sense of order, I have found it's possible to appreciate a "flight". As mentioned above, sampling several beers at a new-to-me face gives me a sense of the brewery's capabilities.

I prefer the term sampler, unless the beverages being served are all similar/related, such as a flight of Pilsners or Pinot Grigios, or wines of several vintages from the same maker.

As far as some beer drinkers being nekulturny cretins: that's true, flights or not.

 

[jsphlynch]

Count me among those who likes having a flight as a way to explore a new brewery. But I understand flights aren't for everybody, so I'll get off your lawn now.

 

[shetc]

I like beer flights; beer floats not so much.

 

[AlexKay]

Are you offended by those who do order a flight? Or by a bar that offers one?

A bar at which you are not a patron?

Um … no? Frankly, I try to get to a point where I’m not offended by anything short of actual evil.

But if you ask me (and the OP did) I think beer flights are doing it wrong. There’s worse, to be sure. I was served an IPA yesterday in a shaker pint.

 

[shetc]

I was served an IPA yesterday in a shaker pint.

With "Bud Light" on the side

 

[DBhomebrew]

With "Bud Light" on the side

That would be a flight.

 

[Bassman2003]

I have always thought the flights were served in too large of glasses. Too much commitment if the beer sucks. I would prefer a sampler of smaller glasses. But I think these things are profit centers for the establishment and folks would not want to pay much for mere tastings of each beer.

 

[day_trippr]

One of my sons gifted me a flight board with six 2 ounce glasses. I think that's just right - all the options add up to just one standard pour...

Cheers!

 

[madscientist451]

These are some good breweries, and of course, being disabled I can't actually go, but just seeing some of these fine brews being served in a way that I personally know will utterly misrepresent and denigrate everything after the first two samples, just pisses me off.... it tells me that tasteless folk who don't deserve good beer are the true target of the whole event.
Is it just me?

Sorry, yeah its just you.
Some stuff just isn't worth worrying about; your concerns, (which may seem perfectly reasonable to you) aren't going to change anything....
Perhaps channel your energy into something positive?

 

[MaxStout]

If it's my first time there, a flight is first on the agenda. If I were to order only pints, I'd usually have only a few. Don't want to miss out on the others. And I don't want to commit to a pint of some crappy one, either.

Most breweries I've been to around here arrange the glasses in ascending order of IBU, so I can wait till the last one to wreck my palate.

After a flight I'll order pints of my favorite two. If they knock a bunch of them out of the park I have a reason to stop back another day to order some of the others.

 

[PberBob]

With a few of the breweries here in NorCal offering a dozen or more beers, I like to get a flight of the lighter styles, take a quick break, and catch a connecting flight into the dark.

Frequent flier miles anyone?

 

[GoodTruble]

With "Bud Light" on the side

Shaker of Bud Light is called a shight, I believe.

 

[mac_1103]

That would be a flight.

Or fight?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Or fight?

I don't drink Bud Light. Or Bud. Or Coors, or Miller, or any other American adjunct lager. But there's absolutely nothing about Bud Light I'm interested in fighting over.

 

[wdavis2003]

I never order a flight of beer BUT there's something appealing about the look of a flight. Even at the worst breweries, the presentation makes the beer look better.

 

[TheCache]

Flights are nice if you visit and new brewery and want to get a sense of their offerings. I don't order them often, but when I do I tend to order them grouped around a style to avoid "taste bud fatigue". Sure I'm not going to get the same experience as a full pint, but I can taste a few and then move to a pint of the ones I am particularly interested in.

The last flight I had focused on a few lagers and a kolsch. Most were styles that I had recently brewed. I was happy to find out that mine held up good to the "pro" version.

 

[odie]

I always get a flight if it's my first visit to a new place. Sample what they got and then make my choice for round 2.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Are you offended by those who do order a flight? Or by a bar that offers one?

A bar at which you are not a patron?

Uhh, it's 2023.

Everything which is even modestly different from someone's preferences is offensive to them and the internet NEEDS to be told how terrible they are if they support it.

It's obvious that these are craft beer drinkers who are drinking craft beer wrongly and should be flogged and publicly shamed.

I mean, do you even internet, bro?

 

[mac_1103]

Uhh, it's 2023.

Everything which is even modestly different from someone's preferences is offensive to them and the internet NEEDS to be told how terrible they are if they support it.

In my experience, this started around 1973, and I'll bet that someone who's ten years older than me will say that it started in 1963. Nobody actually believes that there's more than one way to skin a cat, unless you want to skin it wrong.

 

[wepeeler]

Flights are a good way to try various beers at a new place without having to order too many pints. The only people who I routinely hear that hate flights are the bartenders.

 

[odie]

It's obvious that these are craft beer drinkers who are drinking craft beer wrongly and should be flogged and publicly shamed.

flogging for everyone...shame, shame...

 

[DBhomebrew]

Flights are a good way to try various beers at a new place without having to order too many pints. The only people who I routinely hear that hate flights are the bartenders.

That's a great point. Always tip a flight as the multiple pours they are.

 

[Broken Crow]

Thanks Everyone for the perspective! I haven't been out in about 10 years, and the craft-brew scene was only finally gaining more widespread steam in this backwards town. I guess my own experience has been coloured by the time and demographic, and that when I did see flights being served, they were full size glasses on long trays without so much as a plate of nachos or breadsticks.

 

[balrog]

My beer flight:

 

[matt_m]

I prefer if flights are available. If not, unlikely I'm going to get to try more than 2-3 beers. Based on vacation last fall, seems like a pretty good percentage of places are not going back to having them post-covid though.

 

[Henbrew]

I find that the flaw with flights is that the shot glass sized glasses they pour into don't really allow you to experience the beer compared to a proper glass. So much of enjoying a beer is getting to put your nose into the glass when drinking.

 

[odie]

My beer flight:
View attachment 822349

talk about "running the gauntlet"...

 

[Kharnynb]

That's a great point. Always tip a flight as the multiple pours they are.

you guys really tip for bars, we might throw in a coin or 2 but these guys are usually well paid anyway...

 

[cmac62]

I first read "flight" and then in the first post OP asks about "Beer Floats" I personally like both if in the mood. Stone's Smoked porter with a little vanilla IC is pretty damn good. Also If I'm going to a new place I'll get a flight, and I order it from light to dark and mild to hoppy. It works. Most of the places around here use 4 oz pours and do 4-6 in a flight for a little over what they charge for a pint and it is worth it to me. My club does beer tours a couple times per year, and if I'm likely only going to be there once I want to try more than 1 beer.

 

[sibelman]

shot glass sized glasses they pour into don't really allow you to experience the beer

This works well for me: