Beer tasting party tomorrow (I want to bring some ingredients)

[eatmorefrogs]

I'm going to a beer tasting with friends tomorrow. Obviously I'll take along a nice commercial bottle or two and some homebrew. That said, I'm the only homebrewer in the crowd.

I thought it would be nice to also bring some hops throughout the spectrum (I think I have the hop part covered with what I have on hand...but i'm interested in hearing if you think some hop is so unique that it's a must-have) and some grain as well. I think it's really useful for the uninitiated to know what 2 row tastes like and how different that is from some Belgian Chocolate.

Long story short, if you were going for what I'm going for, what malted grain would you consider essential to a, uh?, tasting flight of malt.

- 2 row
- a couple crystals
- probably something dark like a chocolate
- probably wheat malt?
- Rye

Also I'm terribly sorry for whoever has to ring me up at the LHBS tomorrow.

 

[DU99]

toffee malt if you can get it....and some crystals
amber malt..biscuit type flavour...few hops might go for smell of

 

[ChelisHubby]

Unless the guys are brewers I doubt that they could appeciate the difference in the grains. And as a brewer it would be tough to get me to taste hops.

 

[DU99]

you smell the hops..

 

[PADave]

I was showing a relative my brew space and explaining the brew process. He was really blown away when I broke out the grains and we began tasting them. I think we tried every one that I have on hand. It really let him see how the different malts influence each brew.

 

[Murphys_Law]

That's a great idea! Perhaps American 2 Row, Maris Otter, Pilsner and something like Munich and/or Vienna for the concept of "base grain" (big difference!) and then a few crystals and something darker like chocolate, roasted barley, etc. as you mention.

Maybe pick up a pack of US 05 to talk about yeast (cheap and stores well plus it's handy to have on hand).

 

[Horseflesh]

To demo yeast I think it would be ideal to find a couple of commercial beers that are very similar save for using very different strains--I cant think of anything like that though.

 

[Lefou]

Unless the guys are brewers I doubt that they could appeciate the difference in the grains. And as a brewer it would be tough to get me to taste hops.

Unless you have one in the lot who bakes.

I've gotten interested lately in using malted wheat flour for baking bread.
The wife has been pestering me for a cheap breadmaking machine, and since I like brewing, baking would be a short reach - that, and it would be great fun making her admit my bread was better than hers.