So.. I am throwing a beer tasting party

[KellyK]

This sounds like an awesome idea. I made some comments below on beers I have experience with. Good luck with your party.

Belgian Ale
Do you want an example of a belgian wit, which is what Hoegaarden generally is, or do you want to rock some belgian beers in general. If it's the later, I'd suggest Orval (Specialty) and La Chouffe (Specialty) and Saison DuPont (Saison).

Bitter
Fullers ESB is considered the classic example of an ESB, in fact, no other beer in Britain can use the term "ESB" on their beer because Fullers trademarked it (much like Anchor did with the term "steam" in the US with respect to California Commons). Another good example of an ESB is Avery's 14er ESB.

IIPA
-Pliny the Elder - if you can find this, get it. IMHO it is "THE" example of a IIPA.

Special IPA
-Dogfish Head Burton Baton (Oak-aged IIPA) - Burton is AMAZING. It's actually a blend of an English Strong Ale and the IIPA.

Belgian Strong Ale
Others to consider are Leffe Blonde (Belgian Blonde), Westmalle Double or Tripel, Victory Golden Monkey (Tripel), Russian River Damnation (Golden Strong), St. Bernardus Abt 12 (Dark Strong)

Dopplebock
Celebrator, Optimator, Salvator are all very solid choices.

Stout
-Sierra Nevada Stout - This is an American stout which means it has a lot of citrus hops in it. To me, it doesn't taste like what I think of when I have stout. Lion Stout is a good choice.

Barleywine
I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions but for American Barleywine I recommend Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Avery Hog Heaven, and Deschutes Mirror Mirror. For English, Avery Samael, J.W. Lees Harvest Vintage, and Dogfish Head Old School (some have this listed as American, I'd personally classify as English).

Weird/Strange Beers
DFH Midas is a good choice, but is a very sweet beer. If you can find it, I'd recommend DFH Red and White or Black and Blue instead of Midas.

 

[midfielder5]

depending on how big the pours are... the beers coming after the first 8 or so will just be for sport at that point. others have said this too and i see your EDIT #1.

Maybe do it over multiple days?? Sat - Sun.

in any event, it sounds like a great time! enjoy.

 

[IHateMayonnaise]

Belgian Ale
Do you want an example of a belgian wit, which is what Hoegaarden generally is, or do you want to rock some belgian beers in general. If it's the later, I'd suggest Orval (Specialty) and La Chouffe (Specialty) and Saison DuPont (Saison).

Belgian Strong Ale
Others to consider are Leffe Blonde (Belgian Blonde), Westmalle Double or Tripel, Victory Golden Monkey (Tripel), Russian River Damnation (Golden Strong), St. Bernardus Abt 12 (Dark Strong)

For Belgians I already have Hoegaarden, Trappistes Rochefort 6, 8, 10, and Trappist Westvleteren 12. From what I recall one of the Rocheforts is dark, other than that should I have a darker one? Or anything else? I have 5 belgians, are any of those that you recommend really going to add that much to the pot?

Bitter
Fullers ESB is considered the classic example of an ESB, in fact, no other beer in Britain can use the term "ESB" on their beer because Fullers trademarked it (much like Anchor did with the term "steam" in the US with respect to California Commons). Another good example of an ESB is Avery's 14er ESB.

I will pick up a Fullers tonight (if they have it) to give it a try. Maybe also the Avery.

IIPA
-Pliny the Elder - if you can find this, get it. IMHO it is "THE" example of a IIPA.

It's en route!

Special IPA
-Dogfish Head Burton Baton (Oak-aged IIPA) - Burton is AMAZING. It's actually a blend of an English Strong Ale and the IIPA.

In my fridge right now..mmm...

Dopplebock
Celebrator, Optimator, Salvator are all very solid choices.

None of these are local, I'll need some more input before I shell out all the green to get it shipped from somewhere.

Stout
-Sierra Nevada Stout - This is an American stout which means it has a lot of citrus hops in it. To me, it doesn't taste like what I think of when I have stout. Lion Stout is a good choice.

Since the Lion is not local (it's in NC though) I'm just gonna go with the Sierra Nevada.

Barleywine
I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions but for American Barleywine I recommend Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Avery Hog Heaven, and Deschutes Mirror Mirror. For English, Avery Samael, J.W. Lees Harvest Vintage, and Dogfish Head Old School (some have this listed as American, I'd personally classify as English).

I'll see if they've got Bigfoot, I think they have Avery Hog Heaven. No dogfish head in Kansas unfortunately, and I haven't seen that one in NC. Might have the last one in Oregon, but not sure whether it's worth it to ship it.

Weird/Strange Beers
DFH Midas is a good choice, but is a very sweet beer. If you can find it, I'd recommend DFH Red and White or Black and Blue instead of Midas.

Midas is on it's way, red white or black i have never seen or heard of. What are they?

 

[Edcculus]

Dopplebock
Celebrator, Optimator, Salvator are all very solid choices.

None of these are local, I'll need some more input before I shell out all the green to get it shipped from somewhere.

They are all made in Germany, but I always see at least one of them on the grocery store shelves. That is, like I said, unless your state has a maximum alcohol % that can be sold in stores. With the limit of what you seem to be able to get, this may be the case. Paulaner Celebrator is around an 8% beer.

 

[DKershner]

I'll see if they've got Bigfoot, I think they have Avery Hog Heaven. No dogfish head in Kansas unfortunately, and I haven't seen that one in NC. Might have the last one in Oregon, but not sure whether it's worth it to ship it.

You can get Mirror, Mirror at Safeway here.

Realized that Safeway is probably regional. Translation: You can get Mirror, Mirror at (insert largest grocery store chain in your area) here.

 

[IHateMayonnaise]

They are all made in Germany, but I always see at least one of them on the grocery store shelves. That is, like I said, unless your state has a maximum alcohol % that can be sold in stores. With the limit of what you seem to be able to get, this may be the case. Paulaner Celebrator is around an 8% beer.

Can't get any of those in Kansas I'm pretty sure, and there's no ABV limit. NC has a limit of 16%, TN doesn't have one, and I don't think that OR has one.

I have had Optimator in Germany, it is pretty good. Celebrator ranks over Salvator on BA I'll see what I can do.

 

[IHateMayonnaise]

You can get Mirror, Mirror at Safeway here.

Of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Avery Hog Heaven, Deschutes Mirror Mirror, Avery Samael, J.W. Lees Harvest Vintage, and Dogfish Head Old School Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and Mirror Mirror rank highest on BA, plus I know I can get both. I'm leaning towards those.

 

[rjvanden]

I like the 6 of each idea. Here are a few others:

Pils: +1 for Victory Prima Pils, which is just too good to ignore

Stout: O'hara's Celtic Stout, but there are alot of stouts that are pretty good. For the non-stout drinkers, I find that they often take a liking to Left Hand Milk Stout. Or Young's double chocolate...

Wheat: An American wheat that's pretty good as a "this side of the pond" choice is Blue Star, by North Coast (tough to go wrong with North Coast)

Great Lakes also has distribution in Wisconsin, but only Madison and Milwaukee...and I think they might also have dist. in upstate NY but I'm not sure abt that. Edmund Fitz is a fine porter.

 

[IHateMayonnaise]

Went to my local liquor store, which has the best selection in the entire city. Here is what I found that caught my eye:

Available Barleywines:
-Schlafly Reserve (Barleywine Style Ale)
-Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine

Stouts:
-Schlafly Reserve (Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels)

Belgians:
-Avery Salvation (Belgian Strong Pale Ale)

Bitters:
-Breckenridge Extra ESB

Bocks:
-Left Hand Goosinator Doppelbock

Smoked Porters:
-Left Hand Smoked Porter

Czech Beers:
-Zatec Czech lager

I went ahead and bought the Breckenridge Extra ESB to try, and also the Rogue BarleyWine, which I am adding to the list.

 

[Jeeperforlife]

IF you would be willing...another vote for Bells Two Hearted in the IPA category.
Idk if you can get it, but i really like Troegs Troegenator (double bock)...of course i may be partial bc its from PA.
Lastly, if you see it somewhere, i personally think that Duck Rabbit Barleywine is very good.
Oh yea, id love an invitation too!

 

[desiderata]

Hi,
I know this thread is a bit old, but I'm planning on a similar beer tasting party in a couple months. I read through the entire thread, and I was interested in how your party turned out.

Cheers,
Patrick

 

[IHateMayonnaise]

Hi,
I know this thread is a bit old, but I'm planning on a similar beer tasting party in a couple months. I read through the entire thread, and I was interested in how your party turned out.

Cheers,
Patrick

Hey Patrick.

I had the party two weeks ago, it was pretty awesome. It was very informal, as I said in the first post most of my friends are pretty beer ignorant. I also spent the last 6 months gathering together quite a collection; had about 45 different beers (not including duplicates).

I had no specific plans as to how it was going to go, in terms of breaks, etc. I started with the lightest beer and ended with the most intense (imperial stout). I provided crackers and mild cheese, as well as fruit. About halfway through we munched down, not much otherwise.

There were about 10 people there, and nobody got inebriated, which I wasn't expecting. We went through about 15 beers on the first night and then called the quits, and picked up the next night and went through the same. I still have about 15 beers left so I can do another night (and I plan on it), but the remainders will age very well so I am in no hurry.

I encouraged my friends to try to break down the beers they were trying in terms of the standard variables (mouthfeel, color, odor, aftertaste, etc) but in the end it usually came down to "oh man that's great" or "yucky."

Didn't really think that reply through too much, did I miss anything? Something you're planning on trying that I didn't (since I'll certainly be doing this again)?

Wes

 

[desiderata]

Thanks for the reply, Wes.

Yes, that's very helpful information. I plan on having about 10 guests as well, so it's good to know that 15 bottles is plenty. I think my group will be a good mix of micro-brew lovers and non. I don't anticipate any excessive drunkenness either...

My wife wants to include some fancy cheeses along with the beer, but maybe you're right to stick with mild cheeses and fruits as snacks.

I'm not planning on getting something representative of each style, but mainly, just stuff that looks interesting, with some variety. Here's what I have so far (in no particular order):

Delerium Nocturnum
La Fin Du Monde
Green Flash (Double) Stout
Rogue Mom Hefeweizen
Otter Creek Sphinx
Allagash Tripel Reserve
Harpoon Single Hop ESB
Dogfish Head Theobroma

And I like the recommendation to have a bottle or two of BMC for comparison purposes, so I plan on that as well.

I don't think I'm even going to bother with trying to record any observations. I'm sure the ones I like will stand out, and I'll remember them.

What did you use as drinking containers? I can't decide whether to use glass beer mugs and rinse in between styles, or get small disposable plastic cups. I suppose the snob in me says "no" to plastic, as that might affect the flavor of the beer?

I'm also thinking of getting a bucket/cooler full of ice in which to hold the bottles, rather than the fridge. It seems it would be a pain to be continually opening and closing the fridge all night. Besides, I'm pretty certain most of the nicer beers are better at temps slightly warmer than a typical fridge would keep them. Although, this is a more trivial matter, IMO.

I hope my guests like Tom Waits' music, 'cause that's what I plan on listening to during the party. :cross:

 

[IHateMayonnaise]

Wow sorry for the late reply.

I love really, really sharp cheddar, but a beer tasting party is no place for that. Yeah just stick to the milder stuff.

Your list doesn't have any IPAs! What's up with that??

I didn't write anything down, I remember stuff fairly well. Other people did, though and luckily I had a stickypad available.

I think sniffers are the best choice of glassware; I only had one small wine glass so I used that. I provided little clear plastic cups for the guests, which worked fairly well. You wanna be able to see the beer you're drinking obviously, and you don't want it at the bottom of a tall glass (ie don't use a pint glass).

I wouldn't throw the beer in a cooler full of ice; this is good for some budweiser on a hot day, but many of the beers you are serving should be served warmer than this. Otherwise the coldness will mask some of the complex overtones of the brew. The day before the party I lowered the temp of my fridge so it was about 55F, a good compromise I think.

I had Pink Floyd playing in the background.. hard to disagree with that