How to organize a beer tasting at home
How can you make being required to stay at home during corona a little more fun? By hosting a beer tasting! Normally, this is an ideal activity to do outside the home, but with a little creativity, it can be done differently too. With these tips, you can organize a beer-tasting feast in your own home.
Choosing beer
The most important element of a beer tasting is, of course, the beer. There are so many (specialty) beers on the market these days that it can sometimes be difficult to see the wood for the trees. A theme makes the choice easier. For example, choose a particular country such as Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium. The Beerwulf website provides a good overview of beers from different countries.
Extras
Every type of beer naturally has its own type of glass in which it comes into its own best. During a tasting, you sample all kinds of beers, and you can easily do that from your favorite beer glass. If you’re going all out, stock up on special tasting glasses, in which you can pour the perfect amount. To neutralize your taste buds, it’s useful to have water on hand. A (neutral) cracker or a piece of white baguette can help too.
Tasting
There are special tasting forms for scoring beers. Above all, use them to make tasting notes. Discuss the aroma, the flavor and everyone’s preferences with one another. Make sure you’ve read up on the beers so you can tell the group something fun about them while they’re being tasted. Ask the group questions to encourage interaction: What do you taste? Would you buy this yourself? And what would you eat with it? For the latter, be sure to take inspiration from beer sommeliers!
Invite your friends
Tasting beer in quarantine is, of course, much more fun with your friends there. How do you do that? Simply download the Houseparty app and invite your friends. That way, you can share all your new knowledge and, hey, there’s an even bigger advantage: nobody has to be the designated driver! At the end of the tasting, have everyone say which one was their favorite and close out the evening with the most special beer (and according to connoisseurs, the most special beer is this most underrated beer) or your own favorite.
And before you virtually toast, also read about the absolute no-gos when drinking beer, according to beer sommeliers. Cheers!
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