There are many fun and creative ways of making a beer tasting at home. Invite friends and family and make an evening out of it. Snacks, themes and games, we have all the tips you need to succeed. With our four levels of games, you will have a challenge for your taste buds, no matter if you are a beer beginner, beer-lover or sommelier and expert. Here are our top ideas for making your beer tasting a true success.
It's always interesting to try new and exciting beers, and having a tasting at home is easier than you might think. Add some good snacks, a theme and fun games or competitions and your evening will be a great success.
Theme and beers
First thing first, pick out the beers. Try to buy 6 or more types of beer to get a bigger variation of taste, colours and alcohol levels for the tasting beers. A good idea is to pick a theme and keep to it. You can pick a type of beer for example 6 types of lagers or you can pick a region or a country for example only Spanish beers, as well as only low or high alcoholic beers for your beer tasting.
By picking a theme it will be easier for you to pick your beers and snacks, as well as for the guest to see and taste the difference in the beers. It is also fun and great if you are planning on having some competitions or tasting challenges for your guests.
4 fun and easy competitions and tasting challenges
Who doesn't love a good competition? You can play in groups or one on one. Learn all about the different beers and see who knows the most and can pick out the right ones on a blind test. Here are some interesting and fun challenges to try that differ from easier to harder levels. No matter if you are a beer beginner, beer-lover or sommelier and expert, you can still get a challenge for your taste buds. Pick one, some or all of them and see who is the best taster in the group.
1. Blind testing and picking the right bottle
The first one is the simplest. Por 6 types of beers into 6 glasses, preferably different types of glasses to make it a bit harder, and set the glasses on paper slips with numbers on them. Place the bottles on the table but separate them from numbered glasses. Let your guests guess which glass belongs to which bottle.
If the beers are similar in colour it will be harder than if some are lighter or darker than others. This is a good way for your guests to read the labels of the bottles and see if they can taste the different notes explained on the bottle. The person or team with the most correct answers win this round.
2. Place two of the same beers together
This is also a good one for beer beginners as well as beer lovers, and there are two different ways to go here. Fill up double the amount of glasses or cups. Take for example 6 types of beer and pour 2 glasses of the same beer. This means you will have 12 glasses of beer but only 6 types of beers. Your guests will then have to pair the same beers together.
Option number 2. The first one is quite hard as it is, but if you use different types of glasses or one set of paper or plastic disposable cups. The taste will change with different materials and the shape of the glass make it quite confusing and harder as well.
3. Guess the percentage
This could either be done by asking your guests to place the beers in order from most alcoholic beer to least alcoholic beer. This is quite hard, especially with the lowest in alcohol, so don't be afraid to add non-alcoholic beers as well. Due to the different flavours in the beers, a beer with high alcohol content can taste like a beer with lower alcohol content. The same goes with a non-alcoholic beer that tastes like a low alcoholic or medium alcoholic beer.
For a more advanced level, ask your guests to guess the percentage and see who can guess the closest to the real numbers. Why do the guests think a beer has more or less alcohol content? Ask your guests to motivate their answers. The one with the most correct answers or closest to the correct number wins this round.
4. Blind test the beers and describe the notes
This is the most advanced level, but don't be afraid to try it with beer beginners as well as with guests with high knowledge of beers. Ask your guests to describe what tastes notes and aromas they pick up while tasting the different types of beers. See if your guests can identify any of the notes and aromas described by the brewery.
You can also ask your guests true or false questions, for example,” This beer tastes like white fruits. True or false?”. If you wish to do this as a competition, the one who picks the most notes or gets the most correct answers wins this round.
Beer snacks
No beer tasting is complete without some great snacks. If you picked a theme, stick to the theme with the snacks as well. Spanish beers go great with Spanish sausages of different sorts, breadsticks, olives, salty serrano ham and nuts. No matter what kind of beer, salty treats like peanuts, salty breadsticks, chips or crisps and pretzels are always a good idea to serve with beers, but don't be afraid to try completely new and different things. Make a sharing platter of different types of snacks and let your guest see what beer they prefer with which type of snacks. With a greater mix of snacks, you will be sure that everyone finds something they like. Most important, don't forget to enjoy your evening.
