How to Host the Best Beer Tasting Party

Step Three: Invite Your Attendees

Give folks lots of warning – 6 to 8 weeks – so they can clear their schedules.

Who should be on the list? Honestly, anyone. Events like this are a great way to win over craft beer skeptics, leverage the experience of more knowledgeable beer drinkers, connect different groups from your family and social circles, and more. Enthusiasm counts for more than experience.

Photo Courtesy Flickr / Epicbeer

Step Four: Execution

Before guests arrive, set up your chilled beer, water and snacks, reserving one bottle or can from each offered beer for use later (we’ll get back to them, I promise).

As guests arrive, get them up to speed on how the event will work.

Provide them with their note/score taking materials, including writing utensils. Take a moment to discuss how to score, based on the applicable standard or guidelines, with an example. This doesn’t need to be complicated: a one-to-five star system for overall enjoyment or for specific traits like aroma and flavor can work well.

Talk through the importance of glassware (even the plastic kind); if using reusable glasses, point out the water pitchers and encourage guests to not only rinse between samples but to drink their rinse water! It helps clear the palate as well as keep folks hydrated.

Show them a “live-poured” sample to demonstrate proper technique: gentle pours with minimal head and, if using bottle-conditioned beer, as little “roused yeast” as possible. Also be sure to show them the proper volume of each pour to guarantee everyone gets a sample.

Point out snacks for palate cleansing and to slow alcohol absorption: 6-8 samples at 3-4 ounces each may not sound like much, but smaller pours are often consumed faster, not slower, and the beer doesn't know that it’s going down in smaller increments when it hits your bloodstream.

Finally, declare (and post, with numbers at each station) the tasting order. You generally want people to taste from less to more intense, so as ABV, hop bitterness, roast or sourness in a beer increases, so too should their depth in the tasting order.

Step Five: Complete Tasting / Roundup

Once everyone has had time to taste every beer – and you should allow about 15 minutes per beer, or slightly longer as the number of attendees increases – gather together for a feedback and discussion segment. Asking for descriptions and impressions beer by beer is one method, or you can ask for shows of hands to rank each beer by preference. If you’ve collected scores or evaluations from guests, you can tally the results privately and then unveil the “winners.” If you’ve been running games or activities, now is the time to bring them to their conclusions and announce awards. Make this roundup a highlight of your event!