Maybe I’m just getting older but I’m not always in the mood for going out to a brewery. Sometimes, I’d prefer to stay at home and enjoy a few beers with family and friends. However, one of the things I love about breweries is the ability to try a wide variety of beers and even enjoy them in a flight. That isn’t as easy to accomplish at home. However, I think conducting a beer tasting at home is a great way to have the best of both worlds.
And just to clarify, when I reference beer tasting, this includes a wide range of effort, setup, and knowledge. You don’t have to be a Cicerone level beer expert to have fun trying different beers with others. So, I’ll break down different methods of conducting a beer tasting at home and do my best to order them from simplest to most complex.
As we jump into the list, I think it is important to realize that the real value of a beer tasting is the connection between the liquid and the people. Yes, there are times I’ve done beer tastings by myself or enjoyed (& evaluated) a flight on my own but a tasting is best when done with others. Not only are you creating stronger relationships, but their experience with the beer can also help you understand the beer better as well.
Finally, I’m going to break this into two groupings, Method and Beer Styles. Method is how the beer will be presented while Beer Style is how to decide which beers to include in the tasting.
Methods Of Conducting A Beer Tasting At Home
Splitting Beers
This is the method that I default to most often because it is so simple and natural. Literally, just pour a beer into multiple small glasses and share them with others. The only thing you need to accomplish this is beer and glassware/cups.
I prefer using small tasting glasses to make the splitting easier, but any drinking vessel will work.
In this method, there typically isn’t a rhyme or reason to which beers we drink or what order we drink them. Most often, there are just a handful or so of beers that everyone brought, and we work through them in random order.
What’s great about this method is the simplicity. It is very easy to do other things while enjoying beer like this. For example, we will often play games or watch sports while sipping on the beer. People can easily jump in on the tasting or skip a beer without disrupting the procees.
Side By Side
Very similar to the above method but now with two specific beers. The setup is simple as you just need two beers and two glass per person tasting. Pour, sip, and think about how the beers are both similar and different.
In most cases, the beers being tried should have some kind of connection. As you’ll see below, there are a few different ways to decide which beers to try. However, for a side by side, I’d recommend focusing in on a specific style. IPA vs IPA or Oktoberfest vs Oktoberfest.
The goal is to determine which you prefer by recognizing specific aromas, flavors, and body differences in the beers. What is great about this method is you can do multiple side by sides back-to-back that focus on different styles. This method is very easy and requires nearly no prep or beer knowledge.
Flight
Love getting a flight of beer at a brewery? Then create the same experience at home.
Flights are a great way to taste a variety of beers without overconsuming. And the beer selected can fall into any of the categories listed in the Beer Style Selection section below. It can be random beers, the same style, etc. Truly, just about any mix of beers will work.
The downside is the setup. You’ll need enough tasting glasses for everyone involved. If you have a handful of guests trying a handful of beers, dozens of glasses will be needed. It can add up fast. Additionally, it would be ideal to have flight boards as well to complete the experience.
Blind
By far the most complicated, this method is really only beneficial in specific situations and with the right group. First off, you’ll need someone willing to be the organizer who will be pouring the beer and keeping track of what is what. The appearance can easily reveal which beer it is, so many prefer to use glassware that is opaque and doesn’t give away the color, etc.
Additionally, those participating really need to focus in on the process so playing a board game or watching sports at the same time is probably a bad idea. Everyone has to be all in on the tasting experience.
Finally, you’ll want to conduct this with a group that is at least somewhat familiar with beer styles, flavor profiles, etc. or at least wants to learn more about them. Otherwise, this tasting method isn’t worth the effort.
Beer Tasting Style Selection
For some, they’ll start with picking the method first while others focus on the beer style selection first. There’s no right or wrong answer but the beer selected will often dictate which method will be best. Most of these are self-explanatory so I’ll keep it brief where I can.
Same Style
As the name implies, the beers selected for the tasting will all be the same (or at least similar) style. For example, all IPAs or all Stouts or all Sours. While there is variation within the styles, the general tasting notes should be similar allowing the tasters to get a sense of the range of flavor within the style.
Same Brewery
Some breweries have a distinct flavor profile that can impact many of the beers they brew. This is caused by a number of factors including water chemistry, common yeast used across beers, and their brewing system. Those that are new to craft beer often find a style or brewery that they prefer and for the latter, this method is great to explore a brewery’s catalog of beers.
Beer Variants
Some beers are released in different variations where each has a unique twist to the flavor profile. This is very common in stouts, but other styles sometimes get this treatment too. Small batch beers tend to get variants more often that large production beers. What I see most often is barrel-aged stouts that are released annually with a handful of unique flavor options.
When these releases occur, it is a lot of fun to do a tasting of all the variants to determine which you like the most. Trying them all at the same time is a great way to really notice the differences in each one. Additionally, it is much more responsible to try this many beers when splitting them among a group.
Beer Vertical
A vertical is the same beer but from different years. This works best for a beer that is released annually and is a style that is designed to be aged. Aging a beer is a common practice among beer enthusiasts but since there is risk, it is not for everyone.
Stouts and sour beers dominate this category because of their ability to withstand time and often improve and/or change as the years pass. Trying beers from a range of years allows the tasters to see how beer develops over time. What I’ve found is 3-5 years is typically the longest a stout should be aged while some sours can go much longer.
Ideally, you’ll have at least one beer from each year for a given time period. For example, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018. Keeping beer that long takes true commitment to the process, but the result is a lot of fun. Just like the blind method listed above, make sure that this type of tasting has no distractions since it is literally years in the making.
Final Thoughts On Beer Tasting At Home
I’m not here to tell anyone how to drink beer, but I do think that conducting a beer tasting at home is a lot of fun. For your friends that already love beer, it is a natural progression in the hobby. And for those that are new to beer, it is a great way to become exposed to new beers in a safe, fun environment.
I spend a lot of time just simply splitting beers with those that come to my home but occasionally, I get more organized and do a more complex tasting.
What’s your go-to method for conducting a beer tasting at home?
