I am starting up a beer-tasting club with some friends, and would appreciate any tips on how to run a successful tasting.
- Brian, St. John's, Newfoundland

     I don't usually respond to Feedback emails in the Feature section, but this seemed to me a topic long overdue for attention. Particularly so since, judging from what I've been seeing recently in the media and the emails I receive, home beer tastings are becoming more and more popular alternatives to the standard cocktail party.

     So how exactly should one approach the making of a tasting? Well, the first step is obviously the accumulation of the beers to be tasted. This may be accomplished all in one shot if you are lucky enough to have a good beer store in your immediate vicinity, but more likely it will necessitate more, possibly considerably more effort. It could, in fact, end up being a process that will take weeks or months to complete, depending on how many brews you want and how finicky you are about which specific brands you choose. In the norm, however, a fair selection can generally be picked up without too much fuss in most cities and a good many towns.

     To supply a good tasting, you will probably want at least six to ten different brews and no fewer than three or four bottles of each. (It must be emphasized here that these recommendations are for social tastings only. More serious, evaluatory tastings will require much more rigidity and should never, in my opinion, exceed a maximum of six different brews.) Since the tasting will most likely be a social affair you'll want to keep things more-or-less casual, but even so, it's a nice gesture to print up tasting sheets on your home computer so that participants can make notes on which beers they liked and which they didn't. No need for it to be something elaborate; just a basic sheet with the beers listed in anticipated order of tasting and spaces provided for notes should suffice. And don't be offended if most of the sheets end up in the recycling - if even one participant takes their scoring sheet home, then you will have done your job as a host.

     In setting up your tasting, you will want to have each beer chilled to an appropriate temperature - mid-40's F. or 7-8 C. for lagers and wheats; low to mid-50's F. or 10-13 C. for most ales and stouts; slightly warmer still for most stronger beers - and set out in an attractive display. The kitchen or dining room table is always a good place to set up, and you can add a touch of class by using a white tablecloth and liberally distributing (unscented) candles around the room. A pitcher of water for glass rinsing and palate cleansing is recommended and you will want to make sure that you have snack food available, but that it is not so salty, spicy, oily or overly pungent that it will brutalize the taste buds of your guests. (Again, this suggestion is for a casual tasting only. When detailed evaluations are at hand, save the food until the end.) If you want to be particularly fastidious about things, you can even match your snack foods to your beers, but a selection of mild to medium cheeses, breads and perhaps some grapes or pâté will suffice nicely.

     Furnish each of your guest tasters with a clear wine or tulip-style beer glass and a separate glass of water and invite them to proceed at their leisure, taking a 2 to 3 ounce portion of each beer in turn. Because this is a social occasion, the mood should remain light and friendly, so make sure that no one feels obligated to engage in in-depth ruminations about every single beer. A simple reminder that the evaluation is for their own, individual usage should be enough to assure that no such intimidation is felt.

     If you have been able to secure a quantity of each beer that was involved in the tasting, offer your guests a chance to enjoy more of their favourite brew after they finish their evaluations. Otherwise, have beers of equal quality available for post-tasting consumption, since it's a big come-down to be entranced by great beers for part of the evening and subjected to poor ones for the remainder of the night.

     You may discuss the beer after your tasting bottles have been exhausted, and you likely will for a time, but extended talk is entirely unnecessary unless it is specifically desired by your guests. Even the pros sometimes just want to enjoy a beer or two without being forced to think too much about it!

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