Entertaining : Host A Beer Tasting Party With A Twist

I’ve got a UNIQUE idea for you beer lovers out there, that’s perfect for a mans birthday, a casual weekend gathering, or fun football or tailgate party ‘activity’. With the popularity of flavored beers I thought it would be fun to set up your own Beer Flavoring bar so guests could mix their own.

The idea makes great sense because you don’t have to buy 3 or 4 packs of beer in different flavors, plus guests can try something new. This idea compliments the Beer Tasting party I did also using football or tailgating as a backdrop, so check that out as well. Meanwhile, check out my tips for hosting your own beer flavoring party, below…

Ideas & Tips for hosting a Beer Tasting Party:

• This works best using Lager and/or Ale beers. The flavorings require a beer that has some body to it, but dark beers are too heavy and light beers are too weak.
• In general, combine a 12 oz beer with 2 ounces of juice. You may want to start with 1 ounce of juice first, to make sure it’s to your liking.
• I chose juices based on some classic combinations already: lime juice, lemonade {not lemon juice}, orange juice, tomato juice.

Decor:

• Since this is football season, I dressed the table for a tailgate {or ‘homegate’} party using turf grass as a table cover. You can get this at Lowes where they cut it by the foot, which gives you the custom size you need.
• Other cheering paraphernalia is added in keeping with the football feel, and striped take-out boxes look like referee shirts. Yellow napkins are placed inside and resemble penalty flags. The boxes are filled with shelled peanuts and pig skins {a play on the term used for a football}.
• Pour juice into small carafes, re-purposed bottles, or pitchers and insert a pennant label into the coordinating fruit for a cute visual.
• Get large glasses like I used here, for $1 each at the Dollar Tree.
• For a simple centerpiece I filled small bottles with flowers and tied on metal tags that spell out “BEER.” Use paper tags for the same look if you can’t find something like this.

MY TASTING NOTES:  I did try all the combinations and enjoyed them all except the tomato juice.  I know it’s a classic combo called a Red Eye, but it just wasn’t my thing.  The lime + Lager was light and refreshing like a Mexican beer, while the lemonade + Ale was also great and reminded me of Summer.  The orange juice + Lager was surprisingly good much like a mimosa!

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