Can’t pass this up, the only day in my lifetime when the date will be a palindrome and a homonym. Tuesday, 2/22/22 (or 22-2-22, or 22-02-2022 if you like Euro-style), where the numbers read the same backwards and forwards (and even upside down!), with the added bonus of falling on a day of the week that sounds the same as the numbers (in English, of course). A day of Twos, Tues, and Toos.
Let’s talk about tasters today. I’ve gone through phases of liking and disliking tasting flights, and I like to think I’ve built up some expertise on the right and wrong ways to do it. I’ll use a particular example from 2016 to highlight what not to do below, but let’s start with the pros and cons of tasting flights.
Pro: You can sample many beers.
Con: You can get sensory overload from too many flavors.
Pro: You can finish each beer quickly, and waste less if you don’t like it.
Con: If you don’t drink quickly, the beer will go warm and flat.
Pro: You get a broad perspective on a brewer’s craft.
Con: The survey is shallow and one beer is unlikely to stand out.
Pro: You can rack up check-ins on your favorite review app/site.
Con: Is that the point of drinking beer?
Pro: It’s more economical than buying large pours of several beers.
Con: It’s less economical per ounce of beer.
Pro: It looks great on the ‘gram!
Con: Again, is that the point? Plus, beers without head look sad.
Pro: It allows me to manage my indecisiveness.
Con: Unless you get a flight of every beer on tap, you are actually making many decisions instead of one. And you still might choose incorrectly.
That’s a great segue into my wrongheaded approach while visiting Vintage Brewing Company in Madison, WI (see photo above). I got it into my skull that I needed to make the most of what would likely be my only visit to this brewery in my lifetime and sample every single beer on tap, or at least very nearly. I really don’t know why the server allowed me to do it, it was a dumb idea for many reasons. One of which was the fact that it was seventeen pours, amounting to sixty-eight ounces of beer. Or maybe it was fifty-one ounces. Either way, more beer than I needed to be drinking at lunch time, even on vacation. Another reason was that there was no way for me to possibly enjoy all seventeen pours within the span of a meal. The human palate can’t handle that much without proper training and preparation. On top of that was the fact that they were all delivered simultaneously, guaranteeing that the last six to eight beers I sampled would be mostly flat and fairly warm. Not a great way to experience the art of the brewer. Somehow, I powered through and managed to drink at least part of every beer before I left, along with checking them into Untappd with tasting notes and ratings! I’ll include them all at the bottom of this post.
So, then, what is the right way to go about tasting flights? If you are determined that you can’t stick to just one or two pours, here are my recommendations.
- Order no more than six beers. If you finish those six and want to try more, order more at that time. This help keep the beers fresh while you move through the flight.
- Have water at hand, and possibly some food. If you have food, make sure it’s something fairly neutral-flavored with some salt. Between beers, drink water (especially after your food) to help reset your palate.
- Arrange your beers from least to most intense. That typically means that darker and hoppier beers go towards the end, with very sweet and/or boozy beers last. This will help you avoid palate fatigue, and allow you to appreciate the nuances of each beer.
- Use all of your senses for each beer.
- Observe the color, the clarity, and the head (if there is any, a big downside of taster-sized pours).
- Take a deep whiff of the beer and end the sniff with a sip. Notice the aromas and how they change before and after the sip.
- Take a larger sip and allow it to move around inside your mouth, moving from the front to the back of your tongue. Give it a bit of a swish. What do you taste? What do you feel? Swallow and notice if the flavor changes.
- Place your hand over the top of the taster and give it a gentle swirl. Stick your nose inside the glass and take a deep inhale of the atomized aroma molecules. Compare to your initial smell.
- Take one more sip (you should be halfway through the taster now).
- Move quickly to the next taster, don’t finish each one first! That will wear out your palate and fill you up before you reach the end. Make sure to do a palate cleanse (step 2) between beers.
- After you reach the end, revisit each beer. The character will likely have changed by this point as the beer warms and loses carbonation. Pay attention to how the beer changed.
There you have it. Oh, and have a notebook or mobile device handy to take notes. As I mentioned, the beers are less likely to be memorable since you have less of each to drink and you are moving quickly between different flavor profiles. That’s the one thing I did correctly that day.
Vintage Brewing Company Too Many Tasters Review-palooza
Kindled Spirits (cask)
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Comments: Cask version, very fruity and spiced, delicious in this version!
Woodshed Oaked IPA
Rating: 4/5 stars
Comments: Starts English, finishes Amercian. Lighter body, slow-building floral hops with a citrus finish, oak just adds complexity throughout!
Weiss Nix
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Comments: Very solid, Wisconsinites do know their German styles!
Velouria
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Comments: A bit heavy-handed for a wheat, do like the peach though.
Toy Boat, Toy Boat
Rating: 3/5 stars
Comments: Standard DIPA. No complaints, just not a fan of the style.
Summer Sahti
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Coments: An excellent sahti, like gin without the heat!
Scaredy Cat
Rating: 3.25/5 stars
Comments: Solid oatmeal stout, a hint of charcoal but otherwise superior.
McLovin
Rating: 4/5 stars
Comments: Crisp body, smooth caramel backbone with well-balanced hoppiness, finishes clean.
Maltiplicity Maibock
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
Comments: So love a well-done maibock! Floral springy flavors, medium-body with some light sweetness.
Kindled Spirits (draft)
Rating: 4/5 stars
Comments: VERY smoky, works well with the golden ale styling. Very rauchbier with some ale body, would drink by the campfire!
Jinja Ninja
Rating: 3/5 stars
Comments: Great ginger aroma, too heavy-bodied and a one-dimensional flavor. Like a candied ginger without the bite.
Hibiscus Saison
Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Comments: Really like the hibiscus aroma and flavor. A bit sweet and full for a saison, but a nice beer.
Butternut Road
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Comments: Solid brown ale. Toffee dominates, good body and sweetness level.
Bouquet Pink IPA
Rating: 4/5 stars
Comments: Love the floral aroma and the herb flavors from this! Good level of hops, adds to the flavor/aroma without distracting.
Bee’s Knees
Rating: 3/5 stars
Comments: Very much a cream ale, honey is good though.
Bourbon Barrel Aged Milestone
Rating: 3.75/5 stars
Comments: Very hot and sweet, nice complexity but could mellow for another 6-12.
Menage a T (Collaboration with Titletown Brewing Company)
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Comments: Nice complex farmhouse style, liked it!
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A Beer a Day 