Summer is the perfect time for a beer-tasting party, and Anton Erasmus, SAB Trade Brewer, has put together the ultimate \u2018how-to guide\u2019, which offers you the best way to enjoy your party by pairing great food and even better beer.<\/p>\n
Erasmus believes that \u201cbeer is a tad more versatile than wine, simply because beer is great especially on those hot summer days, nothing refreshing like a chilled brew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also, he has noticed an increasing trend towards no- and low-alcohol beers, which allows consumers to have a safer consumption experience by practising \u2018pacing\u2019 by combining the consumption of alcohol beers with alcohol-free beers as a means of moderation. These beers can also be incorporated into the beer tasting party.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get started:<\/strong><\/p>\n When hosting a party, you need to establish how many people you are catering for, and in this case, how many beers you need to purchase (and food to pair with it).<\/p>\n Erasmus recommends a six-pack of each beer for a party of 20 people. This works out to three servings per a 340ml bottle of beer.<\/p>\n It is always nice to provide guests with more than one flavour of the beer.<\/p>\n CRISP: <\/strong>All round lightness, less body with a sharp crispness and gentle lingering bitterness, such as Castle LITE or a Corona Extra.<\/p>\n HOP: <\/strong>Hop bitterness like a Hansa Pilsner with its unique Saaz hop or the Jacob\u2019s Pale Ale from Newlands Spring Brewing Company with earthy and peppery notes.<\/p>\n MALT: <\/strong>Clean, somewhat dry, somewhat bitter, never sweet lager-like Castle Lager or some roasted, caramel, toffee notes from Jacobs Pale Ale.<\/p>\n ROAST: <\/strong>Rich and smooth with a roasted full mouthfeel, like Castle Milk Stout or some chocolate and cocoa notes from Chocolate Stout.<\/p>\n FRUITY: <\/strong>Low bitterness with a distinctive fruity aroma and taste, like The Newlands Spring Co – Passionate Blond with its distinctive passion fruit aroma or Hoegaarden with its orange peel and coriander aroma.<\/p>\n FLAVOURED: <\/strong>There is a variety to select from \u2013 the Flying Fish range of low bitterness fruit-flavoured beers (orange, lemon and apple). Budweiser is also an option with its honey aroma and traces of citrus fruits.<\/p>\n LOW OR NO ALCOHOL: <\/strong>Responsible consumption is important, so why not include these trendy beers. Examples of alcohol-free beers include Castle Free and Becks Blue.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Beers are best served chilled to optimise the tasting experience. Rather keep them in the fridge or on ice until they are served<\/p>\n To cleanse your palate in between beers, drink water.<\/p>\n The best part of a beer tasting is that you are not limited to serving your beers in standard beer glassware. You can have fun and mix things up with a variety of glassware styles per beer style such as standard\/classic, snifter\/goblet, tulip, flute, pilsner\/Weizen or stange.<\/p>\n Glasses with a wide bowl and narrow mouth \u2018trap\u2019 the beer\u2019s aromas in the glass, making for a better-tasting experience. If you do not have a vast selection of glassware, you can even use wine glasses. Also, make sure all glasses are clean with no soapy residues as this will kill your beer foam.<\/p>\n For beer tastings, it is best to use smaller glassware as you will only be pouring the beer into a third of the glass. Remember it is a taster only.<\/p>\n Depending on your style or resources, you can always make printed beer notes, describing the beers that will be served – their aroma and tastes.<\/p>\n If you are into entertaining your guests, you could build a blind tasting into the evening\u2019s proceedings. Away from eyeshot, pour a beer of your choice into jug and then serve to guests with the notion they need to guess what beer it is. You can even have a prize for the correct guess \u2013 a six-pack of their favourite beer or dinner on you.<\/p>\n You want everyone to enjoy their evening and drink responsibly; so ensure everyone has booked a taxi service such as Uber or Bolt to get them home safely.<\/p>\n As for snacks, make sure you have an assortment of low flavoured foods so that you don\u2019t compromise your palate. Snacks such as unsalted pretzels or crackers and raw vegetables such as carrots and celery sticks should do the trick. If you want to wow your guests, host your beer tasting with a food pairing. \u00a0(See some suggestions below)<\/p>\n BEER & FOOD PAIRING NOTES: <\/strong><\/p>\n Fancy going a little bigger? What about a beer tasting dinner?<\/p>\n Beers have so many complex flavours and extreme differences such as bready, caramel, hoppy and citrusy flavours, which often pairs well with food.<\/p>\n The two keys to pairing beer with food are either accentuating a food flavour or balancing it. Keeping in mind that every taster has a unique palate doesn’t hurt either. It’s all about finding harmonies to complement each other and staying away from any overpowering flavours.<\/p>\n It can be difficult to find the perfect match, but perfection should not be the goal here, creativity and enabling others to open their minds by tantalising their taste buds is your aim. If you take that approach, then your tasters will undoubtedly enjoy their experience and discover something new.<\/p>\n Here are some ideas \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n BUDWEISER<\/strong><\/p>\n Best paired with meat or chicken \u2026 think flame-grilled burgers, Grilled chicken & Chisa-Nyama, Chili con carne, BBQ ribs<\/p>\n CASTLE LAGER<\/strong> is best paired with meat. Braai meats such as grilled sirloin, or mild curry \u2013 it acts as a \u201csemi-fire blanket\u201d against mild curries only.<\/p>\n CASTLE LITE<\/strong> is best paired with light flavours, such as cold meats or salads and pasta salads.<\/p>\n CORONA EXTRA is<\/strong> best paired with Mexican meals. Go all out with seafood, enchiladas, burritos, tacos, tapas<\/p>\n STELLA ARTOIS is lovely with creamy dishes \u2026 <\/strong>cheese boards, Belgian mussel-pot \u00a0and also steak dishes<\/p>\n BECK\u2019S GREEN <\/strong>is excellent with sushi or meat, as well as spicy foods. Try it with rich oxtail and burgers<\/p>\n HANSA PILSENER is b<\/strong>est paired with light flavoured foods and seafood. So lightly flaked herby white fish, crisp green salads with cream dressing, broccoli based dishes, fried camembert in phyllo pastry<\/p>\n CASTLE MILK STOUT is great with oysters and with puds. Also serve it with rich stews, oxtail, big flavoured roasts with intense sauces and any chocolate or toffee pud. <\/strong><\/p>\n HOEGAARDEN is b<\/strong>est served at brunch or lunch. Try it with Asian food, seafood, salads and at a lunchtime picnic.<\/p>\n LEFFE BLOND \u2026 keep this one for fine dining. Serve it with red meat and vinegary dishes, <\/strong><\/p>\n NEWLAND\u2019S SPRING JACOB\u2019S PALE ALE is the one to choose if you\u2019ve got complicated flavours on the plate. It\u2019s lovely with wild mushrooms and cured ham. <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Details: www.sab.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n Twitter: @SABreweries<\/a><\/p>\n Facebook: SouthAfricanBreweries<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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