Belgian Beer Tasting Session

[kevo]

Hey everyone,

Looking to try and organise a tasting/appreciation evening through a local Belgian beer bar. I have my own ideas of what I think this sort of event should entail, but am curious for others' ideas and feedback.

I thought this might be a good opportunity for an introduction to Belgian beer and styles for those who find it all a bit daunting or are less adventurous. Also gives people a taste of a variety of beers/styles which may take a while to get to if you sample something different from the menu each time you visit. May also be good for those who dont want to invest $10-$15 to try a beer.

Concerns
The success of the tasting would be greatly dependant on the knowledge of the person running it. If their knowledge is limited, participants may not take much away from it.

The beers are often so strong!! Samples would need to be reasonably conservative to allow people to remain coherent, the order of tasting would also be important as well. For example, between a group of 4, a beer could be split into a large enough serve to get an impression of the style and a decent taste without getting too sloshed.

My thoughts....

Cover major Belgian beer styles, pale, dubbel, tripel, specialty, strong dark/golden, lambic, saison, brown ale (probably a selection of) - taste example/s of each and discuss the differences between the styles, ingredients what is contributing to the unique flavours/aromas? etc.
Along the way.
Trappists - traditions of the monasteries, breweries. eg Rochefort

Yeasts - impact on styles. - eg Orval

Glassware and Belgian beer culture/etiquette.

Chips or something to chew on and cleanse the palate between beers.


What are your thoughts?
What would you want included in a session like this?
How many beers would you want to try?
Which beers would you definitely include? Which styles?
How much would you be prepared/expect to pay for a session like this?
Would this be better suited to afternoons or evenings?

People whove been to the Good beer lunches - what have you experienced which has made these lunches a success?

Thanks everyone look forward to your thoughts.

Kev

 

[Thirsty Boy]

You seem to be on the right track really - if you follow your current train of thought you are going to put on a thoughtfully constructed event that people will enjoy.

Couple of thoughts

A 330 euro stubbie splits nicely into 4 85ml samples - and thats plenty.

3 flights of three beers with a bit of theme to each flight and some food to match and finish off with something special. Thats a nice even 10 beers and assuming each beer is twice as strong as an aussie domestic lager (it wont be that bad though) it adds up to the equivalent of 4-5 stubbies. Enough so they aren't driving home, but not so much that they will be rat arsed.

I'd include at least one of:

Witbier
Abbey Dubbel
Golden strong and/or trippel
lambic (maybe a gueze rather than a fruit one)
flanders red
saison
Biere de garde
Strong Dark

Lots of stuff about the trappists

Price is gonna depend on the food. I think that for the beer and the speil 25 ish bucks is fine, more depending on what you plan to feed em.

Good luck

Thirsty