One of the most enjoyable parts of leading a brewery tour was bringing a group of people into one of our amazing Seattle Breweries, ordering a flight of beers, then tasting and comparing each beer. Part of the enjoyment was tasting and learning about new beers and beer styles. But perhaps the most enjoyable, for me, was the social interaction.
During this time of social distancing and isolation we do not need to forgo life's simple pleasures.
We have the technology, so let's do it.
I have put together a Virtual Lockdown Beer Tasting Guide. It has all the materials and information I use on my brewery tours with some cool extra's. The only thing missing is the beer and your friends. (If I could figure out a way to send beer through the internet I would do it.)
Just follow these simple steps:
- Download the Virtual Lockdown Beer Tasting Kit, send copies to your friends. (Fill out the simple form on the right to download).
- Print out the Beer tasting score sheet and Beer Mat.
- Agree on the virtual beer tasting list (be sure everyone has access to the same beers).
- Set a date and time.
- Call into your online virtual meeting
- Conduct your virtual beer tasting and enjoy yourselves.
Each Virtual Lockdown Beer Tasting Kit contains:
- Your Virtual Lockdown Beer Tasting Guide. A step-by-step guide to setting up and organizing your virtual beer tasting, including suggested beer flights, serving suggestions and how to evaluate or judge your beers
- Beer Tasting Score Sheet. This sheet has space to grade and take notes for four beers. There is an area to record the name, IBU, ABV, and appearance of each beer. You can rate each beer on aroma, flavor, mouthfeel and your overall impressions, as well as an area to take notes. Print out as many as you need.
- Beer Tasting Flight Mat. We can’t send fancy flight boards like the ones you see in most breweries, through the internet, but you still need to line up the beers for comparison. Each beer mat has a spot for four beer glasses with a place to list its name.
- Common Beer Terminology Glossary. I hand out this list on each of my tours. The definitions come from the Brewers Association and Craft Beer.com.
- Beer and Food Pairings by Seattle Brewery Walking Tours. Another regular hand out from my tours. This is an easy reference guide for serving the right beer with your meal and serving the right food with your beer.
- Flavor Components in Beer. Another great reference from CraftBeer.com. This handy chart looks at common flavors people often taste in craft beers. It tells you what causes the flavor and in what style of beer it is acceptable.
- The Flavor Triangle from CraftBeer.com. We usually experience beer through Aroma, Taste and Mouthfeel. This easy to read chart gives you the basics.
- Beer Flavors Six Pack from CraftBeer.com. Most beer flavors fit into six descriptive categories. This handy reference guide from CraftBeer.com is easy to read and a great resource.
Simply fill out the form on the right. You will be taken to a page where you can download the Virtual Lockdown Beer Tasting Kit.
Cheers and stay safe.
