Fun with beer at home
A colleague, known to some as multimedia editor Mary, sent me a missive about a beer game she and her friends played recently. I call it "name that beer." Here, in her words, was how it was played.
"My boyfriend and I met up with some new friends, who were holding a beer tasting at their house. The rules: Bring a 6-pack to share, taste all the beers, and rate them and match the tastes with the labels.
The person who brought the highest rated beer would get a 6-pack of their choice of bottles, and same prize for the person who matched the most right.
I was tied for first for matches until the very end, when I mixed up a HopDevil and something else. (The HopDevil was less hoppy than the other! Who'd have thunk it?)
The beer that got the highest overall rating: Blue Moon's Full Moon. It tastes somewhat interesting, but I think it was more so generally agreeable, as was the Stella that came in a close second. It got all 6's and 7's -- it's good, but not that interesting, and thus had such a good score.
The ones most debated were Harpoon IPA and Fin Du Monde. People were in camps over those, though I liked both. I liked the IPA better, though; IPAs are my favorite.
My Rogue Dead Guy Ale did OK, and my boyfriend's Jever did terribly. It tasted like diesel.
But here's the most interesting thing about the whole night, to me: I was really surprised at how much I liked Red Stripe. I know, I know, it's a very strange and cheap beer. But it was kind of ... all right! I think I gave it a 6.
Boddington's Pub Ale was generally panned."
Anybody play this game, or a version of it?
I am sometimes surprised at "blind" beer tastings by my picks. You ever been surprised by your "blind" beer picks?
Comments
Rob:
When can we expect your article/review on this years Winter Seasonal offerings?
Posted by: Matt | November 18, 2008 5:45 PM
At a homebrew shop I worked our favorite game was mystery beer. Some one would bring in a beer pour it into glasses and pass them out. You had to identify the style and some people went as far as brand occasionally.
For newer staff it was a great training game. Start with such questions ale or lager? American or European or Other? Color? Hop level? Hop character? Alcohol level? And so on until you had a final guess. We would often play it at our favorite bar and the bartenders would get into trying to come up with something to stump us.
Posted by: Thomas | November 18, 2008 10:31 PM
I've never played this one but it seems like it could be quite enjoyable. It seems a bit sophisticated from the beer games I played back in the day; but then change can be a good thing.
Posted by: Jr Copper | November 19, 2008 9:14 AM
We play this game but everyone needs to bring the same type of beer – so we have IPA night or Porter night. We soon realized that anything fresh (from a growler) was always a winner so we stick with bottles only now.
It’s funny when something made by Budweiser wins a category.
Posted by: alba | November 19, 2008 2:02 PM
One variation is to do this with draft beer in a place with a great many taps, and let the bartender surprise you. Of course, the game really only works with a place with over 50 taps and a printed up-to-date beer menu, and I'm afraid there's only one of those in the area so far.......
Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | November 19, 2008 9:52 PM
I am interested in this game, and wouldnt mind playing it. I am always surprised at things I dotn think I would like that come out great (i.e. pumpkin beers- I hate pumpkin anything)
Posted by: Jason | November 20, 2008 4:24 PM
I've played this game. In fact, I was there, and helped organize it!
The logistics - multiple cups for each person, score cards, keeping track of which beer is which, tabulating scores, etc - can get pretty complicated if you want (especially if you try to keep it a truly "blind" tasting). But it's fun. Oh, and it's educational as well ;)
Posted by: Paul Capestany | November 20, 2008 11:56 PM