Several Experiences at a Beer Tasting -OR-

The World's Most Boring Blog Post Title

          The other day I had the privilege of visiting a liquor store that I hadn't visited in the past.. Maximum Beverage in West Hartford had taken out some space in the local rag (read newspaper) to advertise a stout and porter beer tasting. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't really expect to hear much more about beer than I already know (that is unless I'm at a brewery or talking with people who actually manufacture the stuff). It's always exciting though, to see what someone else can bring to the table and the ways that they convey information.

          I've already covered stouts is a past post, and I could certainly make you regret asking me a bout porters (maybe in a future post ;)), but I'm not here to really go into depth on either. I feel that people need to understand the importance of going out and trying things in these (often free) public forums. Not only can the average beer drinker learn a lot about the "whys" of their favorite styles and get a good history lesson. They get their opportunity to share the experience with a group of random people, get their questions answered and maybe even get a nice buzz.

          The presenter of this particular tasting was a representative from a local distribution company who admitted that he favored Irish Stouts and often got nervous around large crowds. With this in mind, I was surprised at how well he loosened up once people started getting into the beer and began to ask questions and make polite conversation with their neighbors. I was at an advantage, and happy to share the experience with my girlfriend and her parents who can both "hold their own" when it comes to imbibing. He had created a great handout that covered each of the six beers that we had, which further contributed to epiphany and conversation among tasters.

          Technically, we tasted these beers from "lightest" to "heaviest", starting with the Porters (Samuel Smith and Founders). Which, according to our presenter, did not actually start out as a different style than stouts but were simply a lighter and easier drinking version. These are two great examples among many (I was happy to hear that Mr. Hall liked both).

         After the Porters, we began sipping through a few great stouts. We began with Sierra Nevada's, which I somehow have not had and which was on the milder end of the stout spectrum. We cycled through Young's Double Chocolate and Back East Imperial and ended with Tiny by Weyerbacher which is anything but what its name implies.

          Beer was only half of what makes going to these tastings fun and interesting. To share the experience of tasting something like beer with people for the first time really is amazing. It's neat to watch people hold their glasses to the light and try to describe how dark a beer is or what it's mouthfeel is. I really hope that each person that I shared this experience with will go home and try every beer that hits their lips with such interest. This is a crash course in how to tear the walls down that change beer into BEER. So, in ending, ask your local beer dude about what they might be tasting soon. Many times they do these events weekly and will often invite reps from specific breweries to go through a cycle of a specific spot's beer. You'll thank me, I promise.

@CTbeerfiend