Beer Tasting Party

This past year my husband and his friend started brewing their own beer.  They have hopes of some day opening a tap room attached to a small brewery.  In the meantime, they have lots and lots of friends eager to taste the latest that Top Rung Brewing has to offer.

The turnout was great with about 40 friends and family stopping by to give their feedback.

Since this was an open house style, we wanted the flow to be casual but informative.  When guests entered, they were given a beer tasting glass (aka 8oz mason jar) with six feedback forms to be turned in.

Because Casey and Jason had been brewing up a storm, we had a lot of beer for everyone to try.  Six types of beer to be exact:  Hosechaser Blonde, Irons IPA, Smashed Pumpkin', "no name" vanilla porter, Box Alarm Amber and Good Jake CDA.  The fun started in the diningroom with three stations set up.

The buckets were from our local party store, in red of course.  Each station was labeled with the name of the beer and a short description as well as the alcohol by volume, IBUs and OGs info.

Burlap under the buckets turned out to be a great idea. They absorbs the moisture/sweat from the buckets.

Jason's girlfriend, Morgan was able to re-furbish these old six-pack boxes to use at each station.  She used a little spray paint and stickers from local craft store. We asked guests to return their feedback forms in these boxes.  They worked perfectly!

Next on the list was a little food. 

The most popular food was by far the Stoltz family rice casserole.  Unfortunately, since I didn't know it was going to be such a big hit, I didn't take any pictures.  But I will add the recipe at the very end of the post.


Good food, family and friends....what could be better? 

We really got lucky on the weather.  The day of the beer tasting it was literally, the nicest day of the week.  We were able to have a few more beers outside and a fire going.

The "no name" vanilla porter is on the sweeter side, we suggested folks eat a piece of Snickers or Brownies while sipping.  It definitely changes the taste of the beer and is a different idea for some people.  We were excited to see people try it and like the combination!

We also added a few bowls of jelly beans.  We don't have any scientific facts regarding this, but we've heard it is considered a palette cleanser for beer tasting.  Not sure if it's true or not, but a few jelly beans never hurt anyone.

Having such supportive friends and family is so important to Casey and Jason.  They were overwhelmed by the positive feedback they received and were inspired to keep on brewing.  Stay tuned for future beer tasting events.

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As promised, here is the "S" Family recipe:


Rice Casserole1 large onion, chopped fine
1 cup rice
2 cups chicken broth
1tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Melt butter and add onion, cook until onion is clear and soft. Add rice, salt, sugar, and raisins. Pour into baking dish and add chicken broth. Cover and bake at 350. Usually done after 1 hour.