Have you ever been sitting in a bar or restaurant and wonder why the handsome gentleman or beautiful woman across the room is sitting alone drinking 5 beers at one time? Well, he or she may be down on their luck. Maybe he or she just got dumped by their over zealous girl or boyfriend. Or maybe they’re having a great day and are celebrating a promotion.
Regardless of why they may have 5 beers sitting in front of them these beers are probably smaller than your typical pint glass, say 3-4 ounces per glass. This my friends is what are beer flights. It’s a beautiful thing some genius created to have a mini beer tasting of more than one type of beer.
You could honestly see these served at just about any bar or restaurant with beers on tap, but usually you’ll find them served at places that either sell their own micro brews or at places that have a lot of beers on tap. Options are good and the beer flight solves our desire to try a few different beers without becoming too drunk to drive!
1. Start From Light To Dark
This is for the rookies out there. Your server should be tuned in on this as well, but it’s best to drink your beer flight in a specific order. It sounds kind of funny, but it really can help your taste buds out if you drink your flight from the lightest beer to the the darkest beer.
Your night won’t be ruined if you don’t take this approach, but from a sensory standpoint it gives your taste buds the best chance to enjoy each beer. If you were to start off with the darkest beer you ordered it could change the way the next lighter beer tastes. Don’t forget, this is a beer tasting and you want to enjoy it the best you can.
2. Don’t Forget Your Appetizer
By all means don’t forget your appetizer while you enjoy your beer flight. There are a couple of reasons its important to order a few bites of food when you drink the flight. First, it’s never a great idea to drink on an empty stomach so get some food in the tank so you aren’t loading your blood vessels with high octane booze. Tough to drive if you drink too much and we always recommend safe sober driving.
Secondly, it helps cleanse your palate. Tasting wildly different beer flavors without eating something in between can cause some confusion with your taste buds and you don’t want that. I’d actually recommend something simple like chips and guacamole or some kind of bread. You want the food to absorb the flavors from your last beer.
3. Drink Your Water
You should always stay hydrated in life whether you’re drinking a beer flight or not. It’s probably more important to stay hydrated while you’re drinking though since you don’t want to get a hangover. Use your judgment, this one is pretty straight forward. Have a sip of water between your beers throughout your beer flight.
4. Hold Off On Breaking The Seal
OK, this one may not be so obvious. Beer tastings can result in some beers that you may not like so you may not drink every drop of each beer. You know that and your waitress knows that. My recommendation is to avoid using the rest room in the middle of your beer flight because you don’t want your flight to be taken away until you finish it. Your waiter or waitress should know to ask, but protect yourself and your beer flight. Hold your pee until you’re between flights.
5. Be Adventurous
OK so we all kind of know what we like, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be surprised in life so my be adventurous advise applies perfectly to your beer flight selection. Make sure you try some beers that you know have a good chance you’ll enjoy, but I challenge you to pick 1 or 2 options that you don’t normally go for.
The worst that can happen is that you leave a beer behind for the waiter or waitress to take away. The optimistic result is that you find a surprisingly good beer to take with you on life’s journey. I always vote for trying something new.
6. Home Happy Hour Idea
Beer flights are usually available at bars and restaurants, but there is no reason you couldn’t bring a beer flight to your home happy hour! Have some friends over, buy a variety of beer and setup some tastings for all to enjoy. This could certainly be a winning idea that will entertain your friends and family. Don’t forget to pickup some small glasses so you execute this with style.
7. Could Be A Great Dating Idea
Have you ever been stumped on where to take a date or what to do on a date? Going out for a cold beer flight is an excellent idea for a date. Not only is it fun to do a beer tasting, but it also greases the wheels to help a date go smooth. Who doesn’t like catching a buzz while you meet someone new?
Summary
In summary, beer flights are a fantastic way conduct a beer tasting. We hope we’ve shared some important tips to help you take on your next beer flight whether it’s in a bar or you prepare a flight for your home happy hour. If there’s anything I want you to take away from our post, it’s points 1 and 2.
You should definitely drink the beer from light to dark and you should eat something between each beer to cleanse your palate. OK there’s a 3rd takeaway that I think is really important. Be adventurous and try new things. You can be surprised in life and selections made in your beer flight aren’t any different than other decisions you make. Also just wanted to share another good read on beer flights here. Cheers to your next beer flight!