Order of drinking beer

[Galena]

When at a whisky tasting night I believe it is recommended to begin with drinks distilled in the south east and work your way anticlockwise to the south west, I assume this is so that the strong peaty whiskies of the west coast don't overpower the east coast whiskies.
So I was wondering if when tasting beer, or even out on a session and working your way through a pubs selection of ale's, is there a best order in which to drink them?

 

[An Ankoù]

When at a whisky tasting night I believe it is recommended to begin with drinks distilled in the south east and work your way anticlockwise to the south west, I assume this is so that the strong peaty whiskies of the west coast don't overpower the east coast whiskies.
So I was wondering if when tasting beer, or even out on a session and working your way through a pubs selection of ale's, is there a best order in which to drink them?

That's a very interesting question, @Galena. It's not so much a question of working through a pub's offerings, which can be slim, but where to start and how to proceed at a beer festival. My approach would be to study the form sheet (tasting notes) and look for the hoppiest and lightest beers working up to the richer and stronger ones. On the other hand, a certain member of our "invasion" would equally study the form sheet and mark the strongest from one to ten, starting with the strongest and determined to get through to the tenth strongest, which he invariably did with alacrity and then start again.
On one occasion, I think it was Poole, many, many yonks ago. We were all bladdered and ready to go home and I had one token left, which I spent on a half of Elgood's Black Dog. I sent the lads on their way and bought another strip of tokens. I'd never tasted it before and haven't tasted it since, but, at the time, it was nectar. Must have been pissssed!

 

[Nicks90]

Depends on the pub, when I went to piffpaff in lodz, there are 100 pumps on offer. Take your pick and enjoy!!!!

But if there was a typical and good selection in an English pub, I'd start with lager/pilsner, the English pale ales, then ipas and then stouts.
Should stop any beer from overpowering your tongue and tainting the flavour of the next

 

[Scrattajack]

Regarding festivals, the original plan was to start with a light, low ABV effort and then work up to my favourites, the stronger dark beers. One year I'd got near the end and went off to buy the final beer of the night. Not so naive to think they'd all still be on, there was a list of four. All finished. Since then, to hell with the pale stuff.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

No, for me it’s what I fancy. If I fancy everything I might decide light to dark or vice versa, or low to high ABV but this is mostly to save me having to make a decision and waste drinking time!

 

[Clint]

I thought we was going to have to wear robes and not talk...

 

[YeastFace]

Depending on the pub, I'll usually start on a bitter or something pale and hoppy, move onto something a bit darker (an amber, mild, or porter), and then finish with something strong or imperial strength. Then get a takeaway can for the journey home.

 

[Galena]

Thanks for the replies, some good stories too, so the consensus is, hypothetically at least to start with the light beers and work through to the dark malty beers, or start with low ABV and work up. That makes sense and is kind of how I thought I would tackle it.
I was actually thinking last night how I would like to go to a beer festival I have only ever been to one and that was in Burton on Trent in the 1970's.

 

[sifty]

I've gone to breweries/festivals and just randomly grabbed what looked good.

Fair to say it's a lot easier between some brews than others...

Now I also tend to start with the lighter, easier drinking brews and progress through to the more challenging...

 

[Cwrw666]

Leave the beer with vanilla in it til last, or better still don't touch it with a bargepole. If you drink it first every beer after that'll taste of nothing but vanilla.

 

[sifty]

And curry. Tried a curry IPA at a festival and was discreetly belching curry for the duration.

And lesson learned. Things that go great with beer are not necessarily great in beer...

 

[Stevieboy]

Lowest to highest ABV.

I like the idea of an Order of Beer Drinkers - funny handshakes, secret rituals, swearing allegiance to the Beer Bible.......

 

[Dorst]

As a rule of thumb lowest to highest ABV, but..

I also try to choose my next beer to be complimentary to the last one that I had. My tactics:
- If you need a palette cleanser after a hoppy beer go for sour beers (geuze, berliner weisse, gose, krieks and such)
- If you need a palette cleanser after sour beers I prefer lagers (helles, german pilsner) or something hoppy
- I try to save imperial strenght beers for last. So save the barley wines or imperial stouts for last. Once you go high ABV beers the beers and you want to switch back I'd recommend sour beers again.
- If all of the beers are more or less the same style and ABV I try to see if any of the beers have any special qualities; certain hops or malts. I would start with the more straightforward beers and try to save the ones with more special qualities for later so I can compare them to their more neutral counterparts.

Most good beer bars in the Netherlands will also offer you glasses of water. I did not see this very often in the UK. It really helps to reset your tastebuds.

 

[sifty]

Agree. And I've always thought there should be glass washers at beer festivals. Hate putting a new brew into the dregs of the old one...

 

[Galena]

Leave the beer with vanilla in it til last, or better still don't touch it with a bargepole. If you drink it first every beer after that'll taste of nothing but vanilla.

I have never tried a beer with vanilla, not sure I fancy the idea actually unless it was just a taste of somebodies homebrew, I don't think I would buy a pint of it.

And curry. Tried a curry IPA and was discreetly belching curry for the duration.

And lesson learned. Things that go great with beer are not necessarily great in beer...

That sounds disgusting fortunately not something I have stumbled across, I have seen talk about garlic beer which though I love Garlic would never want it in my beer. I guess for some people if it can be made it will be made.

Lowest to highest ABV.

I like the idea of an Order of Beer Drinkers - funny handshakes, secret rituals, swearing allegiance to the Beer Bible.......

Count me in

As a rule of thumb lowest to highest ABV, but..

I also try to choose my next beer to be complimentary to the last one that I had. My tactics:
- If you need a palette cleanser after a hoppy beer go for sour beers (geuze, berliner weisse, gose, krieks and such)
- If you need a palette cleanser after sour beers I prefer lagers (helles, german pilsner) or something hoppy
- I try to save imperial strenght beers for last. So save the barley wines or imperial stouts for last. Once you go high ABV beers the beers and you want to switch back I'd recommend sour beers again.
- If all of the beers are more or less the same style and ABV I try to see if any of the beers have any special qualities; certain hops or malts. I would start with the more straightforward beers and try to save the ones with more special qualities for later so I can compare them to their more neutral counterparts.

Most good beer bars in the Netherlands will also offer you glasses of water. I did not see this very often in the UK. It really helps to reset your tastebuds.

Never seen a glass of water offered, I suppose you would need to be at a beer tasting rather than just drinking in a pub to get that, I have seen that beer judges when smelling a beer sniff their sleeve to clear their sense of smell.

 

[Galena]

Agree. And I've always thought there should be glass washers at beer festivals. Hate putting a new brew into the dregs of the old one...

Its a long time since I have been, but I agree, especially at a festival where you are supposed to be tasting the best of each beer.

 

[Clint]

I have never tried a beer with vanilla, not sure I fancy the idea actually unless it was just a taste of somebodies homebrew, I don't think I would buy a pint of it.


That sounds disgusting fortunately not something I have stumbled across, I have seen talk about garlic beer which though I love Garlic would never want it in my beer. I guess for some people if it can be made it will be made.

Count me in


Never seen a glass of water offered, I suppose you would need to be at a beer tasting rather than just drinking in a pub to get that, I have seen that beer judges when smelling a beer sniff their sleeve to clear their sense of smell.

Sleeve sniffing...I wonder if they have their dog sleeping on the shirt beforehand?

 

[Galena]

Sleeve sniffing...I wonder if they have their dog sleeping on the shirt beforehand?

 

[Sadfield]

Perhaps just the festivals I go to (From IMBC to the local Round Table one), but glass washing is quite common. I suspect as they resume post covid, this will be more likely.

As for drinking order, I just go with the flow, choose whatever takes my fancy.

 

[Richard_H]

Assuming I have enough time then:
Beer festival:
Get there for opening after a big breakfast, grab the tasting notes and work your way through the most popular beers and drink whatever is left at the end.

British ale pub:
Start pale and a lower ABV%, work your way through getting darker and stronger % each time.

Belgium brown pub:
Start on something lighter and around 5-6% (saison,blonde) then dubbel, tripel and onto a quad.

Craft beer/tap room:
Light first then onto dark, not a deal breaker though as some of these are so big and punchy your tongue is stripped in 1 sip!

If I'm only out for a few beers then I just grab whatever takes my fancy