How to Serve the Right Beer at a Dinner Party

Hosting dinner parties is not an easy feat by any means. Between creating the right environment, planning/preparing the meals and ensuring the night is entertaining, sometimes the choice of beer served is overlooked. However, the type of beer you provide to your guests is important, and, when chosen correctly, it can ameliorate the whole experience for your guests. Continue reading for some top tips on how to serve the right beer at your dinner party.

Pair Your Beer Accordingly

It’s crucial to consider which meals you will be serving to your guests when you are selecting the beer you buy. It’s not a myth that pairing your beer and food is something you need to incorporate. For example, malt beer should ideally be paired with spicy food to cool down the palette, and IPAs are more suited to steaks and barbeque food. Moreover, if planning and preparing meals for multiple guests is a daunting hassle, it might be preferable to skip meal planning altogether so you have more time to pair your beers. Thankfully, many trustworthy companies with tasty ingredients and meal plans can help you with this; for the most affordable options, you can find a list of great meal kit-services online.

Offer Your Guests Options

Sometimes, specific, set pairings don’t always work for everyone. After all, we are all different and have individual preferences. Therefore, it’s advisable to always offer a choice of drinks with each course. In doing so, you’ll make your guests feel accommodated and give yourself a better chance of providing a beer that they will enjoy. Offer a choice of alternative beer types and provide other alcoholic drinks such as wine or liquor. It’s also paramount to serve chilled water, soft drinks, and promote responsible drinking.

Shop Locally in Small, Independent Stores

By choosing local beers, not only do you support your local economy, but you also get a more varied selection of drinks, which are often made from fresher ingredients that have been locally sourced. They can also be more unique, giving your guests an exciting chance to try something new. Therefore, it’s a great idea to have a look around small stores nearby when buying the beer for your dinner party. 

Make Adventurous Selections

In addition to shopping locally, you should also think about purchasing beer from different countries. If you’re adventurous and try beers that are sourced from international countries, you’ll ensure that your guests can try a worldwide range of delicious beverages from around the globe! If you want to buy international beers for your party, you can buy high-quality products from most chain stores and liquor stores.

Know the Temperature of Your Beer

There are general serving rules surrounding beer. The custom is to serve it at a temperature of around 38-50°F. However, with certain beers, it’s best to research the specific temperatures that are more suited to each one specifically. For the stronger beers, you should serve them slightly warmer because they have stronger aromas. With light beers and lagers, it’s preferable to serve them chilled. If you want more advice on the correct temperatures to serve beer, you can find a quick guide here.

Pick the Perfect Glass

When you are serving beer at your evening event, you should be sure to provide the most suitable glassware for your guests.  Although glassware may not seem like a big deal, getting the right glasses for your beer-drinking guests will guarantee the best dining experience. After all, there’s no point in finding the best beers, yet serving them in unsuitable glasses. There are many different styles of glassware for beer, so it’s important to do further reading on this matter. Luckily, you can find some information on the best beer glasses for your dinner party.

Keep Proportions in Mind

When you are planning the amount of alcohol to serve at your dinner party, you need to be conscious of a few things. Normally, these revolve around the number of guests, the duration of your event, and how many drinks you want to ultimately provide. Usually, alcoholic drinks should be limited to one per person, per hour. However, beers usually contain around 4-6% ABV so you may want to have some extra drinks just in case.

The Perfect Pour

Lastly, a top tip when serving beer at your event is to pour it into your guests’ glass correctly. It may seem unimportant at first, but well-poured beers will be greatly appreciated. It’s best to serve beer into freshly rinsed glasses, as dust can change the aromas of the beer and increase nucleation. According to science, this is the best way to pour beer, so don’t forget to use pouring tricks when serving your guests.

If you follow the above guidance, you will certainly impress your dinner guests. Remember to also provide great entertainment, drink responsibly, and most importantly, eat, drink and be merry!