Throw a Beer-Tasting Party at Home!
On my regular appearance on The Today Show this week, I demonstrated how easy it is to bring friends together for a beer-tasting party. With so many great artisanal beers on the market these days, beer-tasting parties are becoming a very popular and affordable option for entertaining. Visit a good beer merchant and purchase a variety of brews. Organize your selections into three flights – light, amber, and dark – and present them to your guests one group at a time. Match the beers up with a simple tap-room inspired décor and some good snack foods and let the fun begin in your very own gastropub! To read the complete story, look for the March issue of my magazine, Martha Stewart Living.
1 Beer tasting parties are the new thing and they're so easy to pull together.
2 This great party table is simple to set up and it has a fun, sophisticated bar feel.
3 The table is covered with blackboard oilcloth and you can write food descriptions right on its surface! http://www.bellocchio.com/catalogue/maison/chalkboard/
4 For a beer tasting party, it's important to have a variety of flavors and to serve them in order of intensity. These numbered coasters not only identify the beers, but also serve as guides from subtle to more robust flavors.
5 Each place setting includes a score card so guests can rate and remember their favorites.
6 For lighter, pale ales, we chose three American brews: Southhampton Publick House Double White Ale, Goose Island Sofie Belgian Style Ale, and Lagunitas Pils.
7 Amber ales are medium-bodied beers. Among our selection was Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend, which is very malty with notes of cherry.
8 Amber beers have both sweet and bitter flavors, which is what makes them pair well with our Smoky Parsnip Crisps.
9 Darker beers include stouts and porters. The smokiness of Stone Brewing Company Stone Smoked Porter goes well with savory foods. End your night with Brookyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout, which is almost like a dessert beer.
10 Setting up the table for the segment
11 Matt Lauer couldn't help but sneak a Smoky Parsnip Crisp before we started taping.
12 I joked that it might be a little early in the morning for a beer tasting, but no one seemed to mind!
13 For a new twist on the typical buffalo chicken wing, I showed Matt how to make Roasted Buffalo Shrimp. Large shrimp are tossed with lemon zest, garlic, celery seeds, paprika, cayenne, salt, honey, and oil.
14 The shrimp are roasted in a 450º oven for five minutes. The dip is sour cream, lemon juice, celery leaves, and salt. Serve the shrimp with cucumbers, celery, and fennel.
15 I showed Ann how to make cocktail meatballs, using ground beef chuck and ground pork mixed with white bread, milk, thinly sliced pancetta, onion, and egg yolk.
16 They're seasoned with salt and pepper, smoked paprika, and fresh thyme. I like to roll them in a breadcrumb and flour mixture before putting them in the frying pan, which gives the exterior a light crust.
17 Lightly fry the meatballs in a large skillet with olive oil until brown on all sides and then bake in a 300º oven until cooked through.
18 Serve the meatballs warm with toothpicks.
19 The secret of these bacon-blue cheese sandwiches is sweet onion jam, which you can buy pre-made or make yourself. We used the Beekman 1802 recipe found here: http://beekman1802.com/food-and-wine/blaak-onion-jam.html
20 Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a hot pan and then cook 3 cups of chopped onions until caramelized. Add 1 cup of balsamic vinegar and cook down until thick, about an hour. Then add 1/4 cup maple syrup and cook for another hour.
21 Layer white or sourdough bread with the onion jam, blue cheese, and cooked Irish or Canadian bacon.
22 Melt butter on a griddle or a heavy skillet and brown both sides of the sandwiches. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until cheese is melted.
23 Al was a huge fan of these sandwiches!
24 Most of these recipes finish in the oven, so you can complete setting up and greet your guests while everything is still cooking.
25 Salty snacks have long been a bar companion to beer and we made Smoky Parsnip Crisps for something tasty, but a little different.
26 Using a vegetable peeler, I showed Savannah how to shave long strips from parsnips. Heat 3-inches of vegetable oil in a pot to 365º and then fry in small batches.
27 Savannah expected these to take a good deal of time, but it's quite fast - only 45 seconds to fry them golden brown.
28 Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt.
29 Sprinkle with the same smoky paprika used on the Roasted Buffalo Shrimp (also called pimentón) before serving.
30 For a look reminiscent of British pubs, we lined our serving dish with these London Times Tissue Liners, printed with food-safe soy ink. http://www.breadbaskets.com/product/Liner_Paper/250_London_Royal_Times_Tissue_Liners.html
31 And that's how you 'raise the bar' by throwing a beer party!
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Everything about this party is so fun...love the chalkboard table covering! Cheers.
Posted by: Sherey | March 9th, 2012 at 2:27 am
March isuue of LIVING is spectacular and I have written about it previously here.with rest of oil field truck drivers, I love bars around the Bakken in Dakota. While in Vegas last week end, had to stop at one of those 'bars' on the strip and was so fun meeting Larry who showed me the proper technigue having lime in our "two buck Corona". Just can't pick a favorite from light amber, or dark, can you?
Posted by: ann | March 9th, 2012 at 3:13 am
Thanks for the link to the blackboard oilcloth, such a fun idea! I saw this episode on Today, as usual Martha, you have unique ideas and the food always looks so good! As for my own "taste testing", I am partial to pale ales! Have great weekend everyone!
Posted by: Cindy F | March 9th, 2012 at 9:01 am
Martha,
My mom loves beer! I just may have to throw a beer-tasting party! Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | March 9th, 2012 at 10:13 am
Hi Martha, You sure do have fun being on the Today Show with all 4 of those fabulous hosts! Every thing you present for them and us is so amazing, delicious and beautiful! How long does it take to get prepared for the Today Show and do your wonderful chefs at your TV Show prepare all of those foods for you? These photos, comments and the video are outstanding and very helpful for all of us! All of those fantastic prior videos with the one from this week are so much fun to view again-love them all! Sure hope you, Jude, and Alexis had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating beautiful, sweet, adorable Jude's first birthday! Sure would love to see some photos of her! Hope you have another great day and weekend! I saved a lovely bee yesterday that fell into a bucket of rainwater! I scooped it up, set it on a dry, sunny spot and in a few minutes it flew away! It was 60+ here yesterday! Off to see The Daily Wag where F&S are discovering those Beautiful Hellebores! Everything they do is so much fun to see! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | March 9th, 2012 at 10:15 am
Hi Martha,
That was a great segment on the Today Show. I don't drink but I loved the table setting and the food. I've already decided to make the parsnip chips first - what a unique idea. I've never heard of them before! I thought the blackboard oilcloth would be great for a child's party too. We have a couple of young ones in the family with birthday's coming up and the oldest one likes to draw. Thanks again for great ideas. Also, I know you have some good news but I’ll wait to hear it from you. Have a nice weekend! Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 9th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Everything Looked So Yummy As Alway's. Love Dark Beer Too! Your Alway's AMAZING Martha:-). And Happy Birthday To Jude Her Ist !. Birthday. Alexis You Are A GREAT MOM! Hope Your Day Was Great.
Posted by: Darlene Martinez | March 9th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Congratulations on birth of new grandson. Welcome to the world, Truman.
Posted by: ann | March 9th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
Hi Martha,
Watched the segment on OSN live loved it. Congratulations on Alexis's second baby boy Baby Truman, so happy and excited to hear the wonderful news. God Bless
Wish you a wonderful weekend xo
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | March 9th, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Okay, Not only do I claim Dakota but almost Montana is my home. We want to serve a special presentation of Bakken Bock, a dark dopplebock created for the MonDak region and its vast oil resources, brew from Beaver Creek Brewery, Wibaux, Harvest Moon Brewing, Belt, Madison River Brewing, Belgrade, Missouri Breaks Brewing, Wolf Point, and Red Lodge Ales Company and beers from Flathead Lake Brewing of Bigfork, Big Sky Brewing of Missoula, and Yellowstone Valley Brewing of Billings, among many others and our son Jamie is moving a rig in Montana and will be tasting them all. I might just have to skip many of them but thank you so much in raising the bar.
Posted by: ann | March 9th, 2012 at 5:08 pm
Support your local microbrewer(s)! In the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area, Summit makes some great stuff.
Posted by: JohnJ | March 10th, 2012 at 12:01 am
I like to try it during Football season.
Posted by: austin bakery | March 10th, 2012 at 2:19 am
Awesome ideas! This will be on my to-do list.
If you throw a beer-tasting party like Martha, there will be a lot of party crashers for sure.
Posted by: Ness | March 12th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
So glad I found this - I'm planning a beer tasting and was not sure what beers and how many to select. Will def be taking your advice on the 3 types of flights! Thanks!
Posted by: Jordan | March 28th, 2012 at 6:09 am
Martha!
Thank you for posting this. I am throwing a Beer-Tasting Birthday Party for my boyfriend because of your inspiration! I am even creating a chalk-board voting poll where people can vote for their favorite beer. I'm calling the event "Beer, Brawts, Buddies and Birthday Wishes."
Thanks again,
Amy
Posted by: Amy | April 27th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Hey ! I love to have a beer tasting party like this . So nice , God bless you for showing the way you live and letting others to peep in to your life style .
Thanks,
Posted by: Sudheesh | June 4th, 2012 at 8:10 pm