How to Host an Awesome Blind Beer Tasting in 7 Easy Steps [WATCH]
The blind beer tasting that my sister and brother-in-law hosted this past weekend was a "smashing" success.
At 31 years old, I've only been drinking beer for the past five years. Unlike most, I didn't cut my teeth on the cheap commercial stuff on tap at the local dive bar. I'd tried a Guinness in my early 20's but hated it and basically avoided beer after that. It wasn't until moving to Minnesota in 2016 and hanging out at local craft breweries that I began to develop a taste and appreciation for good craft beer. So, until this past weekend, I had never had a Bud before. Or a Miller. Or a Busch. Or a whole slew of other widely-popular commercial drafts.
My sister loves hosting parties and get-togethers and for several months had been talking about hosting a "blind cheap beer tasting." Well after months of talk, she finally made it happen this past weekend! Ten couples and individuals were invited and assigned a beer to bring in a 6- or 12-pack. My wife Katie and I were assigned Coors Light. Once everyone had arrived and the beers had thoroughly chilled, we were each given a Cheap Beer Tasting template that my sister had made. The template was divided into three categories -- "Light Beers" "Regular Beers" and "Grandpa's Beers." Here's the list of beers and categories they were for:
Light Beers
- Coors Light
- Bud Light
- Busch Light
- Miller Lite
Regular Beers
- Budweiser
- Busch
- Coors Banquet
- Miller Genuine Draft
Grandpa's Beers
- Hamm's
- PBR
- Grain Belt
- Old Milwaukee
So that the tasting was truly "blind," my sister alone poured beers into shot glass-sized Solo cups with numbers on them. The rest of us didn't know which beer was which, only the category of beer we were drinking. We then all together sampled each beer, guessing at what we thought each one was and rating them from worst to best. Check out the TikTok video my sister made of the night below!
When it was all said and done, here were the overall rankings in each category from best to worst:
Light Beers
1. Bud Light
2. Busch Light
3. Miller Lite
4. Coors Light
Regular Beers
1. Coors Banquet
2. Budweiser
3. Miller Genuine Draft
4. Busch
Grandpa's Beers
1. PBR
2. Hamm's
3. Old Milwaukee
4. Grain Belt
The biggest surprises, we all agreed, were that Bud Light was the favorite Light beer while Coors Banquet was the favorite Regular beer. We were also surprised to see local Minnesota staple Grain Belt as the least favorite Grandpa beer.
Interested in hosting your own blind beer tasting? Here's how to do it in seven easy steps:
1. Decide what your beer categories will be and which beers will be included
2. Confirm your guest list
3. Assign beers to guests
4. Assign one person to "blind pour" the beers
5. Sample beers together
6. Log guesses and ratings (create your own template beforehand for extra official-ness)
7. Reveal results