So this came up during our first stop of the Missouri Brew Tour this weekend, and I think it is a valid question.
How does one cleanse the palette when tasting beer?
- Begin with the lighter offerings and work your way up to the heavier, headier choices.
- Eat white bread, pretzels or crackers and sip unflavored water between sips.
- Pause between tasting each wine or beer to allow your palate time to "breathe." Clearing your mouth of one taste allows you to better appreciate the next one.
- Wait to have a meal until after the tasting. While wine and beer are wonderful together, any foods you eat with them affect their taste.
- Skip mints, gum or candy until after the tasting.
We actually didn’t do to bad with this list, other than eating breakfast as we drank. I seem to recall that Rex found a certain beer took on a whole new dimension after he ate with it.
For those interested, I would also suggest reading THIS list over at the Bruhaus. The best suggestion on their list is “Don’t take the beer to seriously”. Beer (to me) was meant to increase camaraderie, and that is the ultimate goal when participating in a tasting (or an endeavor such as the Brew Tour). Getting together with friends is really what it is all about.
Cheers -
Randy (From "My side of the bar" - Blog) once told me that Cider such as Strongbow also makes a good Pallet Cleanser. It certainly worked well for me after a cigar or two.
ReplyDeleteActually, you bring up a good point from this weekend. I had a pear cider and that was exactly what I thought, perfect cleanser.
ReplyDelete