The Bar Towel

My local has 23 craft beers on tap and it is tough to choose. I often ask about certain draughts and I'm usually offered a taste. I've been thinking - maybe this just isn't right. Beer isn't meant to be tasted and crossed off a list. I was thinking of the cask IPA from Monkies I had a couple of weeks ago...the first sip was like a 10 lb rubber mallet blow to the top of my head. Yet, as I found myself melting onto my bar stool, eyes glazing over...that glass of beer took on an epic quality, every sip changing and developing into something truly life-affirming. The point is, every time I'm at the pub I am lucky enough to have a choice of what to try...usually two, sometimes three...sometimes I race over to catch an interesting offering before it's gone. The thing is, I often miss some wicked beers that come through. But that's not a loss, it is part of what makes having that full glass in front of me all the more special. So, from now on...no more samples for me! Of course, special events like tap takeovers...

Gord, you defintely have a passion for beer. Me too.

Swampale

You can be rightly philosophical. Some beers I am good with a 4 oz, esp. heavier beers. Others I'll try them and go 'hell yeah, I'll have a full glass of that (Berliner Weisse / Pale Ale / whatever). I'm not always trying to guzzle two or more liters of beer in one sitting.

So smaller servings and samples have their place, especially as a 'gateway' to people learning about beer styles. I don't care if certain other people abuse sampling privileges to tick off pseudo beer ratings, it's still a nice way to decide what to order.

Bellwoods is great that way, they are very accomodating with a flight of smaller glasses you can still actually get a taste of. A few of my women friends really appreciate it - they can try more things because their physiology can't soak up as much alcohol (kind of cute really, watching them share tiny beers & talk about them.)

My wife is not a big beer fan, so she really likes the idea of sample sizes - gives her a chance to have a bit of variety, and that way she doesn't feel bad if she finds a dud or two.

I like doing flights when I'm somewhere new to get a taste for the places Beers before settling on a couple that I'll spend some time on.

I like sample sizes for when "your eyes are bigger than your stomach", like when you vist a new brewery for the first time and theres 10-20 new beers that you just have to try and you would kill yourself with full pints of all of them. And it's kind of fun to do sample sizes to pseudo-tic with the various on-line apps.

That said, if I really have been looking forward to trying a beer or want to sit down and seriously rate it, I don't generally do sample sizes. I find the volume, combined with usually non-ideal glassware for those sizes , absolutely kills the aroma. I've done a few experiments doing sample sizes first, then pints and vice versa, and almost always find that I find more complexity in a full pint and rate a full pint higher. In addition to getting more aroma, I suspect it also has a lot to do with allowing the complexity to build throughout a greater volume, much like gormit said.

I have mad respect for beer judges who have developed their sensory perception to such a high degree and have the ability to pick out all the little nuances of a beer in small sample glasses.

Might be a good time to add that I love 5 oz serving sizes, like at Bar Hop, and I wish more bars had this option - Sometimes after a nice meal, I may want a bit of, say, Peche, but 10-12 ozs is too much, 5 oz can be perfect.*


*says the guy who's currently working his way through a bomber of tempest...

My ramble was more around when talking to the bartender they often ask "would you like a taste?" and slide a small mouthful my way. When walking past the pub with no time to stop in...salivating over the beer list as I walked by...I ironically came to resent all of those free tastes that I had once identified as almost a badge of honour at being recognized as a 'regular' and treated like the King of Beers. I still ask the old 'howzit it pouring' and enjoy the descriptions...but when the offer of a taste is made, well, I now just order up and take the chance...I'm 'all in' baby!!!