There has been big increase in demand for Virtual Beer Tasting. Virtual tasting experiences are still in high demand and they are not limited to wine. There are a whole host of new ways to hang out on Zoom and drink with friends.
For the record, I’m a wine guy, but I love beer too. A virtual beer tasting can be so much more approachable and affordable than a wine tasting. I love tasting wine and wineries and vineyards are a great background, but so is a brewery.
There are so many things that I like about beer. But the best thing about beer its that it is democracy in action. With a wine tasting it is all about the type of grape and where the wine is from. We say “Wine is made in the vineyard”. With a virtual beer tasting it is about “the hand of man”. It’s the brewer makes the difference in beer.
I also like the fact that you get 6 beers to try as opposed to the 3 wines, which is the standard. I like the variety, especially when the beer flight goes progressively bitter. Hops are cool these days and the bitterness they bring to the brew has become an arms race. Bitter is better in West Coast IPA’s today.
Beer tastings are also a better value because good beer is less expensive than good wine to start with. The ingredients to make beer are relatively inexpensive and are readily available to anyone who wants to brew. Great microbreweries are all over the world now. You can’t say the same for great vineyards.
Some beer has more complex aromas and flavors than wine as well. Think about the differences in flavor between some of the fruited wheat beers or the new Sours. Compare those with Lagers, English Stouts, Belgian Tripels, Brandywine and proper cask ale. The diversity in beer is as endless as the brewer’s imagination.
What has happened to beer is nothing short of a revolution. The craft beer movement in America has changed the marketplace forever. Anyone can buy ingredients and make whatever kind of beer they want in their kitchen. Some home brewers perfect their craft and open a brewery. You don’t need a hillside vineyard, on gravel with gold loam soils, south facing aspect with a 20 degree diurnal swing between the latitudes of ………..no Beer is for the People.
