Sipping Styles at Sea: A Beer Tasting Adventure

I attended a shipboard beer tasting at The District Beer Pub. This was the styles of beer tasting so the goal was to show different types of beer while explaining a bit about what makes them different. I arrived early and watched as the workers cleared the room to prepare for the tasting. At first, I thought I might be the only one attending, but one more person rolled in right before the schedule start time. I figured there weren’t going to be many of us so I setup at the same table and made his acquaintance.

My new compatriot, Kevin, was escaping a mojito tasting that the rest of his group had opted for at the same time. Since he much preferred beer, he figured this was a good place to hole-up.

As the hour tolled, more folks finally started to arrive. When they were finally ready to start we had about 9 people ready to taste and 6 obnoxious idiots.

Luckily, one of the new serious arrivals was Kevin’s friend Joe (another mojito tasting refugee). Joe wasn’t much of a beer guy but figured this would be more fun.

The first portion of the tasting was informational. The beer sommelier (or whatever you’d call him) taught us about ABV, IBU, and SRM so that we were understand the objective measures of beer. Alcohol By Volume (ABV) speaks for itself I think. IBU stands for International Bitterness Units which once decoded is pretty simple to understand as well. Finally SRM is Standard Reference Method which is a way to specify the color of the beer.

As the explanations were progressing, it was sometimes hard to hear because the 6 geniuses were too busy mimicking and making fun of the sommelier’s accent. The somme politely asked them to quiet down so that those that wanted to listen could.

Next, the presenter explained how to evaluate and taste a beer using the AAMTF method. First, you focus on the APPEARANCE. Next you smell the beer to evaluate the AROMAS. After that the next two come at the same time because you take a drink or sip. You are examining the MOUTHFEEL and TASTE at this point. Finally, when you swallow pay attention to the FINISH.

As we worked through the AAMTF method, the somme instructed us to try our beers one-by-one. It was really hard to follow which beer we were supposed to be on during this because of the 6 loudmouths. The workers were fed up and again told them they needed to calm down. After one of the men said “I only got one speed”, they were escorted from the room.

Okay, okay, but what about the beers?! Oh right, we got to try 4 beers: a lager, a witbier (wheat beer), an IPA, and a Stout. I don’t know what the specific beers or brands were. If they were mentioned, the noisy group made me miss it. For the lager, it was a very nice easy drinker. Kevin and Joe both liked this one as well. The witbier was really good and quite fruity. Again this was a hit with the boys. The IPA was a classic IPA, hoppy, citrusy bitterness, and that quintessential beer aftertaste. Kevin loved it and Joe absolutely hated it. Finally we had the stout which I thought was a nice smooth stout (possibly Guinness), but both Joe and Kevin hated it. Kevin when he saw it said he hoped it wasn’t Guinness, so even if it wasn’t, it was close enough to put him off.

At the end, there was a quick quiz to see if we remembered what we were taught. The first question was “What is SRM?” I was quick on the draw so earned myself a souvenir beer glass. I probably could have won the second as well, but opted to sit out. It took a few different questions before the somme found a question that someone remembered the answer to.

The tasting was fun, if a bit slow to get going, and walking away with a souvenir is always cool. Next time though, I think I’d prefer getting a tasting card and trying beers quietly in a corner by myself or well… Kevin and Joe can come too.