I have to admit that when I first signed on for this 12 month of dates idea, I thought it was going to be really easy, but getting a little out of my comfort zone has been a bit challenging! If you haven’t read about my 12 month challenge, you can check it out here: 12 Months of Date Nights. My first date night was planned around Father’s Day, and what better way to kick it off than with some beer and BBQ? I am not a fan of beer and know very little about it, so I had to do some research for this date. Since my goal was to do something interesting and different, I didn’t want to just buy my husband’s favorite beer and make some burgers. Instead, I began my search for some information about doing beer tasting so both of us could try some new beverages and recipes.
Who knew beer was so complicated? Apparently, there are oodles of different types, brews and flavors. There are both domestic and imported beers and if you have been to the most amazing wine store in Norwalk (Total Wine), you know how many choices there are of just about everything. Let me backtrack a bit. Before I headed to the liquor store, I went online and looked for information about how to host a beer tasting. While I wanted something pretty basic, there were so many different ways to do this, it was mind blowing! Once I had it narrowed down to the order of the types (beginning with Pale Ale and ending with Stout), I began searching for beer brands that were highly rated and were fairly easy to find. Once I had my beer list, I wanted to get some easy food pairings that would work well with my beer choices.
My first stop was a pretty gourmet beer pairing menu, but then I remembered that I’m not Bobby Flay and I have a toddler at home. This significantly narrowed my food pairings to ingredients I could find locally and meals that would be easy to prepare in a short period of time. Finally, I began just entering the beer name and type and asking for food pairing suggestions. Some of the beer companies even offer recipes that use their beer – Jackpot! I ended up creating 4 “courses” with the 4 beers, two of which needed very little preparation. Once I had the food and menu planned, I created a printed tasting menu which I gave to my hubby at the start of the meal. This gave a brief description of the beer and food so hubby knew what to expect.
Once the table was set and our daughter was asleep, we sat down and tried each of the beers and courses together. I should note that after the shrimp (our second course) we were pretty full! We each tried to split a beer, but this was still too much for a “tasting,” so we would definitely know better for next time. There was definitely too much! The best part? My husband actually ended up liking a few of the beers that he had never tried before. It was a win-win all around. The food was great, the beer was great, the weather was great, and we had a few hours to ourselves to relax and enjoy one another’s company. It really was fairly inexpensive and we didn’t even need a babysitter!
If beer or wine tastings aren’t really your speed, there are lots of other things you can put together for a small “tasting” menu. I could definitely see myself doing an ice cream or dessert tasting, or even some small plates with a variety of appetizers or snacks. If you are really creative, you can incorporate a theme for a particular holiday or region of the world. I wouldn’t mind a mini food tour of Tuscany myself! Even if you don’t enjoy cooking, there’s nothing wrong with grabbing some takeout from a new place nearby and sharing some great new foods. It’s all about getting together and spending time with one another. The food and drink is just an added bonus.
What kind of tastings would you like to try with your significant other?
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