On Saturday, Blue Palms put brown bags over their taps and for four hours, us lucky attendees, had to guess what beer they had in front of them. Out of 24, I got 0 exact matches which I expected but I picked 9 of the styles correctly. But I had only half of the beers before in my beer drinking life. And some beers like New Belgium’s Metric 10 defy easy categorization.
My favorite beer of the afternoon was the Green Hill Dry Hopped Blonde. It was sparkly and semi-sour at first but then this cloudy yellow beauty faded into a delightful grainy/oaty taste that contrasted with the sourness extremely well. I also heartily enjoyed Josh Jensen’s chamomile home brew. A really unique twist of a beer that was really well balanced. There were some truly distinctive brews. Ladyface Sauv Blanc Saison, Avery 18th Anniversary Rye Saison to name two.
On whole the IPA’s fared poorly in comparison to simpler brews like the Marin Chocolate Porter or Eagle Rock’s Yearling. Primarily because after one tongue scraper the bitterness can be too heavy. And a beer with bold but palate friendly flavors can really refresh.
As usual, Blue Palms has put on a good show. Time just flew by as people discussed what they were tasting and compared notes.
Here are the photos of the event…..
I always thought “Blind Tasting Night” would be a fun event at a bar. True, people then have no idea what they are ordering, but it seems like a good way to get people to try new things.
It certainly does get you to try styles you might normally skip over.