How to order and taste a beer flight
A flight is the cheapest way to learn what a taproom does well. It only works if you choose the beers with some thought and taste them in the right order.
What a flight is for
A flight is a set of small pours, usually four to six glasses of somewhere between 90 and 150 ml each, served on a paddle or tray. Most taprooms let you pick the beers. Some offer a fixed set.
Its job is reconnaissance. You are trying to find the one beer on the board you would happily drink a full glass of. Along the way you get a feel for the brewery's habits. Is everything hoppy? Are the lagers clean? Does the stout taste of roast or of ash?
Four small glasses add up to roughly a pint, sometimes more. Treat a flight as a drink in its own right, not a warm-up.
Choosing the beers
Start with the menu, not the paddle. If you have not read a taproom board before, our guide to reading a taproom menu explains the ABV and IBU columns and the style names.
Then pick for contrast. Four hazy IPAs teach you very little, because the differences between them are small and your palate tires fast. A better spread covers different ground:
- one lager or light ale, to see how clean the brewing is
- one wheat beer or saison, for yeast character
- one hop-led beer
- one dark or strong beer
If the brewery has a speciality, such as a sour or a house lager it is proud of, include it. Ask the staff which beer is freshest. Their answer is often more useful than the menu.
The order matters more than people think
Your palate adapts. A beer at 70 IBU coats the tongue with bitterness that lingers for minutes, so anything delicate tasted after it will seem thin and sweet. Strong alcohol has the same effect. So does roast.
Taste in this order:
- lighter before stronger, by ABV
- less bitter before more bitter
- pale before dark
- sour, smoked and heavily spiced beers last, whatever their strength
When the rules conflict, bitterness and intensity win over colour. A 4.5% pale lager goes before a 5% brown ale, but a 4.5% smoked beer goes after a 7% IPA. Most taprooms arrange the paddle in a sensible order. Check it anyway, because the glasses are sometimes set down in the order they were poured.
How to taste each glass
Give each beer a minute. Look at it against the light first, then smell it before you sip, with short sniffs rather than one long one. Take a decent mouthful, let it cover your whole tongue and notice the finish after you swallow. Is it dry or sweet? Does the bitterness fade or hang on?
Then go back for a second smell. Aroma opens up as the beer warms a degree or two. Small pours warm quickly. That helps ales and stouts. It is less kind to lagers, so taste those first and do not leave them sitting.
Between glasses, drink plain water and eat something bland. Plain crackers or bread work. A plate of masala peanuts does not, however good it is with the third beer. Our full guide on how to taste beer covers the method in more detail.
Make notes, even three words
By the fourth glass the first one has gone from memory. Write something down for each beer, even if it is only three words and a score out of five. "Bready, crisp, short" is enough to remind you later.
The trick is to describe before you judge. "I like it" tells you nothing next month. "Toasty, a bit sweet, low bitterness" tells you what you like, which is far more useful when you face a menu at a different brewery.
This is where most people hit a wall. You can tell two beers are different but you cannot say how. Naming what you taste is a trained skill. It gets much faster with structured practice against reference samples.
Pacing and the practical stuff
One flight per sitting is plenty for most people, especially if a couple of the beers are strong. Eat properly alongside it. In a warm Indian taproom, ask for the paddle once you are ready to start rather than letting it sit on the table while you order food. Beer that warms past about 12 to 14 °C loses its edge. Lagers suffer first.
Do not feel obliged to finish a glass you dislike. A flight is for tasting. Leaving half a pour of something that is not to your taste is the whole point of ordering small.
Arrange a ride home before you start. A flight is still alcohol and it adds up.
Turning a flight into a full glass
When you finish, look at your notes and pick the beer you went back to without thinking. That is your full glass.
Over a few visits you will spot a pattern in what you like: drier beers, more yeast character, less bitterness, whatever it is. Once you can name the pattern, every menu gets easier to read.
Common questions
How many beers should be in a flight?
Four is the sweet spot for most people. Six small pours is manageable if the beers are moderate in strength and you are eating.
What order should I drink a beer flight in?
Lighter and less bitter first, pale before dark, with sour, smoked or spiced beers last. When in doubt, go from least intense to most intense.
Should I cleanse my palate between beers?
Yes. Plain water and something bland such as crackers or plain bread reset your palate. Spicy or salty snacks make the next beer harder to read.
Is a flight cheaper than a pint?
It depends on the taproom. Pricing varies a lot, so treat a flight as a way to learn the menu rather than a bargain.
