Celebrate Dad with a Beer Tasting Party

Tara Berger is the Creative Director and Owner of One Stylish Party, a creative studio and online party boutique featuring designs and inspiration for entertaining in style.

Father’s Day is just around the corner, so why not think outside the box and celebrate dad with a beer tasting party! This party theme is simple to execute and a fun activity to host for family and friends alike.

When developing the menu for your party, one way to simplify it is to host the party at an off time so you are not tied to serving a full dinner. Especially for a beer tasting party where guests will be sampling beers and mingling with each other, an appetizer display table is the way to go.

For this appetizer spread, I chose a variety of artisanal cheeses from Heinen’s Grocery Store to complement the brews being served, including Goat Cheese with Fig Jam, Sharp Cheddar, BellaVitano Cheese and Jarlsberg Swiss. Then I added in some sliced salami, bruschetta rounds, crackers, grapes and caramelized walnuts to round out the food being served.

Next, I focused on styling a tablescape for the beer tasting party. I used a long farmhouse table made from reclaimed wood in Cleveland, along with wooden chairs, shibori table linens, blue glass water goblets and mismatched blue china from Borrow Rentals. Although a beer tasting party is a masculine party theme, florals are still an important component to include. I used lush greenery, which is budget-friendly, and I also spray painted some beer bottles to use as bud vases for seasonal blooms.

For the beer tasting, I sourced unfinished wood beer paddles from Webstaurant Store and decided to paint them with navy blue chalk paint. I finished each paddle with sampler glasses and hand-lettered labels of the four different types of beers being served.

I love sourcing local whenever possible, so I choose to serve beer from Great Lakes Brewing Company, which was founded in Cleveland in 1988 as Ohio’s first craft brewery. Heinen’s made it easy for me to stock up on beer for the party since they sell a Great Lakes Brewing Company Variety Pack.

To complement the beer tasting, I called upon local bakery Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes to develop the most amazing menu of sweets to serve to our guests. The sweets table included Ohio shaped sugar cookies, mini cupcakes and a vanilla bean salted caramel drip cake. I also found a recipe for a blackberry beer cheesecake tart which I made as well.

However you choose to celebrate that special dad in your life, I hope it is a memorable and tasty day!

Vendor Credits:
Photography: Brittany Gidley Photography  | Concept, Design + Balloons: One Stylish Party  | Food: Heinen’s Grocery Store | Custom Paper + Home Decor: Tiny Prints  | Beer: Great Lakes Brewing Company  | Event Rentals: Borrow Vintage + Eclectic Rentals  | Sweets: Kelsey Elizabeth Cakes  | Floral Design:  Life in Bloom  | Beer Tasting Paddles: Webstaurant Store.