The Complete Guide to Beer Flights – Sampling, Ordering, Tasting & More

Craft beer’s popularity spike in the mid-2010s changed how we see, brew, and drink beer. Traditional styles we all know and love are still around, but newer, shall we say, contemporary styles are popping up year after year.

That’s where beer flights come in. Beer flights are like a mix-and-match for your taste buds, allowing you to sample and taste a handful of beers from a particular brewery. The beer flight is not a breakthrough idea, but it’s undoubtedly gained popularity at the same rate as craft beer.

WHAT IS A BEER FLIGHT?

You’ve probably seen a beer flight at a brewery or on your friend’s Instagram story, and you may have wondered, “What is that?” It’s a relatively new and trendy way to try new beers or beer styles.

A beer flight is a collection of 3-6 individual beers served in 3 or 5-ounce glasses, enabling beer drinkers to taste and sample a handful of beers instead of drinking multiple full pours. In other words, a beer flight is a way to try several beers from a brewery or taproom in one sitting.

The best thing about beer flights is that you can mix them up whichever way you’d like, meaning you can compile different beer styles into one 3-to-6-beer assortment catered to your liking.

Beer flights are one of the best ways for new beer drinkers to discover which beer style is the best for them; it’s an opportunity to try an array of beers with less commitment than ordering one 16-ounce beer.

HOW MANY BEERS ARE IN A BEER FLIGHT?

The number of beers in a beer flight is another choice left up to you. Generally, breweries offer flights with a range of beers, from three to six.

There are typically five beers in a beer flight. The number of beers in a flight varies based on the brewery, commonly comprising three to six beers, with five being the average. State alcohol laws limit the amount of alcohol a person can purchase at once in a restaurant, hence the beer limit on beer flights.

With about five ounces per beer and three to six beers per flight, customers can expect roughly 15-30 ounces per flight. Beer flights cost more or less depending on how many beers you order in them.

WHAT TYPES OF BEERS ARE IN A BEER FLIGHT?

Beer flights exist for beer drinkers on both ends of the spectrum: experienced and inexperienced. On the one hand, an experience beer drinker may want to try a few beers from a particular brewing company that they enjoy. On the other hand, an inexperienced beer drinker might wish to try a new style and see what they like.

The types of beers in a beer flight are whatever you want them to be. Picking from your favorite styles or styles you’ve never tried is the whole point! You can order a stout, IPA, pilsner, brown ale, and more simultaneously.

You can also order all of one style in a beer flight; styles vary heavily, but part of the fun of trying beers in the same style category is picking out the subtle flavor discrepancies between them.

For example, IPAs come in all shapes and sizes. Ordering a few 5-ounce IPA substyles can open you up to new flavors you’ve never experienced. The same goes for when you order a flight of light beers.

IN WHAT ORDER SHOULD YOU DRINK A BEER FLIGHT?

We’re not going to tell you how to drink your beer flight, but we can offer a few pointers if you’re interested, like what order you should drink the beers.

Drinking the beers in the beer flight from lightest to darkest in color is generally the best way to get the most out of each beer. Doing it this way ensures you don’t overwhelm your taste buds with a dark, heavy stout before you try something light and crisp, like a pilsner or Helles.

In most cases, like at your local brewery, they’ll do this part for you. Your beer flight tray (usually a wooden paddle fitted with circular cutouts) comprises beers from lightest to darkest. Not only does this benefit your taste buds, but it’s also aesthetically pleasing.

At the end of the day, drink your flight however you like, but remember to enjoy it.

HOW DO YOU ORDER A BEER FLIGHT?

Ordering a beer flight is similar to ordering a single beer—the only difference is that you have to choose more than one. It’s as easy as choosing your top picks from the draft list and sequencing them as a flight.

To order a beer flight, first, check if it’s available at the brewing company or taproom’s location. Then, pick your list of beers to add to the flight. Most places offer beer flights of three to six 5-ounce glasses.

You don’t have to order beers in the same style—you can try all kinds of styles in one beer flight. Finding new beer styles you enjoy is the primary goal of the beer flight.

ABOUT WORMTOWN BREWERY

We began in a small ice cream shop on Park Ave in Worcester, MA in 2010. In 2015, after 5 years crammed in that location and 13 months of construction, Wormtown Brewery opened its new location, in the heart of Worcester, on Shrewsbury Street, where we continue to grow today. Here at Wormtown Brewery, we are dedicated to putting “A Piece of Mass in Every Glass” and work with many local farms as we believe sourcing ingredients locally ensures that they are the freshest possible for the freshest beer.

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