Tuesday, October 8, 2013

First Annual Beer Tasting Party




Apparently rain doesn't stop a party from happening! I guess that's a good thing! We celebrated Husband's newest beer recipes with our First Annual Beer Tasting party this past weekend. I designed the invitation above.


I also made some rate cards so we could get a feel on which beers faired well. Although the majority of my work is graphic design, there must be a wannabe Martha Stewart hostess in me, because in two months, I will have planned, decorated and cooked for three parties. No, I am not a professional party planner! (Did you see our daughter's birthday/cupcake decorating party post?)


Also, most of what I do is DIY-created. Whether it be the decorations, the food, or the invitations (as seen above) we don't ever pay anyone to plan, shop, cook, decorate or clean for our parties. Oh but I wish...just kidding. Sometimes, the best part of it all is doing it yourself!

I think part of the planning is thinking about the color theme. I went with the earthy colors of browns and greens using baskets, wood frames and then a pop of sophistication with the glass and white stoneware. Again, all things we already have in our home.


We also used the hops that Husband grew this summer as decor in the three hurricane vases (Dollar Tree purchases btw, a few years back.) Who would have thought that hops could be so pretty? ;)


I did find these cool napkins we could use. Originally I was going to design my own, but why mess with that when these were available!


I also nabbed my kids' barely-used pencils from the last school year, put them in a beer glass to use with the rate cards.

Overall the party was a success! The beers and food pairing were all delicious, and nothing is better than spending a Saturday with friends and family!

(Party #3...planning a birthday/Halloween party for teenagers!)


15 comments:

Mindy said...

Awesome! What a fun get-together!

Tamara Camera said...

You may not be a professional party planner, but you're fantastic. I did peek at your other post with the cupcakes and I got hungry.
My friends grow hops and make malts. I don't really understand it, but I know it's a very rewarding career for them.

Unknown said...

That is awesome! My husband brewed his first batch of homebrew a few months ago and he loved it. He was just saying he would love be able to grow his own hops; and that the next time he makes a brew he wanted to have a beer party.
Yours looked beautiful!!

Suzanne said...

It was fun Mindy!

Suzanne said...

Tamara, I've learned so much about brewing from Husband. It's a nice hobby we have together! :)

Suzanne said...

Oh you should absolutely have one Angela! As for growing hops, the one thing I know is they need lots of sun! Keep me posted if you do!

Dana @ Kiss my List said...

This is fabulous! I always hear about wine tasting parties, but I don't like wine. A beer tasting party sounds much better to me.

Unknown said...

Ummmm, what an amazing idea! I love craft beer, especially all the pumpkin ales that are out right now. I must host one of these, most of my friends only drink Coors Light and they have no idea whet they're missing.

Stopping by from SITS

Suzanne said...

Right now craft beer is really popular, so there's lots of beers to choose from!

Suzanne said...

This is a great way to introduce them to "better" beer. ;) I made sure that we only offered craft beers from micro breweries and Husband's beers as well.

Vinma said...

This looks great! I am almost jealous that you were able to throw such a fab party.. you are very creative and hats off to that Martha Stewart in you :) -Vinma

Unknown said...

Ooh, that looks like my kind of party! I agree completely, life is too short to drink bad beer. I might have to try to have my own beer-tasting party once I'm no longer pregnant!

Stopping by from SITS.

Suzanne said...

She raises the bar for a lot of us, doesn't she? ;)

Suzanne said...

And when you do...enjoy! :)

Pary Moppins said...

That looks like so much fun. I love the decs and the tasting cards. What is the layered beer picture in the background? Is that your design? With my husband's new hobby of brewing his own, we will have to have a tasting party soon.

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