Beer is better when it’s shared, but you’ve got to get your girlfriend on board with this idea first. Unfortunately, only 25 percent of women drink beer on a weekly basis, so you might have a tough road ahead. Don’t give up hope! You could end up with a girlfriend who’s all about arguing about the flavor profile of the latest craft beer, but you have to put in some work. Here at Saucey, we’ve come up with 3 tried and true methods for expanding someone’s palate!
Try Different Beer Styles
There are over 50 styles of beer to choose from, and they range from coffee stouts to super fruity sour beer. The differences between a pale ale and a stout are vast, and your girlfriend might be testing out the wrong types for her. Try to make your way through the more prominent beer categories so you can narrow down her likes and dislikes.
A few categories you can consider include:
- Pale Ale
- Lager
- Stout
- Malt
- Ale
- Pilsner
- Wheat
- Porter
- Lambic
- Cider
- Sour Ale
Don’t treat a beer rejection as a negative thing. You get one more data point to figure out exactly what she might enjoy. The sheer variety of beer makes this possible, especially if you start reaching into the craft brew barrel. You can find mango habanero pale ales or chocolate oatmeal stouts!
If you’re lucky enough to live near a few breweries, see if they offer a tour and tasting samples. Otherwise, keep a lookout for events at liquor stores, festivals and other places likely to offer a wide variety of beer. You can also get craft beer on-demand with Saucey’s help. You can run through a lot of options without spending a lot of money. Even the fanciest craft beers won’t burn through your wallet like an 18-year scotch will.
Compare Beer to Something She Likes
What other types of alcohol does your girlfriend like? You can often find a few points of comparison based on her current favorite drinks. Fruity and light wines point to lambic or another sweet beer as an entry point. If she enjoys bold and flavorful cocktails, try offering a few lagers. The nuanced flavors of this beer should make an impact. You might be surprised how well this method works, especially if you explain why you picked those particular beers.
Pair Beer With Her Favorite Meals
Beer pairing is a great way to introduce beer to your girlfriend. If you’re going the home-cooked route, build the meal around highlighting the beer’s flavors. You want to make it the star of the show, with the food playing a supporting role. Avoid any meals that overpower flavor nuances that could mean the difference between a thumbs up or a thumbs down on the pairing. A light risotto appetizer matches well with the crisp notes of an American amber lager. Switch over to a brown ale when you serve a roasted rosemary lemon chicken with perfectly crispy skin, and finish off the night with a British barley wine alongside creme brulee.
Heading out to a restaurant? You have a few ways you can go with this option. Some places have tasting menus that have beers pre-selected for each course. You can sit back and see how she reacts to each option. Take her out to her favorite Thai restaurant and tame the super spicy pumpkin curry with a Singha beer, or find a Belgian restaurant and have her fall in love with Faro beer alongside a decadent Belgian dark chocolate dessert. Otherwise, you need to look up the drinks list for that restaurant and do some research on the best pairing opportunities.
Be OK With the Fact That Beer Might Not Be for Her
Sometimes people just don’t like beer and there’s no amount of experimentation that can change that. Don’t keep pushing the point or else your girlfriend might end up as an ex-girlfriend. Respect her decision, especially if she’s been a good sport about trying all of these steps out.
Plus, when it comes down to it, that means more beer for you. There is a whole world of drinks out there that you can share together, so don’t focus on what’s missing. Now break out the bottle opener and have yourself a great evening.
