In case you aren’t serving neat Scotch, you can keep soda or water alongside, in a separate beaker, to act as the mixer. By doing so, those people who do not want to have the drink neat, would be given the choice of adding the desired liquid.
You can make use of carbonated cool drinks as a mixer for Scotch. Coke is the most preferred mixer, other than water and soda, for Scotch whiskey.
In case you are serving water along with Scotch, make sure to use only spring water, because it is purer than other types of water and would have the least effect on the taste and aroma of the drink. Moreover, experts insist on the use of spring water, because the chlorinated taste and smell of tap water will distort the aroma and rich taste of Scotch.
For those who find Scotch to be too strong alone, you can serve cocktails. There are a large number of cocktails that are made with scotch, just check out online or in a recipe book.
BEER
Main articles: History of beer
Beer is one of the oldest beverages, possibly dating back to the 6th millennium BCE, and is recorded in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.[5] It is speculated that the Babylonians where the first to create the recipe for beer which was later used by the Egyptians for medicinal purposes. The earliest known chemical evidence of beer dates to ''c.'' 3500–3100 BCE.[6] As almost any substance that contains carbohydrates, namely sugar or starch, can naturally undergo fermentation, it is likely that beer-like beverages were independently invented among various cultures throughout the world.
Beer produced before the Industrial Revolution was mainly made and sold on a domestic scale, although by the 7th century CE beer was also being produced and sold by European monasteries. During the Industrial Revolution, the production of beer moved from artisanal manufacture to industrial manufacture, and domestic manufacture ceased to be significant by the end of the nineteenth century.[7] The development of hydrometers and thermometers changed brewing because they allowed the brewer more control of the brewing process and greater knowledge of the results.
Classification of Beers
Beers can be categorized according to the type of cereal used, but it is more common to use the type of fermentation for this purpose: spontaneous fermentation, top fermentation, or bottom fermentation.
Spontaneous fermentation. Spontaneously fermented beers are produced without the active addition of any microorganisms to the wort. The microorganisms come from the surrounding air and the equipment used in the brewing process and are a mixture of yeast species and lactic-acid bacteria, a mixture that produces alcohols and lactic and other organic acids, and gives the product a sour taste. Examples are the Russian beverage kvass, which is typically made of rye, and Belgian Lambic beer and the old Berliner Weisse, which are both produced partly from wheat. All beers made before the introduction and knowledge of pure yeast cultures were in a sense made via spontaneous fermentation. However, most such beers (as well as wines) were made inside containers that were repeatedly used for this purpose. Such containers rapidly become infected with spores that continue to maintain the original species of yeast—that is, the ones that produced fermentation in the first place. The use of the same vessel and associated equipment from one batch to the next causes the cereal grains employed to continue to be cross-infected between brewings. Recent scientific studies indicate that these spores remain alive for decades, or even longer. Moreover, many beer-making traditions include the step of adding fruit, such as raisins, to the mixture; this practice assures that the yeasts that naturally reside on the surface of the fruit will become a significant part of the microorganisms that infect the mixture.
These types of beer are technically ales—that is, they are all top-fermented.
Top fermentation: ales. Top-fermented beers, ales, are fermented at a rather high temperature, about 64–72°F (18–22°C), letting the yeast float on the surface of the wort.
Typical ales are British and Irish pale ales, bitters, stouts, and porters; Belgian ales, such as Trappist and abbey beers; and western German ales, such as Alt Bier and Kölsch. The Bavarian wheat beers—Weissbier (Weizenbier)—are also top-fermented and are produced in different varieties: pale and dark, with and without yeasts remaining, and as bock and Doppelbock. Some of the British and Belgian ales can be very strong, up to about 12–17 percent alcohol by volume, while common ales have a concentration of 3.5–6.0 percent alcohol by volume. Ales were predominant before the great expansion in popularity of bottom-fermented beers, the lagers, in the nineteenth century.
It should be noted that the term "ale" has also been used to signify unhopped beer, as contrasted with hopped beer (Cantrell, p. 619).
Bottom fermentation: lagers. Bottom-fermented beers, lagers, originated in Bavaria, where a cold-adapted yeast strain had been developed over a period of many years in the cold caves used for fermentation and storage. A temperature of about 45–59°F (7–15°C) is typical for bottom fermentation. The cold fermentation and the location of the yeast cells at the bottom of the container yield better storage capabilities and a cleaner, more purely malty taste in lagers, in comparison with ales, which are usually more fruity and bloomy in flavor. The name "lager" implies it is stored in cold conditions. Lagers are the dominating beers of the world today: pilsner; Bavarian; Vienna; Münchener, pale and dark; Dortmunder; bock; and Doppelbock beers. The difference between them depends principally on the brewing liquid, the type of hops, and the type of malt used. Bock and Doppelbock beers have a higher alcoholic content, 6.0–7.0 percent by volume and 6.0–8.0 percent by volume, respectively, in comparison with the other lagers, 3.8–6.0 percent by volume. Bocks and Doppelbocks are spring beers; their high levels of alcohol were originally produced to compensate for Lenten fasting.
How to serve a perfect glass of beer
While American beer once meant light lager, today it encompasses a wide array of flavors concocted by innovative craft brewers whose varieties - and in some cases alcohol content - approach the breadth of wine and spirits.
In fact, there's now so much to learn about beer styles and how to serve them that the president of the Craft Beer Institute, Ray Daniels, has launched a sort of beer sommelier certification program.
That's because all that variety has complicated not only pairing beer with food, but also the mechanics of serving it. Like wines, each variety of beer benefits from different serving styles.
Proper service means paying attention to glassware, the serving temperature and how the beer is poured.
A proper serving of beer presents the head well, offers the right portion, shows off the color and aroma, and honors brewers' efforts with a nice visual presentation, says Randy Mosher, a beer consultant who teaches at the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, which specialized in brewing.
"Beer should be an aromatic and taste-and-texture experience. But we all know, what the stuff looks like has a huge impact to how people perceive things," he says.
Here, Mosher offers some general tips:
Match the beer to the glass
For amber ales, the typical American "shaker" pint (the standard, straight pint common at most bars) is fine. For a more bitter barley wine, with higher alcohol content and bigger flavor, choose a snifter, which traps aroma and is smaller.
"You wouldn't want a pint of barley wine. Well, you may want one, but shouldn't have one," Mosher says.
In general, a glass that curves inward, so the rim turns up, helps concentrate aromas. A classic pilsner flute with its tall, tapered conical shape serves to wedge foam in and give it support, Mosher says. Try one for a cream ale.
Pour, then wait a little
Don't tilt the glass. The idea is to keep the head. Pour some beer into your glass, let the head foam up a bit and settle, then keep pouring. It might take two or three pours. The idea is to keep the head while releasing some of the carbonation that otherwise can leave you feeling bloated.
"By doing it that way, it knocks a little gas out of the beer. It makes it taste smoother, less harsh. All those bubbles are filled with aroma, so if they're popping, they're releasing aroma," Mosher says.
"It's nice to have a thick head on beer. It feels good on the lips. It's all about those details."
Watch the temperature
Like wine, different beers taste best at different temperatures. Lagers are served cooler than ales, darker beers are served warmer than pale, and stronger beers are served warmer than weaker ones, Mosher says.
While American-style lagers should be served between 35 degrees to 38 degrees, English style beers should be served as warm as 50 degrees. Serve an India pale ale or a porter at around 50 degrees to 55 degrees.
Mosher acknowledges this can be tough to manage. "Not everybody has 12 different coolers," he says.
Assuming you don't have multiple refrigerators or beer coolors, keep them in your regular refrigerator. Before drinking, let the beer sit on the counter for about 15 minutes. This should get it to a better temperature.
Mosher does urge leaving the frozen beer glasses for only the lightest American industrial beers, such as Bud, Miller or Coors.
"You never want to put a really good beer in a frozen glass. It's a waste of money," he says. "The aromas just can't get out. They get locked into the liquid. So at slightly warmer temperatures, they have the ability to jump out of the glass and get into your nose."