The Size Difference Between A Standard Pint And A Beer Flight

The best way to get to know a craft brewery is by ordering a flight of beer — a collection of small pours that allows customers to try a variety of styles. While it might look like these almost shot glass-sized servings amount to less than a full pint, 16 fluid ounces in the U.S., you might actually be getting more beer in a sampler tray. A typical flight consists of four to eight servings. Each serving is 3 to 5 ounces, depending on the brewery. So a customer who downed every drop of a flight could be consuming anywhere from 12 to 40 ounces.

It's actually somewhat unusual for a drinker to polish off an entire flight. The experience is meant to help acquaint an individual with the brewery's offerings, which could include everything from a light and crackery Pilsner to a pine-forward West Coast-style IPA to a roasty stout or even a tongue-tingling sour. A flight is not a vehicle to get people smashed in a short period of time, an etiquette mistake to avoid at any brewery. The whole point is to order a range of styles, drinking them from lightest to heaviest, since more robust offerings tend to carpet bomb the palate, and then commit to a full pint of whatever caught your fancy. There's bound to be at least one beer in the bunch that you'd prefer to pour down the drain rather than finish — it's completely fine to abandon a taster you don't like.

Before ordering a flight, study the beer menu so that you're ready to share your selections with the bartender when it's time to order. Most breweries allow customers to choose whatever they'd like, however, some businesses offer two or three fixed tasters — usually one assortment of all the available styles and then a couple of themed options like all IPAs. Flights tend to arrive on some sort of wooden board or paddle, but happily some breweries use the trays to show off the brand's personality. For instance, Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, Ore., arranges its six 5-ounce glasses on a vertical metal sail. This mimicks the common crowd of windsurfers skimming across the Columbia River nearby, while Central Oregon's Wild Ride Brewing, situated about 40 miles from a popular skiing resort, presents its tasters on a segment of ski.

Beer flights are meant to be savored somewhat slowly so the drinker can compare and contrast flavors and aromas. But if you don't have time to devote to a lengthy tasting session and still want to try beer at a new-to-you brewery, order like a pro by describing your preferences to the server. That could include sharing your go-to style or outlining flavor profiles you tend to gravitate toward. And for those times when 16 ounces is just a bit too big of a serving, ask if the brewery can accommodate a half-pour. Some even have 8-ounce glassware, which is usually reserved for high alcohol-by-volume brews.