Every year when Father’s Day rolls around, we find ourselves racking our brains to find the perfect gifts for the fathers in our lives. For our husbands, we often express our love and gratitude through acts of service we know they will appreciate. For our dad, stepdad and grandfathers, we usually opt for hobby-related gifts we know they will enjoy. But this year, as we thought ahead to this special holiday, we wanted to do something a little different. Instead of going our typical route, we decided to create a thoughtful experience that was not only fun but also one they wouldn’t soon forget. That’s how we came up with our favorite Father’s Day party idea yet – a Jerky and Beer Pairing Party! To level up the party, you may also get them drew estate cigars to enjoy while drinking or as Father’s day gifts.
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We’re not sure what sparked our inspiration for this Father’s Day party idea, but when we finally put it all together, we were both exclaiming how this just might be our favorite party idea to date. It was simple to put together, easy on the pockets and just plain fun! Even the husbands approved and are now asking us to recreate it for a guys’ night in.
Want to recreate this Father’s Day party for the special fathers in your life? We’re sharing all the details below, including where to purchase all the decor and how to set up for the jerky and beer pairing. Plus, you can sign up to download all the fun printables to go along with it!
Father’s Day Party Idea – Jerky and Beer Pairing Party
We were always taught “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, so what’s a Father’s Day party without tasty eats and refreshing drinks? Insert beef jerky and cold beer, and you have yourself the perfect Father’s Day party! All you need are various flavors of beef jerky, a complementary selection of craft beers and our free printables to create this memorable experience. Add some interest with touches of neutral decor, and make this tasting one for the books!
What You Need
Beef Jerky
When it came to choosing the beef jerky for our Father’s Day party idea, we chose Jack Link’s without hesitation. It reminds us of time spent with our dad when we were little girls. Those memories are full of countless road trips in and out of our home state which often consisted of Jack Link’s beef jerky and playing “Name That Tune”. Dad was always good at finding ways to keep us entertained no matter where we were going.
For this jerky and beer pairing party, we selected four different beef jerky flavors we’ve enjoyed over the years. You can never go wrong with the Original, Teriyaki, Jalapeño or Peppered flavorings. We also discovered that our local Walmart sells them at the best price in town, although they can be found at most grocers, retailers and convenient stores.
Craft Beer
To keep this Father’s Day party interesting and to experience an array of complex flavors, we chose craft beer to complement the beef jerky. We spent some time learning and understanding what type of flavors blend well together to come up with our Jerky & Beer Pairing Guide, and were pleasantly surprised when we completed the taste test. So were the guys!
We selected a Lager, a Golden Ale, a Wheat Ale and an IPA, and headed straight to Publix where you can create your own six pack with individually sold bottles. This is a great way to sample beers you’re wanting to try and save when you’re purchasing multiple brews at one time.
Jerky & Beer Pairing Guide and Food Labels
The best way to host this Father’s Day party is to include a Jerky & Beer Pairing Guide and descriptive food labels to help guests choose their pairings and understand which flavors they’re sampling. Need a Pairing Guide and Food Labels to include at your party? Sign up to download our free printables HERE!
How to Setup A Jerky and Beer Pairing Party
1. Choose your setting.
This Father’s Day party idea is perfect as an indoor gathering or an outdoor soirée. We opted for a large dining table to display our tasting, but this could also be set on a sideboard, coffee table or console table.
2. Get creative with the lighting.
Lighting is a key element to creating an inviting ambiance. Candles are a great way to add warmth to a space, but we thought outside the box on this one and opted for cafe lighting to run the length of the table. It added so much character to a rather simple tablescape and is a sure way to spark conversation.
3. Set your details and decor.
While designing this tablescape, our motto was “less is more” in order to play up the experiential aspects of the jerky and beer pairing.
- Two faux eucalyptus garlands intertwined with a single strand of cafe lights made for this moody table runner.
- The Rae Dunn “BEER” bucket (similar) served both an aesthetically pleasing and functional purpose.
#HostfulHack: If you do not have enough ice to fill your bucket, place something in the bottom of the bucket to take up space prior to filling with ice. For example, we filled our bucket with a stack of bowls turned upside down.
- An oversized cutting board (similar) and a box of waffle cones made for a unique display of the beef jerky.
- Tall shot glasses were provided for perfectly proportioned samplings of each brew.
- White appetizer plates were incorporated seamlessly to provide guests with an easy way to mingle and move about with their samplings.
- Solid, neutral-colored dinner napkins (similar) coordinated perfectly with the rest of the decor.
- To tie in all the details and guide guests during their experience, we framed (similar) our Jerky & Beer Pairing Guide and used gold binder clips to help our jerky labels stand tall. They were the perfect way to complete the look!
#HostfulHack: Standard binder clips are a unique and cost effective way to create food label or place card holders. Simply clip onto the bottom of your food label or place card, then remove the handles and set your label or card in its designated place. Don’t have the color you need? Use spray paint to match to your decor!
After we finished photographing this Father’s Day party, we couldn’t stop talking about how much we loved the way it came together. While it was one of our simplest designs yet, it was probably our most fun! We will definitely be hosting this party again in the future and hope you will too! If you do, will you please share it with us? We’d love for you to tag us on Instagram or Facebook, so we can see how you enjoyed this Father’s Day Party idea and if you added any special touches.
Hap-Bee Hosting, friends!
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