Throw an easy beer-tasting summer party with a few essential ingredients, recipes and party decoration ideas from Cooking Channel.

Here in Minneapolis, the craft brew movement really seems to be hitting it’s stride. It feels like we hear of a new microbrewery opening almost every week, so with all the new brews at our fingertips, we started to wonder how we were ever going to try them all. Enter the brew tasting party. We’ve found that hosting a beer tasting party is a great reason to have friends over and sample several types of beers at once. And, hey! what would a brew tasting party be without beer flight paddles? Below is a step-by-step tutorial on how to make the ones we used at our Brew on the Roof Party. With just a few simple materials, you can whip these up in a matter of hours, and throw a beer flight gathering of your own! Materials List One 6′ long, 2×4 wood railing or stud cut into five, 13″ long pieces. We used a WeatherShield Plus Handrail from Home Depot and had them do the cutting for us. We chose a handrail board because we liked the profile, but you can also use a standard 2×4. Also note, weather treated wood is not necessary, but helps with wearability if spilled …