Nope, you don't have to chew it, yuck!
The first time I gave my husband a clove of garlic he did chew it and he to this day hasn't let me forget how big bad mama made him eat the garlic lol! In fact, he wanted to chew it up lol!
I mince mine really fine and gulp it down with a couple of gulps worth of grapefruit juice, it masks the favor a lot