Tasting Beer

Why taste different beers?

• To find out which beers taste good and which you would drink again, and perhaps to learn about beer and foods that taste good together.
• To learn about stylistic diversity of beer and even variances within a particular style.
• To identify the ingredients and their respective balance in the beer revealing the complexities available due to variations in recipes and procedures in the brewing art.
• Variety is the spice of life.

There is no such thing as a beer snob. If it tastes good, it is. The essential difference in well made beers are how it tastes and this can be, sometimes, very individual. Understanding this, it is important to know the "real thing" when you taste it to put others in perspective. It should be similar to the experience of tasting Roquefort Bleu cheese or a fresh, vine picked tomato. Roquefort Blue cheese put all other blue cheeses in context, just as a fresh, vine ripened tomato puts canned or hothouse tomatoes in context.

Identifying the Tastes and Balance in Beer:

If it tastes good, then it is! Understanding that, then, the 1, 2, and 3of beer tastes.

Flavor as "Maltyness"
Malt provides the yeast the food to make much of the beer flavor. This can be described as a sweetish or dryish "earthy" flavor. A heavier roasted malt will also contribute a degree of "roasted" taste to the beer.

Flavor as "Hoppyness":
Hops provide an "herbal, crisp, bitter, palate cleansing" effect to beer. Aromatic hops provide the herbal "grassy" nose, while bittering hops provide the gentle bitterness or "bite"in beer.

Body:
Body is how heavy or how light a beer feels in the mouth. This is a result of how much malt sugar has been converted into sugar. Full bodied beers have more residual sugar than light bodied beers.

Yeast:
There are many different strains of yeast, each with their own characteristics. Fed more maltose, yeast provides a smoother beer; more glucose and it makes a "winey" beer. Fermented slowly, the yeast also releases more "elegant" flavors; fermenting quickly, it will also make a more "winey" beer.

Water:
The quality of the water effects greatly the quality of the beer. Water can be hard or soft; alkaline or acidic. Each of these characteristics will effect the final beer.

A Way To Taste Beer

Every style of beer has its own balance of characteristics. If one wishes to taste a beer and convey this opinion to others, a common beer terminology must be employed. Although many terms can be substituted, the characteristics of aroma, appearanceand taste\aftertaste will do fine. These characteristics can each be controlled and varied according to the ingredients and procedures used in the brewing process. Understanding beer requires a basic understanding of the entire brewing process, including malting, the nature of fermentation, the earthy character of malt and the bitter quality of the hop. The most difficult aspect for many will be getting used to not serving the beer too cold. An over chilled beer will not reveal its true character. The subtleties and aroma will be hidden in a beer that is too cold.

Glassware Some experts recommend the use of a brandy snifter because its shape provides access to the characteristics of the beer. Others recommend glassware according to the beer style being tasted. For example, a wheat beer would use the famous Weizen glasses, shaped like a bulb vase, to hold the larger head of this higher carbonated beer. Whatever is used, the glass should be clear to check the appearance of the beer. A clean beer glass is essential The glassware should be cleaned with a good detergent that does not have an animal fat base. Oils and fats leave residues that will ruin the head. A solution of baking soda and hot water, allowing the glasses to air dry, works well.

Water is the best way to cleanse the palate but the more casual tasting may include crackers and\or food. Tasting the beers alone without food will allow the individualities of the beers tasted to better express themselves without being overpowered by the food.

Selection of Beers A casual tasting will usually include a variety of styles with the beers tasted in "spectral" order, lightest to darkest, comparing beers of like type and character. A professional tasting evaluates one style of beer with up to ten different examples within that style.

Pouring the Beer Approximately two fingers of foam at the finish of the pour is desired. Pour the beer gently into a tilted glass to determine the amount of carbonation then continue slowly or rapidly. Finish pouring with a straightening of the glass.

Recommended Temperatures

Pale Lagers 45 - 50‘F.

Amber & Dark Lagers 50 - 55‘F.

Pale Ales 50 - 55‘F.

Dark Ales & Stouts 55 - 60‘F.

Aroma The fresh, earthy quality of malted barley combined with the bitter, apparent, antiseptic aroma of hops gives the beer it's aroma or bouquet. Immediately after the pour, smell the beer in the glass to capture the volatile aromas as they are soon on their way out of the glass and the beer. Do the aromas reveal the raw ingredients of the beer or have these been muted? Is there a strong hop or faint hop smell? Is there a malt character? Is it full or light? Alcohol and yeast add to the bouquet, but to a smaller degree than malt and hops, in most beers.

Appearance Raise the glass to the light. Beer color can range from a very light greenish-yellow (straw) color as in Pilsners, to the deep chocolate browns, sometimes opaque, for the stouts and porters, to the pinks and reds of the fruit flavored lambics, with almost every color in-between. Does the color fit the style? The color of beer is the result of a blend of malted grains. What grapes are to wine, malt is to beer.

The length of exposure of the grain to the kilning process determines the color of the malt and the beer.

Color analysis is enhanced by comparison.

Does the head have a hue reflecting the color of the beer? For example, a dark, stout will have a rich, creamy, beige to light brown head while a wheat beer will have a white, foamy head. Are the bubbles rising, small and dense? Does the head fall rapidly or retain its foam?

Taste Raise the glass to the lips and swallow enough of the beer to allow it to wash the entire tongue. Try to separate the hop taste and the malt taste. Are they well balanced for the style? Balance is the blending of all of a beer's properties - bitterness, acidity, esteriness, hoppiness, etc. The more malted barley used (in relation to the water), the more full and powerful the taste. Is the body full or thin? Beer can be dry, (lacking sugar) and with a usually strong bitter hop character, or fruity(the presence of sugar), or rich (a full taste of malt and fruit). How is the aftertaste? The aftertaste should confirm the taste. Is it clean and pleasant? You want to experience a slight degree of aftertaste. Alcohol strength has little to do with the overall quality, but alcohol does play a part in the taste of the beer. Can you taste too much of the alcohol? Feel the carbonation. Is it distracting?

Would you drink this beer again?