A world of beer
Tasting toolkit
ENJOY A BEER WITH ALL OF YOUR SENSES. EXAMINE THE AROMA,
SIGHT AND TASTE. TO BE A CONNOISSEUR, ALWAYS TAKE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO APPRECIATE THE RANGE OF FLAVOURS FROM
CRISP AND DELICATE TO COMPLEX AND FRUITY.
AROMA
Scent of a beer...
Some aromas in beer are so volatile that they may linger
only for a minute. So before anything else, enjoy the scent
of your beer. Its aromas may vary from floral, fruity and spicy
to sweet and caramel; from burnt to herbal, bready or nutty.
Floral or grassy aromas frequently derive from hops and
are common in pilsners. Fruity bouquets stem from esters
created in fermentation and are common in ales and stouts.
Malt, especially if darkly roasted, creates a rounded, rich
aroma which is often found in brown ales, stouts, and dark
lagers.
Tasting techniques
Beer is best tasted by placing the glass under the nose and gently shaking the glass to
help reveal all of its ingredients. Smelling is best accomplished by quick sniffs (a long draw
of air will only dry out your nose and saturate your receptors). Give it a few moments to
sink in, as some aromas take a while to register.
SIGHT
Take a closer look...
When tasting beer, it is important to take a close look at the
beer. Consider the colour, for instance: is it straw, gold or
amber? Or is it darker ¬– walnut, mahogany or black? And
what about the clarity of the beer? Is it brilliant, cloudy, hazy
– or almost opaque? Examine the head formation: it can be
rocky, creamy, tight or rather loose. Finally, assess the fizz in
the beer; is it highly carbonated or not?
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Tasting techniques
For an accurate, objective beer tasting, it is important to sample beers in the same type of
glass. The shape of the glass can affect perception of taste, so when comparing different
beers, it is important to give them equal presentation.
It is important to hold the glass in such a way that your body heat will not cause the
temperature of the beer to rise. To prevent this effect, a chalice glass on a stem is the best
glass to use.
TASTE
It’s a matter of taste...
When tasting and assessing beer, you score it on two
aspects: the body and mouth feel and its flavour. As far as
the body and mouth feel is concerned, notice how the beer
fills your palate and the impression it leaves, which can vary
from light bodied (leaves a clean finish after swallowing) to
full bodied (rounded, mouth-filling, sometimes creamytextured or oily). The four main flavours are sweet, sour,
bitter and salt. In beer you will find flavours that are best
described as: floral, fruity, spicy, sweet, caramel, burnt
flavours, herbal, bready and nutty.
Tasting techniques
Take a sip and roll the beer around in your mouth to make sure it hits all of your taste
buds. Different areas of your tongue are sensitive to different tastes; the illustration below
shows the places where the taste buds are located on the tongue as well as the areas of
perception for the four basic tastes.
Make sure you give special attention to the
aftertaste. Also make sure to serve different beers
in an identical way and at the same temperature.
Temperatures that are too low can prevent
certain tastes, flavours and aromas from coming
out.
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Tasting record
Date
Tasted by
Beer
Age of beer
Type/Style
Package
Location
Alcohol/Gravity
Aroma
Appearance
Body & texture
Aftertaste
Overall impression
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