How To Taste Beer
When analyzing a beer, you can't just swill it down, burp and say "it's great"
or "it's crap." And, even though tasting is an individual art, there are a few
steps, which if followed, will take your beer tasting to a blissful level.
Look
Take pause and marvel at its greatness before you partake of it. Raise the
beer in front of you, but don't hold your beer to direct light as this will dilute
its true color. Describe its color, its head and its consistency.
Agitate
Swirl your beer, gently in the glass. This will pull out aromas, slight nuances,
loosen & stimulate carbonation and test head retention.
Smell
90-95% of what you experience is through you sense of smell. Breathe thru
your nose with two quick sniffs, then with your mouth open, then thru your
mouth only (nose and mouth are connected in the experience). Let olfaction
guide you. Agitate again if need be, and ensure that you are in an area that
has no overpowering aromas. Enjoy its bouquet.
Taste
Now sip the beer. Resist swallowing immediately. Let it wander and explore
your entire palate. Let your taste buds speak. Note the mouthfeel, the
consistency of the liquid's body, and breathe out during the process of
tasting. This process of exhaling is called "retro-olfaction" and will release
retained stimulations at the mucus and mouthfeel level, but at a higher
temperature. At times this will be the same as the olfactory process if not
different and complimentary. Try to detect any sweetness, salty flavors, acids
and general bitterness. Explain what they are, or what they are similar to.
Also, try tasting the beer after it warms a bit (just a bit mind you). Really cold
beer tends to mask some of the flavors. As a beer warms, its true flavors will
pull through, become more pronounced.
When analyzing a beer, you can't just swill it down, burp and say "it's great"
or "it's crap." And, even though tasting is an individual art, there are a few
steps, which if followed, will take your beer tasting to a blissful level.
Look
Take pause and marvel at its greatness before you partake of it. Raise the
beer in front of you, but don't hold your beer to direct light as this will dilute
its true color. Describe its color, its head and its consistency.
Agitate
Swirl your beer, gently in the glass. This will pull out aromas, slight nuances,
loosen & stimulate carbonation and test head retention.
Smell
90-95% of what you experience is through you sense of smell. Breathe thru
your nose with two quick sniffs, then with your mouth open, then thru your
mouth only (nose and mouth are connected in the experience). Let olfaction
guide you. Agitate again if need be, and ensure that you are in an area that
has no overpowering aromas. Enjoy its bouquet.
Taste
Now sip the beer. Resist swallowing immediately. Let it wander and explore
your entire palate. Let your taste buds speak. Note the mouthfeel, the
consistency of the liquid's body, and breathe out during the process of
tasting. This process of exhaling is called "retro-olfaction" and will release
retained stimulations at the mucus and mouthfeel level, but at a higher
temperature. At times this will be the same as the olfactory process if not
different and complimentary. Try to detect any sweetness, salty flavors, acids
and general bitterness. Explain what they are, or what they are similar to.
Also, try tasting the beer after it warms a bit (just a bit mind you). Really cold
beer tends to mask some of the flavors. As a beer warms, its true flavors will
pull through, become more pronounced.