Evaluation Guide / Flavor Wheel

I found this on "the google" and thought it might be of use to some of you as you talk about your brews. I simply have cut and pasted the following:

Beer Flavor Log

The following text was posted by Rich Webb, [email protected] in HBD #1599. It describes the language of the well-known "Beer Flavor Wheel", but in a chart, or log, form. The "Beer Flavor Wheel" is an attempt to standardize a language through which beer tasters can agree on a word-to-flavor correlation.
Recommended Descriptors of Beer Flavor

Relevance Key:

• O: Odor
• T: Taste
• M: Mouthfeel
• W: Warming
• Af: After flavor

Class Term, Relevance, Comments/synonyms/definitions
Class 1 - Aromatic, Fragrant, Fruity, Floral

• 0110 Alcoholic OTW The general effect of ethanol and higher alcohols
  • 0111 Spicy OTW Allspice, nutmeg, peppery, eugenol. See also 1003 Vanilla
  • 0112 Vinous OTW Bouquet, fusely, wine-like (White wine)
• 0120 Solvent-like OT Like chemical solvents
  • 0121 Plastics OT Plasticizers
  • 0122 Can-liner OT Lacquer-like
  • 0123 Acetone
• 0130 Estery OT Like aliphatic esters
  • 0131 Isoamyl acetate OT Banana, peardrop
  • 0132 Ethyl hexanoate OT Apple-like with note of aniseed. See 0142 Apple
  • 0133 Ethyl acetate OT Light fruity, solvent-like. See also 0120 Solvent like
• 0140 Fruity OT Of specific fruits or mixtures of fruits
  • 0141 Citrus OT Citral, grapefruit, lemony, orange-rind
  • 0142 Apple
  • 0143 Banana
  • 0144 Blackcurrant OT Blackcurrant fruit. For Blackcurrant leaves use 0810 Catty
  • 0145 Melony
  • 0146 Pear
  • 0147 Raspberry
  • 0148 Strawberry
• 0150 Acetaldehyde OT Green apples, raw appleskin, bruised apples
• 0160 Floral OT Like flowers, fragrant
  • 0161 2-Phenylethanol OT Rose-like
  • 0162 Geraniol OT Rose-like, different from 0161. Taster should compare the pure chemicals
  • 0163 Perfumy OT Scented
• 0170 Hoppy OT Fresh hop aroma. Use with other terms to describe stale hop aroma. Does not include hop bitterness (See 1200 Bitter)
  • 0171 Kettle-hop OT Flavor imparted by aroma hops boiled in the kettle.
  • 0172 Dry-hop OT Flavor imparted by dry hops added in tank or cask.
  • 0173 Hop oil OT Flavor imparted by addition of distilled hop oil.

Class 2 - Resinous, Nutty, Green, Grassy

• 0210 Resinous OT Fresh sawdust, resin, cedarwood, pinewood, sprucy, terpenoid.
  • 0211 Woody OT Seasoned wood (uncut)
• 0220 Nutty OT As in Brazil-nut, hazelnut, sherry-like
  • 0221 Walnut OT Fresh (not rancid) walnut
  • 0222 Coconut
  • 0223 Beany OT Bean soup
  • 0224 Almond OT Marzipan
• 0230 Grassy
  • 0231 Freshly-cut grass OT Green, crushed green leaves, leafy, alfalfa.
  • 0232 Straw-like OT Hay-like

Class 3 - Cereal

• 0310 Grainy OT Raw grain flavor
  • 0311 Husky OT Husk-like, chaff, 'Glattwasser'.
  • 0312 Corn grits OT Maize grits, adjuncty
  • 0313 Mealy OT Like flour
• 0320 Malty
• 0330 Worty OT Fresh wort aroma. Use with other terms to describe infected wort, e.g. 0731 Parsnip

Class 4 - Caramelized, Roasted

• 0410 Caramel OT Burnt sugar, toffee-like
  • 0411 Molasses OT Black treacle, treacly.
  • 0412 Licorice
• 0420 Burnt OTM Scorched aroma, dry mouthfeel and sharp acrid taste.
  • 0421 Bread-crust OTM Charred toast.
  • 0422 Roast-barley OTM Chocolate malt.
  • 0423 Smoky OT

Class 5 - Phenolic

• 0500 Phenolic OT
  • 0501 Tarry OT Pitch, faulty pitching of containers.
  • 0502 Bakelite
  • 0503 Carbolic OT Phenol.
  • 0504 Chlorophenol OT Trichlorophenol (TCP), hospital-like.
  • 0505 Iodoform OT Iodophors, hospital-like, pharmaceutical.

Class 6 - Soapy, Fatty, Diacetyl, Oily, Rancid

• 0610 Fatty acid
  • 0611 Caprylic OT Soapy, fatty, goaty, tallowy.
  • 0612 Cheesy OT Dry, stale cheese, old hops. Hydrolytic rancidity.
  • 0613 Isovaleric OT Dry, stale cheese, old hops. Hydrolytic rancidity.
  • 0614 Butyric OT Rancid butter.
• 0620 Diacetyl OT Butterscotch, buttermilk
• 0630 Rancid OT Oxidative rancidity.
  • 0631 Rancid oil OTM Oxidative rancidity.
• 0640 Oily
  • 0641 Vegetable oil OTM As in refined vegetable oil.
  • 0642 Mineral oil OTM Gasoline (petrol), kerosene (paraffin), machine oil.

Class 7 - Sulphury

• 0700 Sulphury OT
• 0710 Sulphitic OT Sulphur dioxide, striking-match, choking, sulphurous-SO2
• 0720 Sulphidic OT Rotten egg, sulphury-reduced, sulphurous-RSH
  • 0721 H2S OT Rotten egg
  • 0722 Mercaptan OT Lower mercaptans, drains, stench
  • 0723 Garlic
  • 0724 Lightstruck OT Skunky, sunstruck
  • 0725 Autolysed OT Rotting yeast (see also 0740 Yeasty).
  • 0727 Shrimp-like OT Water in which shrimp have been cooked
• 0730 Cooked vegetable OT Mainly dialkyl sulphides, sulphurous-RSR
  • 0731 Parsnip / celery OT An effect of wort infection
  • 0732 DMS OT Dimethyl sulphide
  • 0733 Cooked tomato OT Tomato juice (processed), tomato ketchup.
  • 0736 Cooked onion
• 0740 Yeasty OT Fresh yeast, flavor of heated thiamine (see also 0725 Autolysed).
  • 0741 Meaty OT Brothy, cooked meat, meat extract, peptone, yeast broth.

Class 8 - Oxidized, Stale, Musty

• 0800 Stale OTM Old beer, overaged, overpasteurized.
• 0810 Catty OT Blackcurrant leaves, ribes, tomato plants, oxidized beer.
• 0820 Papery OT An initial stage of staling, bready (stale bread crumb), cardboard, old beer, oxidized.
• 0830 Leathery OT A later stage of staling, then often used in conjunction with 0211 Woody.
• 0840 Moldy OT Cellar-like, leaf-mold, woodsy.
  • 0841 Earthy OT Actinomycetes, damp soil, freshly dug soil, diatomaceous earth.
  • 0842 Musty OT Fusty.

Class 9 - Sour, acidic

• 9000 Acidic OT Pungent aroma, sharpness of taste, mineral acid.
• 0910 Acetic OT Vinegar
• 0920 Sour OT Lactic, sour milk, Use with 0141 for citrus-sour.

Class 10 - Sweet

• 1000 Sweet OT
  • 1001 Honey OT Can occur as an effect of beer staling, e.g. the odor of stale beer in a glass, oxidized (stale) honey.
  • 1002 Jam-like OT May be qualified by sub-classes of 0140 Fruity.
  • 1003 Vanilla OT Custard powder, vanillin.
  • 1004 Primings
  • 1005 Syrupy OTM Clear (golden) syrup.
  • 1006 Oversweet OT Sickly sweet, cloying.

Class 11 - Salty

• 1100 Salty T

Class 12 - Bitter

• 1200 Bitter TAf

Class 13 - Mouthfeel

• 1310 Alkaline TMAf Flavor imparted by accidental admixture of alkaline detergent.
• 1320 Mouthcoating MAf Creamy, 'onctueux' (Fr.).
• 1330 Metallic OTMAf Iron, rusty water, coins, tinny, inky.
• 1340 Astringent MAf Mouth puckering, puckery, tannin-like, tart
  • 1341 Drying MAf Unsweet.
• 1350 Powdery O Dusty cushion, irritating (with 0310 Grainy) mill room smell. TM Chalky, particulate, scratchy, silicate-like, siliceous.
• 1360 Carbonation M CO2 content.
  • 1361 Flat M Under carbonated.
  • 1362 Gassy M Over carbonated.
• 1370 Warming WMAf See also 0110 Alcoholic and 0111 Spicy.

Class 14 - Fullness

• 1410 Body OTM Fullness of flavor and mouthfeel.
  • 1411 Watery TM Thin, seemingly diluted.
  • 1412 Characterless OTM Bland, empty, flavorless.
  • 1413 Satiating OTM Extra-full, filling.
  • 1414 Thick TM Viscous, 'epais' (Fr.).

This past weekend at Yankee Intoxituity we had the honor of drinking and speaking with Ray McNeil of McNeil's Brewery in Brattleboro, VT. (Who recently logged in and posted here!!!)

He referenced the flavor wheel and it's no surprise to me that BP and Ray are on the same wavelink!

I attached the image, if anyone can find a better image, etc post it.