Help me taste beer

I'm just starting to looking into buying equipment for making beer. Yet I have one little "?" that is above my head.

What is it I'm tasting??

Most of my life when I drink beer I was just going through a gag reflex with Miller and Bud - thus - not to excited about actually putting that crap in my mouth.

But then I discovered micro brewery's and Brown ale - WOW - Not THAT is what I'm talking about.

But when I hear - "a strong presence of dark, roasted malts, and no trace of hops" and "Quite sweet upfront and the hops are certainly assertive" (Ellies Brown Ale).

What does Hops taste like, or roasted malt?? I understand 90% of taste is through your nose (trust me - I KNOW - I went through 2 weeks of no taste recently).

Can you describe malt and hops in words? Am I asking too much?

The best teacher for this is experience - words will always fall short in describing taste. Generally speaking, a hoppy taste is a strong, sharp taste that lingers as an aftertaste - think of an India Pale Ale or American Ale for this. After you taste enough varieties, you will find you can distinguish among the various hops taste to some extent as well (I don't doubt that beer judges can be very precise about this, the same way that potato buyers can tell what county or even what farm a potato comes from).

Maltier beers are not so much my favorites, so I speak with a bit more hesitation, but think of stouts and porters as the prototypes.

Actually making some beers will go a long way to help you distinguish the component tastes. When you crack open a bag of crushed grain, and pour it into some hot water, that smell will stick with you. The connection between nose and tongue will lead you to what "maltiness" means.

And when you open a bag of hops, that smell hits you... you'll be thinking about it when you taste the final product.

And of course, tasting the samples as you go through the process... original gravity sample before fermenting, final gravity before bottling, that inevitable "too early" bottle you can't help but to sneak with a guilty conscience.

Dive in! It won't take long before you'll be dissecting the taste of microbrews, yourself!

Drink lots! Ok well back that up, drink a lot of beer over time and pay attention to what critics and the lable says. Beer magazine (an ok publication if you can get past all the bud advertising) has a section devoted to tastings of various beers and will give you a good starting point. Pay peticular attention to the reviews of the beers and try to experiance each of the flavors they talk about. I found it helpfull when I was just starting out to use the reviews as a guide of what flavors are there.

My tastes have progressed huge amounts in the last 6 months. I remember going out for a beer before I started brewing and couldn't really determine different flavors in other beers. After my first experience with unhopped extract I learned what hop flavor is versus hop aroma, and bitterness. Then there are subtle variations in malt characteristics. Usually if the beer tastes sweet at all, you're looking at a malt flavor, and if it tastes bitter, or a little like marijuana, it's hops. Toasty smells are also caused by malt, and most fruity flavors and smells are caused by yeast.

If you have many microbrews around you, or can track down an Arrogant Bastard in the grocery store, that's bitter. An IPA or APA would also work, but IMO, AB is VERY strong with the hops flavor which makes it easier to pick it out, you don't really taste malt much at all in this beer.

If you can track down a doppelbock around where you live (QFC carries swing-top ones with deers on them around here), you'll be able to see that that's malt. You'd be best off tasting them at the same time to remember the differences more clearly.

You know what helps me?

Buy something interesting. Get a copy of one of the beer scoring sheets, one of the ones that has a bunch of descriptors listed. Drink the beer slowly (and warmish, to bring out the flavors more) and take some notes. Don't filter yourself; if something makes you think "floral," jot that down.

Then, go to BeerAdvocate or RateBeer and see what people have to say in the reviews (do this with some beer left). See what people are noting. Not everyone's got a great pallate, but if lots of people note a "caramel" flavor, take another drink and see if you can see it. See if people make note of the things that you noted.

It's not a quick process. It's not something that I think can easily be taught, except by yourself. You'll teach yourself what to look for, just be patient. The good news is that you'll love the homework!

Wait until you are holding the ingredients for beer seperately. The first time I opened an ounce of hop pellets was a turning point in my life. I finally knew what JUST hops smelled like. Then I had different hops to compare. Having the different ingredients really helps, you'll catch on.

Thanks - I have been buying micros and then reading the reviews on beeradvocate.com which is why I'm looking into brewing my own.

I was starting to put taste to words but only thought any non-review words would help. As I said I'm pretty good with wine but beer is a new field (and cheaper).

Listen to this basic brewing podcast for ideas and information...

May 1, 2008 - Beer Eye for the Wine Guy
Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV brings the thunder to BBR and gives us his perspectives on the art of tasting as he samples homebrew.
http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr05-01-08garyv.mp3

July 19, 2007 - NHC: Tips and Tasting
Our coverage of the National Homebrewers Conference in Denver continues with brewing tips from David Houseman and tasting tips from Lauren Salazar of New Belgium.
http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr07-19-07nhctipstasting.mp3


September 29, 2005 - Science of Taste with Scott Herness
Dr. Scott Herness talks with us about the science of taste. What role do taste buds, the nose, the eyes, and other sensors have to do with how we perceive taste and flavor? Also, we read viewer mail, including a letter from a listener wanting advice on what piece of gear to buy next. Also mentioned: Got Mead and "Ancient Orange".
http://www.basicbrewing.com/radio/mp3/bbr09-29-05.mp3

Brewing is definitely going to help you with this. When you use grains, eat a handful of them. You will start to notice the subtle differences between them and you will really be able to taste them in beer. On top of that, you will figure out exactly what you like in a beer.

Hops are a little different in that they are all different, but the same. All hops smell like hops, but they all have a different aroma. I am nowhere near talented enough to smell a beer, even a very hoppy beer and tell you what kind of hops are in it. but you will certainly be able to taste a difference.

Find a sampling partner. If you are really interested in learning about the taste of beer, and gaining a broad understanding of the world of beer, there is no better way than sitting down and talking about a beer and its tastes for a couple of hours. By the time you and your sampling partner get to 500 beers you should have a good understanding of the beer world and the tastes within it. Find a good beer store in your area and start buying a new beer every time you drink.

Another thing is to taste within style...Don't just try one type of amber ale or ipa for example, get 2 or 3, or 6 and taste those. You can usually find the info on any beer on one of the myriad beer sites, so you can get an idea of what hop or malts are in it. You might find 2that have the same grain bill but different hops...by comparing you'll be able to pull out the individual characteristics of the different hops...

yea - my buddie and I have been concentrating on Brown Ale but he is more into drinking the best and I am more into trying new.

When I mentioned beer making his comment was "why? there are so many out there already, you can't do better".

Get my drift?

Grinder12000 said:

yea - my buddie and I have been concentrating on Brown Ale but he is more into drinking the best and I am more into trying new.

When I mentioned beer making his comment was "why? there are so many out there already, you can't do better".

Get my drift?

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slap him aside his head!

And get yourself a new beer buddy!

Trust me you will get to a point in your beer drinking life (if you like to always try new things) where there is no longer a best of anything. There can still be worsts, but the best is very relative, to how you are feeling and other factors. Tasting new things will broaden your horizons and show you what is good, bad, ugly, and exciting.

Keep up the good work, and keep trying new beers!

When I mentioned beer making his comment was "why? there are so many out there already, you can't do better".

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Damn near any home brewed beer is better than all the big label beers. There are some very good micros around but once you brew your own you should be able to at least match them.

This should not be surprising. No one is surprised that home cooked food made from scratch is better than store-bought. Beer is no different. My first taste of my first batch sold me. By my current standards it was no more than fair, but it was better than anything I ever bought.

Read these pages and start taking notes. Learn to use the standard descriptors. That way, the reviews might actually be helpful instead of confusing!

I agree that actually brewing and handling beer ingredients will give you a wonderful appreciation for beer. Whatever you do, have fun!

Bob

BobNQ3X said:

Read these pages and start taking notes. Learn to use the standard descriptors. That way, the reviews might actually be helpful instead of confusing!

I agree that actually brewing and handling beer ingredients will give you a wonderful appreciation for beer. Whatever you do, have fun!

Bob

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That's some cool stuff!!!