Tasting Beer
From Home Brewing Wiki
Throughout much of (mostly American) culture, beer has been seen as the swill of the uneducated masses: a watery, pale-yellow, slightly-alcoholic beverage suitable for pouring through "beer bongs" and pounding entire 24-packs in an effort to get a free night at the ER. We have the US government, and its early 20th century war on alcohol to thank in part. Prohibition killed off all but the largest, mass-production breweries, leaving the Bud-Miller-Coors triumvirate to lord over us with their watery drink.
Where wine is often associated with high-society types and formal occasions, not to mention snotty snobs swishing and spitting into buckets, beer has, for too long, occupied the opposite end of the spectrum. However, as the craft beer and homebrewing movement has gotten more and more popular and accepted, beer is slowly but surely gaining a foothold as a reputable beverage. Hundreds of craft breweries now dot the American beverage landscape, with the movement showing no signs of slowing down.
The first thing to remember about beer is that, in many instances, it is just as complex and worthy of intellectual inspection as a bottle of French Grenache or Italian Barolo. Like with wine, certain beers are nothing more than swill. There is very little difference, relatively speaking, between a mass-produced American lager, and your grocery-store-variety $6 Chardonnay. Both exhibit almost no exciting characteristics, and zero complexity. However, the unfortunate difference is that beer is often judged on the merits of its most popular, but admittedly ugly, offspring, while few people indict the wine world based on $6 grocery-store wine. In this light, we can begin to see why craft beer has such a hard row to hoe. The challenge, then, is to approach beer with an objective palate, and judge it on its own merits. Open a bottle of 10-year-old J.W. Lees Vintage strong ale, and the comparisons become even more apt: fine beer is every bit as fascinating and deep as fine wine.
[edit] Important Factors in Beer Tasting
- Glassware: Drinking beer from the bottle (or can) robs the consumer of a chance to appreciate the aromas of beer. As such, glassware is very important, and is the optimal serving method. The glass in which beer is best served can vary from style to style. Pilsner glasses are tall and thin, to accentuate pilsner's subtle qualities. Belgian glasses, on the other hand, tend to be shaped like brandy snifters. The standard pint glass is acceptable for most styles, but does very little for accentuating the "nose" of the beer. The goblet-style glass is typically an excellent all-purpose shape, as it accentuates the olfactory qualities of any beer.
- Visual Inspection: Observe both the color and opacity of the beer in the glass, as well as the quality of the carbonation/head.
- Aroma: The aroma, or "nose", of a beer should be observed thoroughly prior to tasting, as with wine. Swirl the beer to coat the sides of the glass. This agitation will also produce carbonation bubbles, which aid in accentuating the aromas. Take several large sniffs through the nose, and note the aromas that are perceived.
- Palate: The "palate" is the overall taste and mouthfeel experience. Not only are you observing different tastes, but you're also looking for delineations within the mouth, as well as the texture and body of the beer. "Front palate" refers to the initial tastes at the front end of the tongue. "Mid palate" refers to the "sweet spot", the "meat" of the beer. "Finish" refers to the aftertaste as the beer is being swallowed, and afterwards. It is typical for a beer to exhibit different qualities at each part of its journey through your palate, and the attentive taster should pay close attention to this delineation. Other times, a beer will exhibit very little, or no, delineation, and will be very one-dimensional. These are all qualities to be noted.
- Proximity to Traditional Styles: Advanced beer appreciators will often use the BJCP, or similar guidelines, as a basis point against which to compare the beer they're tasting. While not as important as the simple "do you like it" question, it is an intellectual exercise sometimes worth undertaking. Traditional beer styles have been closely defined, and judging how close a particular beer is to its target style can be important in evaluating its success.
