If you’re reading this blog, it’s almost a given that you are a fan of beer and have plenty of experience drinking it. However, some of you may not identify the difference between drinking a beer and tasting a beer. While we love to enjoy beers casually and socially, our desire and passion to give greater attention to the elements of beer is what led us to start East Carolina Beer and Brewing. For example, one of the early goals we set for ourselves with this journey is to hopefully complete a Cicerone certificate program, which assesses an individual’s understanding of beer in several facets. We each strive to grow as connoisseurs of this beverage by pushing ourselves to learn constantly, try new things, and refine our palates. A large part of this experience has been learning to taste beer and not simply drink it. Beer tasting is something anyone can do (and we all do it every time we enjoy a beer, to a degree), but some may need a helping hand to get started. We will give you our best advice and resources that contributed to our own learning experience, with the hope that you are able to use the information in your own practice with beer tasting.
Step One: Selecting a Glass
If you’ve ordered a draft beer at the bar, it’s almost certain that you received the beer in a standard shaker pint glass. Many of us have lots of these in our cupboards and they are definitely versatile for different beverages. However, if you’ve ordered a beer at a brewery or tap room, you’re more likely to have received that craft beer in different styles of glassware. Believe it or not, the right glass can make all the difference in the beer drinking experience. While there’s nothing wrong with shaker pint glasses, you can increase the aromas and accentuate flavors by using a glass that is tailored to the style of beer you are drinking. For example, hefeweizens and wheat beers have their own distinct, tall glass that showcases the color of the beer and has a wider opening to allow the beer to produce the fluffy head that is common with that style. You can read more about selecting the proper glass for your style of beer in this article from Beer Advocate.
However, if you are not looking to fill your cupboards and shelves with a variety of glassware, we highly recommend the tulip glass as a very universal option that will compliment many styles of beer.
The tulip glass is a great glass selection for beers ranging from IPAs to stouts, sours, and most beers in between. The shape of this glass contributes to an increase in aroma emission by having the round, bulbous walls and a narrow opening (with a slight flare in most varieties); the smaller opening helps to give more concentrated smells of the hops, malts, yeast, and other elements specific to the style of beer you’re drinking. The shape of the glass also fits in the hand well, and will allow you to gradually increase the temperature of the beer, which actually contributes to an increase in flavor (we’ll touch more on this a little later). The tulip glass is a great budget-friendly option for beginners who are looking to get more out of their beer tasting.
Step Two: Getting a Good Pour
We know, we know – how can you pour a beer badly? Well, what we mean by getting a good pour is actually the opposite of what many beer drinkers believe to be the best approach. Often, when you see someone pouring a beer into a glass, either from a tap or from a can/bottle, they make a conscious effort to eliminate as much foam (or head) as possible. The reality is that getting a good amount of head on your beer will actually improve the smell and release of flavors.
Before you pour, it is very important to have a clean glass. Any dust or particles stuck in the glass can lead to decreased head production, a change in flavor, and will make your beer look bad in the glass (no one wants to post a picture of a beer in a dirty glass to their Instagram, right?). If you’ve ever noticed a lot of microbubbles forming and sticking to the bottom and sides of your glass after pouring a beer, that is a result of a dirty glass. Hand wash your glass (if possible) after use, and make sure to dry it with a paper towel or soft towel with no lint. When you are ready to use the glass, right before pouring your beer, give the glass a rinse or two with fresh water. This will help remove any lingering dust that may have accumulated after it was washed. The result will be a good-looking, good-smelling, and good-tasting beer.
When you’re ready to pour, you should hold the glass at a slight tilt, about 45 degrees, and pour the beer with a little bit of vigor on the side of the glass. As the glass fills, you can start to stand the glass more upright and continue pouring into the center of the beer.
This will improve the head creation and allow all those wonderful aromas to be released, so that every time you go for a drink, you will get a more pronounced smell that adds to the experience. You will also contribute to releasing CO2 that is in the beer, and can make your stomach feel a little uncomfortable. Carbonation is great and essential for beer, but by agitating the beer a little while pouring, you are putting less of that gas into your body and using the release to create and retain pleasant aromas in the glass. A good collar of foam might look something like this (your results may vary depending on the style and carbonation level for your beer):
Step Three: Smell, Smell, Smell
Most of us are not accustomed to smelling beers or trying to detect the aromas from the malts and hops. However, with a proper beer tasting, that is often one of the best parts and can be as enjoyable as drinking the beer. There are a few techniques you can use to find what works best for releasing and identifying different aromas, but this step is dependent on the elements in Step One and Step Two. You will have a more difficult time finding all the subtleties in a beer’s aroma with a shaker pint glass or a glass with a wider opening, and if the pour was too gentle while you were attempting to eliminate foam.
Another benefit to the tulip glass is that it is more conducive to giving your beer a twirl in the glass, thus releasing more aromas. To do this, it is best to leave your glass from being filled to the brim, and to not shake the beer – we are trying to swirl the beer inside the glass, in a clockwise or counterclockwise motion.
You should see an increased collar of foam forming as the beer twirls around the walls of the glass. After doing a few spins, bring the glass close to your face, but not all the way to your nose. Pass the glass under your chin back and forth and see if you are able to detect any aromas. You’ll generally find the most prevalent elements of the beer with this technique. Next, give your beer a few more twirls, and this time bring the beer up to your nose, and take some short inhales with your nose in the top of the glass. See what you notice here. Are the hops fragrant? Are they floral? Do you smell the malts? Does anything smell off about the beer? Give yourself a break and twirl the beer again, then bring it back up for a deep inhale. You may find that you detect different notes or qualities between short sniffs and longer ones. If you have been having some trouble identifying smells, you can also try another technique. First, put one hand over the top of the glass to cover it, and then – you guessed it – twirl the beer a few times. Lift your hand from the glass and take a few inhales. This may help to trap and concentrate the aromas to allow you to get some of those subtle notes.
Keep those aromas in mind, or jot them down, before moving on to the main event: the tasting.
Step Four: Now You May Drink
As a fan of beer, you may find yourself eager to take a big gulp during the tasting process. However, we must practice some restraint during tasting, and only take small sips that enough to coat your tongue. With larger drinks, you are not allowing the taste to develop as succinctly because the ratio of beer to saliva is too high. Smaller sips allow beer and saliva to interact and release all the flavors in a more expressive manner. With your first sip, see what stands out to you. Is it sour? Is it bitter? Is it boozy? Is it sweet? Let the beer linger a bit so your taste receptors have time to work. Continue taking sips, with each one being a concentrated effort to focus on the flavor profile. Also, what do you detect through the nose after tasting? This is called retronasal olfaction; when you drink, swallow, and then exhale through the nose, you will experience some additional aromas that maybe were not present in your initial smells. Make note of these as well, as sometimes retronasal olfaction is the main process in which flavors/aromas are detectable. We have found it helps to jot down notes in a memo app or do a voice recording to get down everything we are experiencing. With each new sip, you are hopefully getting closer to identifying complexities or subtleties in the beer, but you may find that it is difficult. That is completely normal, and can be attributed to a variety of things. Our palates are all different, so you may be sensitive to certain flavors or mouthfeel and less sensitive to others. It can also be difficult to tell what you are tasting when you don’t know the ingredients. Sure, we all know beer has hops and malt and yeast, but craft beers today are brewed with new elements all the time to create unique and exciting flavor profiles. We recommend doing the tasting blind and making note of everything you detect. Then, you can refer to the can/bottle or the brewer’s notes for that particular beer to see what ingredients were used. How do your notes compare to the brewer’s? You can return to the beer again and see if you are able to find those aromas and tastes now that you are aware of their presence. This can be a good way to learn and train your nose and taste buds to identify these flavors and smells when you are tasting beer in the future.
Helpful Tips and Resources
- Make notes or record yourself while tasting. This can benefit your growth and contribute to refining your palate, as has been the case for us throughout this journey.
- If you don’t have an Untappd account, this app is a great resource for tracking beers you have tasted. You can rate the overall quality and select flavors from a built-in list.
- The Craft Beer Channel has a great instructional video on how to taste beer, featuring Ray Daniels, the founder of the Cicerone program (we have used this as a learning tool ourselves).
- If you really want to expand your beer acumen, “Tasting Beer” by Randy Mosher is a very comprehensive guide to the history of beer, nuances of different styles, and how to taste beer like a professional.
Thanks for reading! Let us know in the comments if you have any specific questions and we will be happy to answer or share our advice. Happy tasting!
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