Whether you’ve been invited to a beer tasting party, or you’d just like to learn about different beers, basic beer tasting skills will help you out. Before you start with a tasting, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, don’t eat just before, or during tasting, or do a tasting in a smoke filled room. Lingering tastes and smells can distort the beer’s flavor for you. If you taste a number of beers, start with the lightest colored beer, and work up the scale to the darkest. It’s best to cleanse you palate between beers with water. Finally, make sure you serve the beer at the temperature appropriate for the style of beer.
Never taste a beer directly from the bottle. Always pout it into a glass first. Some beer-tasting connoisseurs believe that you should always use a brandy snifter for tasting, because it enhances the characteristics of the beer. Others believe you should use the glassware choice appropriate for the style being tasted. Whichever you choose, make sure that your glass has been appropriately cleaned. When you pour your beer into the glass, start with the glass at a 45 degree angle, and bring the glass upright as you pour. Adjust your pour speed to tray and create a head about two fingers high.
Before taking a sip of your beer, take note of its appearance. Is the head thick, or thin? What color is it? How long does the head last? What does it look like as it dissipates? Is the beer cloudy, or clear? How heavy does the carbonation look? Next, sniff your beer. Does it smell primarily of hops, or malt? Most beers have several different aromas. What foods, herbals, spices, or other scents can you detect in the beer? Can you smell the alcohol, and if so, is it heavy or light?
When you take your first sip, make sure you take in enough to cover the entire tongue. Pay very close attention to the initial sensation. The initial flavor of beer can be quite different from the finish. Try to distinguish between the tastes. Also, not how the beer physically feels in your mouth. Is it silky, fizzy, or chewy? Does the beer taste well balanced between hops and malts? How is the aftertaste? Is it pleasant? Can you taste the alcohol? If so, is it strong? Does the carbonation feel right?
Before you take your next sip, jot down a few notes about what you’ve tasted. See if you notice something new on your next sips. Also, see if you confirm what you tasted earlier. Try to get as many notes as possible within the first four sips, because your taste will start to lose acuteness after the fourth sip. Unlike wine tasting, you should definitely swallow your sips.
Remember when tasting beers, there is no right and wrong. Your thoughts on the beer, and your opinions of it, are just as valid as anybody else’s. Drinking a beer is like viewing a work of art. Different people will see it differently. So, step outside of your normal drinking routine and taste some new beers. There’s a lot of gems out there waiting for your to discover them.
Author: Al Lewis
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Smart cooker
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