Beer Tasting: Appearance

Characteristics of Beer

• The characteristics of colour, clarity, and foam can reveal the type/brand and condition of beer.
• Colour is best determined by holding the beer at an angle against a white background.
• Descriptors used to indicate the colour of beer include SRM (Standard Reference Method), EBC (European Brewing Convention), and degrees Lovibond.
• Clarity depends on the presence or absence of suspended particles, such as yeast or proteins.
• Beers that are not completely bright are referred to as "hazy" or "cloudy".

Foam and Bubbles

• The term "chill haze" is used to describe the haze that may appear in all-malt beers when served very cold.
• Nucleation sites in beer glasses, such as imperfections or scratches, cause bubbles to rise rapidly from specific points at the bottom of a glass.
• The range of colours for foam, or "head", in beers is from pure white to dark cream.

Taste and Mouthfeel

• The interplay between mouth and nose involves the aspect of beer tasting known as "flavour".
• The five primary flavours that taste buds on the tongue can sense are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.
• Glutamate is an amino acid that enhances the umami flavour in food and drinks.
• The ability to taste beer is influenced by the sensitivity of the individual's taste buds.
• Beers that may become cloudy when served very cold are those that contain high levels of protein or starch.

Bitterness and Sensory Perception

• The numerical classification used to indicate the bitterness of most beers is the International Bitterness Unit (IBU) scale.
• The primary effect of bitterness in beer is described as a dry, puckering sensation.
• Sensory bitterness and the BU-value (Bitterness Unit) are directly related for beers described as "Moderately bitter".
• The human palate's ability to detect bitterness differences is questionable, as it can vary greatly between individuals.
• The term used to express the degree of bitterness for most beers is IBU (International Bitterness Unit).

Beer Styles and Characteristics

• Brewers have started competing to brew beers with more and more bitterness, some with BU values above 90, known as "Double" or "Triple" IPAs.
• Beers with a lot of residual sugar can be compared to a sweet, syrupy sensation.
• Beers that can leave your teeth feeling rough are those with high levels of tannins.
• The primary effect of high alcohol content in beer is a warming sensation.
• A soapy taste in beer can indicate contamination with sanitizers or cleaning agents.
• A metal taste in beer leaves a bitter, unpleasant sensation in the mouth.

Tasting and Evaluation

• Tannins in beer can be described in terms of mouthfeel as a drying, astringent sensation.
• The method that divides the tasting into appearance, flavour, body, mouthfeel, carbonation, and aftertaste is the "BJCP" (Beer Judge Certification Program) method.
• The main objective of discriminative tasting is to identify and describe the characteristics of a beer.
• In appreciative tasting, jury members evaluate beers based on their overall quality and character.
• The purpose of using tasting forms during the evaluation process is to provide a standardized and structured way to record and assess the characteristics of a beer.