How to taste beer like a judge
How to taste beer: the five steps beer judges use, from appearance and aroma to flavour, mouthfeel and overall impression, and the words that describe them.
Beer judges work through every glass in the same order, the order the BJCP style guidelines describe each style in. You can use it at home to taste more than “nice” or “not for me”.
1. Look
Hold the glass against the light. Note the colour, from straw to black, the clarity, from brilliant to hazy, and the head: its colour, how dense it is, how long it lasts. Watch for lacing, the pattern of foam left on the glass as you drink.
2. Smell
Swirl the glass and take a few short sniffs. Aroma fades fast, so smell first, before you sip. Sort what you find into malt (bread, toast, caramel, chocolate), hops (flowers, spice, citrus, pine, tropical fruit), yeast (fruity esters, spicy phenols, the funk of wild yeast) and anything else, such as roast or alcohol.
3. Taste
Take a sip and let it cover your tongue. Notice the balance between malt sweetness and bitterness, how the flavour moves from the first taste to the finish, and the aftertaste. A dry beer leaves little sweetness behind; a crisp one turns sharp at the end.
4. Feel
Mouthfeel covers body (thin to full), carbonation (low to high), creaminess, the warmth of alcohol and any astringency, the dry, puckering feel of strong tea. Beers under about 6% should not taste of alcohol at all.
5. Sum it up
Ask whether the beer hangs together and whether it tastes like its style. The style pages on BeerCorp follow the same order, so you can compare what you taste with what a German Pils or a Belgian Tripel should be.
Tips
Taste at the right temperature, since cold dulls flavour, in a clean glass. Start with the lightest beer and move to the strongest and darkest. Water between beers resets your palate.
Sources
Checked .
- Introduction to Beer Styles — Beer Judge Certification Program
- Beer Glossary — CraftBeer.com, Brewers Association