Beginner's Guide to Beer Tasting
Beer is a staple and refreshing beverage to drink especially during celebrations, vacations, or day-offs. In fact, beer is one of the oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drinks worldwide. It is also the third most popular drink, with water and tea as the first and second most popular. The taste of a beer differs depending on how well it is crafted.
If you have not tried every type of beer out there yet, there is nothing to worry about. After all, we all have to start somewhere. In beer, flavor is very important and if you want to be versed in the art of drinking this beverage, you need to train and develop your palate to distinguish the nuances of each blend. This guide can help you get started on craft beer tasting and turn you into a beer connoisseur.
Beer Tasting: What’s With the Buzz?
Before stepping in the ring to be good at beer tasting, you need to understand what beer actually is. Beer is a drink with alcoholic content. It is made from yeast-fermented malt, flavored with hops. It is usually brewed from cereal grains such as malted barley, tough wheat, maize, and rice.
Beer is very popular and very old with a well-documented history dating back to the early stages of civilization, such as the Code of Hammurabi having laws regulating beer and beer parlors. Beer also has healthy benefits with regular intake according to scientific studies. Beer is considered “liquid bread” by many due to it containing more protein and vitamin B than wine.
Another published study found out that people who drink 3 to 4 times per week were less likely to develop diabetes than those who never drink at all. Other benefits include making your heart healthier, your bones stronger, and your teeth cleaner.
Beer Types: Ales and Lagers
Beer has different types and styles to dip your tongue in. Firstly, beer has two major types: ales and lagers. The methods of preparing the drinks such as the usage of different types of yeast and the brewing techniques make the two of them different from one another.
Lagers are the most common type of beer with a smooth and crisp flavor. They are usually brewed in a cold environment and stored for several months in near-freezing conditions. Meanwhile, the ales are opposite in the sense that they are brewed at higher temperatures. The ale has a fruity flavor in them, but hybrids of both are becoming common which gave birth to more flavors.
The wide variety of beer styles
There are a lot of beer styles to enumerate in a single article, so you have the freedom to explore and taste them all. The selection is so diverse, from the world’s most popular styles of beer to the extremely obscure brews, and each of them has their own strengths and unique flavors. One of the most well-known styles of beer is the Indian Pale Ale, also known as the IPA.
Other famous styles include the American wheat ale, the Berliner Weiss, the stout, the pale ale, and the Pilsner. With such a wide variety, your journey to craft beer tasting will be filled with excitement and discovery.
Appearance and presentation
Making a beer look good is a key component when it comes to beer tasting. A well-presented brown ale makes it more appetizing to drink and taste. A crisp and clear beer with a white foamy top makes mouths water with excitement. You can see it in hundreds of commercials and advertisements. In fact, many people got into beer tasting because of how delicious they look.
Two things are considered when it comes to appearance: color and clarity. Each of these factors differ depending on what style of beer you are drinking and does not usually indicate its overall quality. A brown, hazy barley wine with a thin foamy line and a clear, yellow Munich Helles lager with a fat, fluffy white head are both good drinks.
However, appearance is not all that there is when it comes to beer tasting.
The right temperature
When serving the best craft beer in Adelaide, it is also important to put in mind the temperature it currently is. Different beer styles are to be served at different temperatures. When a glass of beer gets colder, less carbonation is released, resulting to a release of fewer aromas. However, a glass of beer that is too cold can numb away your tongue denying you of the nuances of the beer’s flavor. You need to find the right temperature in which to serve it on to enjoy the full impact of the flavor.
It is common knowledge that light lagers are best served at around 2 to 4 degrees Celsius while full bodied European styled lagers are best served at around 4 to 7 degrees Celsius. Even fuller styled beers such as the IPA are best served at 7 to 10 degrees Celsius.
Aroma builds flavor
It is said that the aroma of a beer makes up 80% of its flavor due to our sharp sense of smell. In fact, our sense of smell is sharper than our sense of taste, and the aroma of a beer elevates the flavor of the beer in our minds. The different processes and methods used during the production of the beer can be evidently witnessed upon smelling the beverage and tasting the beer.
When smelling the beer, your mind starts making impressions of it. It may be strong, or it may be sharp. Maybe the beer has a fruity smell to it. That way, your taste of the beer sharpens due to its smell.
The range of taste
Beers have a wide variety of tastes, but the three most common elements are the sweetness of the beer’s flavor, the bitterness from the hops, and the acidity gained from the brewing process. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to taste, so developing a preference will come naturally in your craft beer tasting journey.
Be sure to take note of these elements when you step into your journey to beer tasting. And whenever you’re ready to hop into the best craft beers in Adelaide, Silver Bark Brewery is worth a trip to Mount Baker. Sit down and relax as you enjoy a tasty beer, or get some on tap, exclusively at our Tap House. For more details and enquiries, you can email us at enquiries@silverbarkbrewery.com.au.