Do You Know Beer? Let’s Get Started.
Let’s be honest, the world of craft beers can easily be overwhelming, even to seasoned connoisseurs, much less your average imbiber of brews like myself. But beer, good beer to be exact, is a big deal these days especially if you live in this magical place we call the Pacific Northwest. Now I love me some good quality brews, but I’m not an aficionado by any means. I don’t know all the craft-specific terminology or insider lingo, but who’s to say I can’t learn? This is my journey in becoming a beer snob, albeit an unpretentious one because a) nobody likes a real snob and b) chances are that even if I hit the books and the pubs I still might not be the best judge or critic. But it is a risk we should all be will to take! Here goes nothing…
Time to start at the start – “How to drink beer.” Of course I know how to drink beer, but apparently I don’t know how to really drink it to fully experience it. As one can imagine, there are numerous websites with articles and step-by-step how to’s available that teach the proper procedures and techniques to use when drinking, tasting, and describing each beer. After looking at several I realized that there are literally FIVE steps I need to complete before I even take my first sip! Clearly, I’ve been drinking all wrong. My typical process includes maybe three steps – Grab a bottle opener, pour beer into glass if I’m feeling fancy, and savor. That’s it. And those five recommended steps don’t even include doing due-diligence on the brewery and brewers themselves as well as the actual beer – What types of hops or malts are used? Are they local or organic? How is the malting done? Any additional flavorings such as fruit or herbs and spices? Are they local or organic? I could go on and on…
After the beer has been selected, one must make sure it is at the correct temperature for consumption, a general rule being that the stronger the beer, the warmer you want it. For example you want strong ales, porters, and stouts warm (50-60°), IPA’s, American Pale Ales, and medium-bodied lagers cool (45-50°), Pilsners, Hefeweizen, Kolsch, and American Wheats cold (40-45°), and malt liquors, low-alcohol beers, and American lagers or “macros” very cold (35-40°). That’s why you want those “Rocky Tops” blue, I suppose, not that it helps the lack of flavor at all…
Once the beer is to temp, you move on to glassware, the standard being a basic pint glass. Tall beer glasses are recommended for frothy beers and, of course, never put ice in your beer as it will water it done – who does that?! One surprising rule is that using a frosted mug or glass is not advised since it can cause some of the beer to freeze and ruin the taste!! I guess I do not know how to drink beer properly after all since I have always kept a frosty glass in the freezer for years. Perhaps I shouldn’t have judged the “beer on the rocks” folks so harshly…lesson learned.
When pouring the beer from a bottle you want to gently do it down the side of the glass basing the speed of the pour on the head that is forming, about two finger-width thickness is what you want when you’re done. Obviously this will vary depending on the size of your finger – two of my husband’s fingers equal three of mine, so use your judgment here, people. Some beers have yeast that settles at the bottom of the bottle that’s meant to be drunk with the beer. If this applies to your beer, stop pouring when a little is left in the bottle, give it a swirl to lift the sediment, and then pour the remainder into the glass. Now you just executed a fancy beer pouring technique! Huzzah!
After you pour it, hold the glass up in front of you to examine it’s appearance – is it completely clear or slightly cloudy? What’s the color? A golden yellow or warm amber? Maybe a deep brown? Is the head dense or thin? What color is the head? What does the lace look like? Yes, there is a term for the foam residue left clinging to the glass as you drink it down – the foamier the head the more lace you’ll have.
Now it’s time to give your glass a good whiff since 90-95% of what you experience is through smell. First, gently agitate your beer with a elegant swirl as you’ve undoubtedly seen wine drinkers do. This will pull out aromas and stimulate carbonation as well as test head retention – a head that doesn’t collapse speaks of the quality of the beer! Now we breath in two quick sniffs, then another with your mouth open, then with only your mouth. If you’re like me you’ll have to do this a few times since I don’t often think of how I breath, but the minute I do I feel like I’m doing it wrong. Give your glass another twirl if need be to fully experience the bouquet.
Finally, we drink! With this first sip try to make note of several things at once without swallowing immediately. What do you taste initially? Sweet? Bitter? How does it feel? This is called “mouthfeel” and actually plays a key role in a beer to me. Is it silky and smooth? Thick and chewy? Thin and fizzy? With a swallow of beer still in your mouth, breath out without dribbling the beer down the front of your shirt (a certain faux pas in beer circles, I imagine). This process is called “retro olfaction” and often releases other nuances that are undetectable at first. Also, as the beer warms a bit other flavors might become more pronounced as really cold beer tends to mask it’s flavor. Lastly, make note of lingering flavors after a few swallows, is there perhaps a malty sweetness or is it more bitter from the hops? Run through these steps a few times and I guarantee you’ll be able to streamline your likes and dislikes more which will help the next time you need to choose a new beer! Check out my review of ‘Son of Malice IPA which will be posted on 2/22/15 – Alicia