Hello friend Beersapiens! In the last article we explained to you how how to proceed to taste a beer. That is, the step by step of how to drink that beer and in what senses you should pay attention.
Once you know how to do it the second part remains, what to look out for when you drink a beer. That is to say, the characteristics that will form the personality of a beer, and that basically, will be the ones that make you like it more or less.
At a technical level, these characteristics are called sensory parameters. There are really many, but we bring you the list of the 9 main characteristics that you should pay attention to. Ready? Let's get to it:
The 9 main features of a beer
These are the main elements that you should check to define the sensory profile of a beer. The list is not exhaustive but rather those that will help you identify your personal tastes and know which beer to choose next time.
1. The color
It's the first thing we look at. So much so that the most common classification of beers is blond, toast, black…
Base malts are primarily responsible for the color of beer. You can also modify the color of a beer using sugars in the form of caramel, fruit, flowers or herbs. An interesting fact is that the color can vary over time, either because it is a beer with a long maceration time or because we have left it for a long time before consuming it.
2. The grain and the roast
The feeling of grain or cereal is one of the main sensory features of beer and is present in a large number of styles.
A simple way to detect and classify these flavors is as follows:
- the aromas and flavors that remind us of bread (raw dough, crumb, loaf, toasted bread…) usually tell us about slightly roasted pale malts.
- Pastry and pastry flavors will most often correspond to medium-low roast malts.
- medium and medium-high roasted caramelized malts are rich with toffee (buttersweet) and dried fruit sensations. Their presence tends to indicate friendlier beers, with more residual sweetness, though not always.
- The very toasted ones will have flavors of coffee, liquorice, raisins, chocolate... and a greater dryness of the palate due to the astringency and bitterness they can bring.
3. The sweetness
It comes from malts and cereals since it is the dominant flavor of the sugars that come from them. The percentage of sugar in the cereal that becomes alcohol is called the degree of attenuation. A beer with a high attenuation will be slightly sweet, that is, quite dry, while in the opposite case the sweet taste will be appreciable.
4. Alcohol
Alcohol comes from the fermentation of cereal sugars and others that can be added, directly or in the form of fruits that contain them. Alcohol will give us two sensations: on the one hand, sweetness and, on the other, an effect that is described as “pseudo-thermal”: a burning sensation, of warmth on our palate. The degree of alcohol in a determinant beer in its taste.
5. The Body
It is literally the sensation of touch that beer leaves in our mouth. In other words, the impression of doughiness, or dense texture, that it leaves us.Some styles, such as lager, will leave us feeling light-bodied, and other styles made with cereals such as wheat or rye they will be more “doughy”
6. The bitterness
This is one of the vital elements of a beer, and it is the hops that give it. The bitterness creates a complex balance with the sweet flavors and the body of the beer, modulating them so that the end of the drink is dry and avoids any possible cloying or heaviness.
The bitterness provided by hops is measured in International Bitterness Units (IBU). One IBU is equivalent to one milligram of isomerized alpha acid in one liter of beer.
7. The Fruity Feeling
Have you ever tried a beer and it has a slight banana flavor? This is one of the most disconcerting sensations when you start in the world of craft beer, especially when there is no trace of added fruit in the recipe.
These fruity aromas and flavors usually come from the hops (if they are tropical) or from fermentation (if they remind you of red fruits). In some styles fruit is added to the recipe.
8. The Spicy Feeling
As with fruit, spices can be an adjunct to brewing, or a characteristic that comes from brewing without anything being added. It's up to you to decide: do you like the sensation of a fresh spice like ginger, spicy like chili or more rounded like cloves and pepper?
9. The “funky” feeling
This is perhaps one of the most complicated characteristics to explain, among other things, because it is a sensation that could be characterized as “defective” in other foods.
When the beer does not ferment with the usual selected yeasts, but rather with those that are present in the environment (such as bread sourdough, for example), it acquires a characteristic acidic profile and very different aromas: earthy, “farm” and with animal nuances. That is, flavors of leather, earthiness, kefir or blue cheese. It sounds a bit crazy, but combined with other nuances it's very unexpected and fun.
Are you able to identify these 9 sensations in a beer? And which ones are your favorites (or the ones you don't like at all)? Apart from helping you enjoy your beer more, knowing these sensations will help you a lot when asking your trusted sommelier for advice or try new recipes. Cheers!
Sources: KNOW SOMMELIER
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