Focus on Flavor Taste (and Describe) Beer Better! by Master Cicerone Nicole Erny NHC 2012
What is the most critical activity of homebrewing that impacts the quality of your brew?
Tasting!!! o Ingredients & Recipe o Quality o Meet expectations? o Are there problems? Where from? o Enjoyability o Is there room for improvement? o Motivation o Uhhhh, why am I doing this again?
Part One Tasting Better: Building and Maintaining Your Palate Key Concepts for Understanding Tasting
How Do We Taste?
Tasting happens in the BRAIN Mmm yummy yummy. More, more! VS. Touches of gooseberry and honesuckle Build a neurological bridge learn to harness and interptret the raw data Practice Repetition - Time
Genetics Some thresholds are genetic Sex, ethnicity, and random factors Diacetyl Anosmia genetic or brain-injury-related inability to perceive aroma Number of taste buds, size and shape of pappilae Supertasters Genetics aren t everything!
Learning Your Sensitivities Establish your sensitivities and weak spots Compare yourself to others Tasting panels Formal threshold testing Doing so allows you to understand your perception IN CONTEXT which is key. This is very different than personal preference
Tasting Technique Physical Technique
Assess Aroma Two Initial Methods: Bloodhound Drive by Physical: swirling
Tasting Two Sips Chewing Swallowing Tertiary Aroma detection
Tasting Technique Mental Technique
Mental tasting Technique Reduce Expectations cellar blindness Experience the raw data Let yourself enjoy Convert thoughts into something tangible, concrete, explainable Describe Edit/Refine your description Connect to other people!
Mental Tasting Technique Mental Traps Lack of confidence Rational lack of depth of knowledge Irrational Confusion ( misfire ) We learn by repetition. Expectation, Distraction, Obsession, Influence Easy to convince your brain even if the data isn t coming through. Solution: Awareness!
Small Steps to Better Tasting Remove damaging, overbearing aromas from daily life! Don t use scented body products! Don t use harsh chemicals at home! Don t use air fresheners! Know what products can desensitize Many Medications! Nasal sprays, antibiotics, psychiatric, many others
Learning To Taste Better Exercises and Techniques
Learning Social Activity! Brains ready for learning Your flavor knowledge does the world no good if it lacks context: Tower of Babel Use a multifaceted approach to the same information Hand writing v. speaking v. typing v. listening
Learning: Writing Multiple approaches Free-Association New Discoveries Pleasurable Directed/Regimented Learn to be complete Comparative Just like comparing quantitative data creates new knowledge, using comparative language helps solidify knowledge by building context.
Learning: Talking Another part of brain repetition, multiple formats Social OR not! (practice makes perfect!) Comparing yourself to others. Communicate thoroughly and effectively Make new connections: Your perceptive interpretation v. others. Get inspired!
Up Your Game! Comparative Tasting formal judging Flavor standard tasting, threshold testing Siebel, Aroxa, FalvorActiv Blind Tasting Flights Peer review of written descriptions
Part Two Describing Beer Flavor Home-run descriptions via specific language
Carbonated with a malty backbone an a balancing hoppiness.
We must describe beer as if we are describing color to a blind person -Julia Herz
Bad Descriptors Are Everywhere! Malty Malt Backbone (WTF DOES THAT MEAN? SERIOUSLY PEOPLE!) Hoppy Stale Bready Grainy o Weinery
Learning to Describe Better Be forever a student experience, other judges, writers Exercise in language Mastery! Use mental techniques to tap into extended vocabulary ( Flavor Rolodex!)
Completeness is Key Distinguish each component, every time Drill yourself until it is second nature Give a description so that another person could determine the style. Not just what IS there, but what is NOT there! This will help YOU determine the style as well!
Completeness is Key Modify, Modify, Modify. Example: Quantitative: Faintly Slightly Moderately Overtly-Overwhelmingly Intensity of a flavor/overall flavor often skipped!
Using Specific language Every time you come up with a descriptor, ask what do I really mean by that? Do you have a memory association Is there an experience that informs that word choice? Choose a NEW, more precise word.
Chocolaty Cocoa Powder * 60% Dark Chocolate * Chocolate Liqueur * Hershey s Chocolate Syrup * Cacao Nibs * Rich Milk Chocolate * Cheap Chocolate * 90% Dark Chocolate * Mole * Tootsie Roll * Chocolate Hard Candy * Flourless Chocolate Cake * Ovaltine * Nestle Quick * Chocolate Cake * Bittersweet Chocolate * Fudge Brownie * Chocolate Graham Cracker * Chocolate Ice Cream * Milk Chocolate Covered Raisins * Sixlets * Single Origin *
Exercises 1. Make a list of beer attributes (ingredients, for starts) and describe every aspect different from scoresheet style adressing every ingredient informs much more than just focussing on the predominant ingredient Critical for good exam performance!
Exercises 2. Ask yourself what you really mean until you can t go any further OR 3. Start with a somewhat generic descriptor, and brainstorm all the directions that flavor can go i.e. Nutty
Namin Nuts
Exercises 4. Blind Tasting Flights group OR solo can be more stimulating if there is a hidden theme. ID a style out of 3-4 ID styles for all in flight Timed or Not Theme, etc
Exercises 4. Blind Tasting Flights group OR solo can be more stimulating if there is a hidden theme. 5. Formal Judging - as often as possible! keep yourself fine-tuned!
Twitter: @Beer_Muse nicole@cicerone.org Thank You! Go Enjoy Some Tasty Homebrew!