| Q: |
What is
a sparkler and what difference will it make to my beer? |
| A: |
Sparklers
are the devices on the end of the handpump serving spout that
create tiny gas bubbles that form the creamy head on a pint in
served in the North of England and increasingly common in the
South of England. All beers change when served through a sparkler.
Firstly they loose some dissolved CO2 - due to the pressure drop
across the sparkler. As a taste consequence the beer is softer
because the CO2 had an acidifying effect and the sweet/acid balance
of the beer is changed in favour of the sweet. Some beers (Northern)
are brewed with more bitterness to take account of this. When
the final beer is before the customer the beer should be ‘in
balance’. Finally, the removal of dissolved CO2 means
that the beer is easier to drink.
The second thing that happens is that the beer's aroma is sort
of ‘smudged’. You lose some of the finer flavour points
but gain more ‘impact’. I must admit I don’t know
why this is but it is the main reason people love or hate ‘sparklers’.
I have enjoyed great pints of beer served either way. But what
matters above all is what the customer wants, whatever his preference,
and whatever the preference of the publican. |
| Q: |
Will putting
my beer in direct sunlight affect the flavour? |
| A: |
We
recommend keeping our beers out of sunlight. Using whole hops
has the benefit of making smoother, more complex aromatic beers.
But because nothing has been removed, beers can suffer a photochemical
reaction that takes place between the UV spectrum of sunlight
and the iso hop alpha acid, iso-humulone, producing a 'skunky'
or 'sunstruck' flavour. The reaction happens very quickly - a
pint glass in direct sunlight will change its flavour in a matter
of seconds ! |
| Q: |
How do
I taste beer? (This is a long answer so pull up and armchair
and pour a nice pint of Roosters...) |
| A: |
Tasting
skills are fundamental to those involved with beer. Tasting covers
every sense/sensation that gives a clue to what's happening in
the glass. We use our senses of touch, feel, taste, the olfactive
(smell) sense, chemical sense, sense of sight and on and on.
I taste because it's fundemental to knowing whether or not I'm
making the beer taste profile I think the customer wants. It
monitors my brewing performance.
How do you
do it ?
First. Know the objective. Technicans look for
beers with no faults. Brewers looks for consistancy and conformity
to the house/beer style. Competition judges look for the beers
that conform to the beer style guidelines set out by the competition
organisers. Then they look for the best quality within the guidelines.
Tasting for pleasure, for ourselves, is easy - do we like it
or not. Subjective decision. No arguement. Professional beer
tasters taste beer objectively, against objectively set, predetermined
criteria. What are the perceived aromas, does the sweetness conform
to spec. It sounds clincal, but it gets results.
Second, believe. The truth is that in
beer there are the same components (particularly in the hops)
that make fruits, flowers and spices and all the rest smell as
they do. So before you pick up the glass, start believing that
beers can taste of anything. From TCP to elderflower through
citrus tastes or oranges and grapefruit to toffee to cardboard
- anything. Once you've open your mind to this possibility you're
on the right track.
Third, Concentrate. The impressions that
come to you are so fleeting that if you don't concentrate you'll
miss them. The reward for the concentration is that you'll start
to record impressions that you've missed 'til now. Different
hops smell of different fruits. To a degree this depends on the
yeast the brewer uses. In Anchor Liberty and Pete's Wicked Ale
there is on orangey almost floral aroma. In the Pete's there
is a slight Chocolate malt flavour. Both beers have a long finish.
(See later) Hops usually provide the fruit smells in beer, particularly
citrus types - grapefruit, lemon, orange. Some hops have floral
aromas. Hopping beers in cask provides a different sort of flavour
- pungent and spicy.
Take descriptive notes of what you taste. Nothing
complicated. The following headings down the left hand side of
a piece of paper will do:
-----Visual
appearance-----Smell:-----Taste:-----Flavour:-----Finish:-----General
comments:
Basically
this is a 'descriptive' tasting sheet format. This can be expanded
out depending on the detail you want to include. Visual appearance
can include colour. Colour intensity. Colour nuance. Foam head
retention. Clarity and even fluidity. Smell could be expanded
to Aroma type (fruit, floral etc.,). Complexity. Intensity. Faults.
Taste splits into 1st impressions. 'Balance' of primary tastes.
Length of primary taste. Flavour is the same split as for aroma.
'Finish' is just measured as either short or long. The general
comments can give a mark for commerciality or aesthetics quality
or some comments on the beers conformity to type.
Some say
beer taste is hops, some say malt, some say yeast, some say water,
some say process. But if the brewer understands the ways each
of the above controls taste then he, the brewer, is in control.
That control demands an understanding of beer fundementals and
plenty of tasting practice.
OK. Go and
buy a bottle of beer. Don't worry if the aromas in the beer you
decide to taste are not obvious. Just keep trying beers until
you find one worth tasting. Something aromatic like Anchor Liberty
or Pete's Wicked Ale. Choose a place to do the tasting. Somewhere
you feel comfortable, not too smelly, not too noisy or colourful.
Open the bottle and pour.
Clarity
Pick up the glass and look at the beer. Is it clear or just slightly
hazy. Beers that are not clear are always judged more critically
than clear beers. In the main customers (wheat beers and unfined
or filtred beers apart) like them clear at the point of sale.
Colour.
Note the colour. Is it yellow or straw coloured. Has it a copper
hue. Again the eye overrules the palate. As much as poor clarity
causes the taster to be more critical, an attractive colour does
the opposite. Pale colours come from beers made from beers that
have been made from straight pale ale malt, or wheat or rice
(in the USA). Darker beers use darker malts. The most commonly
used - crystal and chocolate - give a darker colour and a toffee
(or chocolate) flavour into the beer. Malts give mostly burnt
smells. Aromas of coffee, Ovaltine, plain chocolate, parma violettes,
toffee and caramel all come from the malts.
TASTE
Now taste the beer. The primary tastes, sweet, salt, bitter,
acid, are each perceived in fairly specific areas on the tongue.
Sweet perceiving taste buds are at the front tip of the tongue,
so we pick up sweetness first. Bitterness comes last with these
buds at the back of the tongue. Salt and acid tastes are sandwiched
between at the sides and in the middle. This passage of the primary
tastes is called the 'taste evolution'. Look for 'balance'. Primary
tastes that don't overawe each other. Carbon dioxide plays a
part hiding the sweetness and accentuating the bitterness slightly.
Some Belgian Lambic beers break all these rule but score because
of the interesting journey they've forced upon the taster.
Aromas
There are eight categories of smell : Fruity, flowery, burnt,
spicy, balsamic, vegetal, woody and chemical. If you can't zoom
in on the exact smell first go. Try slotting it first into one
of the above categories. If you want more ideas have a look at
a beer 'flavour wheel'.
Off smells.
A host of them. Hydrogen sulfide, diacetyl, ethyl acetate, sweaty
smells, TCP, musty, papery, acetaldehyde, skunky, metallic, cheesy,
dimethyl sulfide (DMS for short, means any cooked veg smell).
All brewers are taught to recognise them. Often to the exclusion
of learning about the flavour positives. Those attributes that
make a beer hard to put down. Some smells have double standards
depending on the beer style. The buttery taste of diacetyl is
(just) fine in an ale but no good in a lager. Hydrogen sulfide
is suppose to be alright in Burton beer (I think not, I don't
go around sniffing drain for pleasure) but not OK anywhere else.
Ethyl acetate is fine in a Belgian beer but nowhere else. Their
problem is that they mask other more pleasant aromas. Sometimes
they might add to the complexity of the aroma. But seldom.
Aroma vs
flavour.
Aromas are perceived via the olfactive zone. This olfactive zone
sits up under the eyes and just behind the top of the nose. Much
of the confusion about 'taste', 'aroma' and 'flavour' is centered
on the fact that this Olfactive area can be accessed in two ways.
First via the nose. Take a sniff of anything and the smells are
sniffed up the nose and pass over the entrance to the olfactive
area. This is 'aroma'. The other way is via a rear passageway
in the mouth leading to the olfactive area that is opened each
time we swallow. The aromas in the mouth are pushed up and over
passed the olfactive area. The confusion lies in the fact that
the primary tastes are perceived at the same time so there's
a lot to sort out in a very short time. These impressions lumped
together are called the 'flavour'. You can separate the primary
tastes (and other mouth perceived sensations by holding your
nose while tasting). The aroma portion that you lose while holding
the nose is called the 'mouth aroma'.
When the
beer is swallowed the 'finish' starts. Note down how long the
'primary tastes' last in the mouth. Then note how long the aromatics
last. If its more than a minute, that's a good sign. Does the
aromatic part of the flavour shut off like a door slamming. (Bad
sign)
Quality
Quality beers
must engage the interest of the consumer.
'In mouth entertainment' is what the brewer must offer the customer.
Beer is an alcoholic product wrapped up in a taste package that
must appeal to the consumer. How colourful, intense and lasting
this taste package is will govern who drinks it and more importantly
the price at which it might sell.
Commercial
Quality.
For ordinary UK bitter the commercial level quality can be defined
as an absence of faults from start to finish. Not much flavour
to shock. No overriding primary tastes like too much bitterness
or sweetness. No aromas out of place, no phenolic smells, or
ethyl acetate. no overt diacetyl etc. It should have nothing
to take it outside the style guidelines clearly set by the consumer
test marketing taste profile. This is commercial quality.
Esthetic
quality.
Because the 'taste' of a beer is perceived over a period of a
few seconds or minutes (if we include the aftertaste), tasting
is an experience. How interesting and pleasant the brewer makes
this experience for the consumer determines the quality of the
product. At best it should give them a sense of wonder, nothing
less. Complex (and usually expensive) perfumes can do it on smell
alone. Quality wines do it on smell and taste. Paintings do it
with depth and complexity. You might think this is fanciful but
beers can do it. The Timothy Taylor's Landlord of my youth was
one of the most exiting taste experiences I have ever had. Citrusy
grapefruit overlaying bitterness with a tangerine aromatic on
top. Allan Hey's Landlord was Leonardo stuff. Hopback have made
some lovely beers. So have Durham brewery. I once had two great
pints of Marston's Pedigree in Burton on Trent 20 years ago.
Stunning beers are made. If Taylor's hadn't been there perhaps
we at Rooster's wouldn't have tried to make the beers we have.
Good beers are a thing of wonder. |
Roosters brewery, Knaresborough,
UK. | Contact us
Site created by Glynn Snowden. |
