#off-flavours

[agladman]

How to talk your way to better beer tasting skills

NEW BLOG POST: when it comes to judging a beer, communication is vital. How to talk your way to better beer tasting skills.

Tasting a beer is a pretty simple thing to do. After all we taste things all the time, day in day out. But I’ve been struck lately, while judging at beer competitions, how some people seem to do it well while others struggle to come up with anything beyond a basic assessment. We all taste beer in the same way, so how come some of us seem to be better at it than others?

It’s not just about…

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[beerquoteoftheday]

Off-flavour tasting. We did acetaldehyd (a “green” taste), dichlorophenol (imagine a swimming pool full of old boots), ethylacetate (solvent-like), 2-nonenal (smells just like old people) and of course diacetyl (buttery). And, as a special gimmick, a eleven year old Löwenbräu Helles which tasted like very weird honey or mead mixed with old beer.

[agladman]

In Praise of Beer in Cans

In Praise of Beer in Cans

I met with friends in a trendy burger place the other day. It was ticking along pretty nicely. Busy tables. Busy waitresses. People busy enjoying themselves. We were there to take on ballast before heading to the taproom next door to sink a few local beers.

Most of the group were what you might call beer people.  But for one, let’s call him Dan, this was not home turf. In his own words, Dan…

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[agladman]

Off flavour training: how to get your head around bad beer

I'm sharing some specialised beer knowledge for #BeeryLongReads2018 - Off flavour training: how to get your head around bad beer

It’s time for something a little bit specialised today. One for the real beer nerds. If you’re interested in training for a career in beer, or if you’re a home brewer, this is for you.

When you’re training as a Beer Sommelier or Cicerone, developing your palate is extremely important. It’s your main tool after all, so best keep it sharp.

This means tasting lots of beer, which is usually no…

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