Someone recently asked me this question, and I thought it was a really good question. Working in the bar and restaurant industry for over a decade, I guess most of my beer, wine, and spirit knowledge just kind of came to me. Or I learned of opportunities to pursue that knowledge through work, vendors, or conversations with coworkers.
So, my advice to someone looking to learn about wine. First, buy The Wine Bible. This book is incredibly overwhelming and challenging, even for people that know a fair amount about wine, to read cover to cover. But as you read through it, and learn more about wine, you can learn a lot from it, and it will make a lot more sense. It is also a great reference point.
Second, have fun with it. When you talk about wine, or beer, or spirits, you're talking about something that engages all of your senses. Sitting in a class, or reading a book, on its own, first of all, will just not be as fun as having a few glasses. Second of all, unless you learn by engaging all of your senses, you won't really learn in a useful way.
My advice is to do one, or all, of three things.
1) Taste with a friend that knows more about wine than you do. You, as the aspiring learner, should express what you see, smell, and taste first. Let them fill in the gaps or help you find the words you're looking for.
2) Print out, or have someone print out, tasting notes, either from the winemaker, or from the internet. Don't read the notes. Taste the wine you want to try, write down your own tasting notes, and then compare them.
3) Taste with another friend who doesn't know a lot about wine. Make sure you're taking turns "going first," or each of you write down your own tasting notes while you taste, then compare, and revisit the wine after comparing.
The keys to all three of these things are:
1) Actually taste the wine.
2) Taste it blind to the opinions of others. See what you experience first. This is the only way to truly learn wine, or to truly enjoy wine. The power of suggestion can be deceptive. If I tell you a wine is grassy, that is the first thing you will taste, or, if it's not, you will be so busy tasting for grass you miss the other fun flavors in the wine.
3) Use your friends, printed wine notes, books, or other resources, to help you find flavors and aromas you might not be as sensitive to. Everyone's senses work differently, and you may either not be as perceptive to a particular smell or flavor, or you may perceive it differently than someone else.
4) Use a knowledgeable friend, the label, wine notes, etc. to both learn "wine words" and to help you identify what you are tasting. Sometimes you will know exactly what you're tasting, but not be able to find the word, identify the flavor exactly, or connect it to something else. Hearing or seeing it right after tasting it will help you make those connections.
Hope this is helpful for anyone looking to learn more about wine. Luckily, in the last 5-10 years, I think largely because craft beer has popped up as serious competition, the wine world has become a little more casual. People are less and less concerned about "proper" training or using the right words, and more concerned about making wine, and the way we talk about it, approachable and something people can relate to. So remember, when you're tasting wine, it's okay to say what it reminds you of, even if it seems silly. After all, "cat piss" is an acceptable (and even desirable) way to describe some wines.
Showing posts with label tasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tasting. Show all posts
Friday, April 10, 2015
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Flavor Sources in Beer
So, when tasting anything, it's important to know what you're looking for, and what different flavors came from, and what they mean. So here is a basic break down of the main flavor sources for beer. I'll start with the four main ingredients of beer, and then cover some extras.
Water is one of the four ingredients allowed under the German purity laws, and is an ingredient in every beer, and one which is often overlooked. Having pure, relatively soft water is important to the brewing process, because it allows the yeast to act as expected, as well as the hops, malt, and any other ingredients to express fully. Certain breweries like their beer to have certain minerals because it provides or highlights certain flavors. In most beers, water is not a significant source of flavor. If it does provide a flavor, it will be an earthy, mineral, or metalic flavor usually. It's important to understand, though, that the type of water used can make it impossible to brew a good beer, or certainly to brew certain styles of beer. The good news is that modern technology allows impurities to be filtered out, and minerals to be added back in.
Malt is another of the four "pure" beer ingredients. Malt is barley which has been partially germinated in order to release emylase, which in turn converts starch into fermentable sugar. Malt provides the bulk of beer flavor, and is necessary for the production of alcohol. Malt can be dried either just enough to stop germination, or it can be kiln dried and roasted, toasted, charred, or even burnt, to varying degrees. It can also be smoked. The degree of toasting on the finished malt determines the color, as well as flavor, of the finished beer. Malty flavors include cereal, bread, corn, and sweetness. Darker malts can also provide coffee, chocolate, caramel, toasted, nutty, and smokey flavors.
Yeast is the third "pure" beer ingredient. Yeast turns sugar into CO2 and alcohol, in its most basic function. The fermentable sugars which yeast consumes, however, have many components which are not directly turned into CO2 or alcohol. These are protein chains, acids, and other congeners which provide specific flavors, known as esthers. Certain yeast strains digest certain esthers and reprocess those. Others are unable to consume those same esthers. When we talk about yeast flavors, we are not talking about flavors that come from actually consuming yeast. We are talking about the esthers that particular yeast strains were unable to fully break down, and which remain in the finished beer. Common yeast-derrived flavor groups are fruit and certain spices. Almost any fruit flavor is yeast derrived. Black pepper, clove, and corriander are also fermentation and yeast derived flavorings. More extreme examples of yeast flavors, coming from wild or deliberately souring fermentation, are barnyard, funk, leather, and even sour or vinegar flavors. It is important to note that many off flavors are also yeast or bacteria derrived, and these flavors come from processing which has allowed un-intended yeasts access to beer.
Hops are the final "pure" beer ingredient. They were used primarily as a preservative originally, although with modern techniques, they are no longer necessary for that purpose. They provide important flavor and aroma characteristics, depending on the variety, as well as at what stage of the brewing process they are added. Hops can basically provide five things, or, for most strains, and certainly most beers (which use a blend of hops), a combination of them. Aroma, bitterness, citrus, pine/resin and grassy/floral flavors. Hop aroma can span the range of the other four, but it is important to note that certain hop varieties, and ways of hopping a beer, can contribute more to aroma then flavor. It is possible to have a beer with a very in your face hop bouquet which is much more subtle with actual hop flavors. Bitterness is an overall contribution to hops, and all hops provide a certain level of bitterness, but some varieties, and some beers, highlight the hop bitterness rather than the nuances of hop flavor and aroma. Citrus hops tend to lean toward grapefruit, and provide a refreshing counterbalance to the initial bitterness. Pine and resiny hops can vary from straight up spruce/Christmas tree to a skunky, marijuana-like aroma. Grassy and floral hops can provide a nice aroma and flavor as well.
Adjuncts are basically any ingredient not included above that is added to a beer at any stage. Some adjuncts, like wheat, rye, oats, sorghum, or other grains, or fruits (basically anything with natural starch or sugar) can be used along with malt to make the mash before fermentation. Some are added after fermentation. Those ingredients can have very different effects depending on when they are added. Adjuncts can cover a very wide range, from spices to fruits, to chilli pepper, to chocolate, to vanilla, and coffee. Some (fruits, spices, chocolate, coffee, nuts) are meant to enhance or highlight flavors already found in certain styles of beer, while others (chipotle peppers, etc.) can create a whole new flavor experience.
Aging/packaging/processing can also affect flavors. Most obviously, barrel aging a beer can affect the flavor tremendously. The age and the oak itself will contribute a lot of flavor, texture, and aroma contributions. Frequently, because of the expense of barrels, the relatively low retail price of beer, and just because of the special contributions, beers are aged in barrels which previously played host to wine, brandy, bourbon, or other spirits. These barrels can contribute both a higher alcohol content and interesting flavors. Processing beer can affect the flavor as well. Is a beer filtered, fined, centrifuged, or served en lees? Lees are dead yeast cells, which are often left in some beers, particularly wheat beers. If they are removed, the exact method can affect flavor as well. If a beer is bottle/keg/can conditioned, served on cask, or force carbonated, or some combination of them will affect mouth feel and flavor, as will the exact gas blend used.
Hopefully this is a good start to developing a beer palate, and knowing the important contributions that each decision a brewer makes can have on the final product.
Water is one of the four ingredients allowed under the German purity laws, and is an ingredient in every beer, and one which is often overlooked. Having pure, relatively soft water is important to the brewing process, because it allows the yeast to act as expected, as well as the hops, malt, and any other ingredients to express fully. Certain breweries like their beer to have certain minerals because it provides or highlights certain flavors. In most beers, water is not a significant source of flavor. If it does provide a flavor, it will be an earthy, mineral, or metalic flavor usually. It's important to understand, though, that the type of water used can make it impossible to brew a good beer, or certainly to brew certain styles of beer. The good news is that modern technology allows impurities to be filtered out, and minerals to be added back in.
Malt is another of the four "pure" beer ingredients. Malt is barley which has been partially germinated in order to release emylase, which in turn converts starch into fermentable sugar. Malt provides the bulk of beer flavor, and is necessary for the production of alcohol. Malt can be dried either just enough to stop germination, or it can be kiln dried and roasted, toasted, charred, or even burnt, to varying degrees. It can also be smoked. The degree of toasting on the finished malt determines the color, as well as flavor, of the finished beer. Malty flavors include cereal, bread, corn, and sweetness. Darker malts can also provide coffee, chocolate, caramel, toasted, nutty, and smokey flavors.
Yeast is the third "pure" beer ingredient. Yeast turns sugar into CO2 and alcohol, in its most basic function. The fermentable sugars which yeast consumes, however, have many components which are not directly turned into CO2 or alcohol. These are protein chains, acids, and other congeners which provide specific flavors, known as esthers. Certain yeast strains digest certain esthers and reprocess those. Others are unable to consume those same esthers. When we talk about yeast flavors, we are not talking about flavors that come from actually consuming yeast. We are talking about the esthers that particular yeast strains were unable to fully break down, and which remain in the finished beer. Common yeast-derrived flavor groups are fruit and certain spices. Almost any fruit flavor is yeast derrived. Black pepper, clove, and corriander are also fermentation and yeast derived flavorings. More extreme examples of yeast flavors, coming from wild or deliberately souring fermentation, are barnyard, funk, leather, and even sour or vinegar flavors. It is important to note that many off flavors are also yeast or bacteria derrived, and these flavors come from processing which has allowed un-intended yeasts access to beer.
Hops are the final "pure" beer ingredient. They were used primarily as a preservative originally, although with modern techniques, they are no longer necessary for that purpose. They provide important flavor and aroma characteristics, depending on the variety, as well as at what stage of the brewing process they are added. Hops can basically provide five things, or, for most strains, and certainly most beers (which use a blend of hops), a combination of them. Aroma, bitterness, citrus, pine/resin and grassy/floral flavors. Hop aroma can span the range of the other four, but it is important to note that certain hop varieties, and ways of hopping a beer, can contribute more to aroma then flavor. It is possible to have a beer with a very in your face hop bouquet which is much more subtle with actual hop flavors. Bitterness is an overall contribution to hops, and all hops provide a certain level of bitterness, but some varieties, and some beers, highlight the hop bitterness rather than the nuances of hop flavor and aroma. Citrus hops tend to lean toward grapefruit, and provide a refreshing counterbalance to the initial bitterness. Pine and resiny hops can vary from straight up spruce/Christmas tree to a skunky, marijuana-like aroma. Grassy and floral hops can provide a nice aroma and flavor as well.
Adjuncts are basically any ingredient not included above that is added to a beer at any stage. Some adjuncts, like wheat, rye, oats, sorghum, or other grains, or fruits (basically anything with natural starch or sugar) can be used along with malt to make the mash before fermentation. Some are added after fermentation. Those ingredients can have very different effects depending on when they are added. Adjuncts can cover a very wide range, from spices to fruits, to chilli pepper, to chocolate, to vanilla, and coffee. Some (fruits, spices, chocolate, coffee, nuts) are meant to enhance or highlight flavors already found in certain styles of beer, while others (chipotle peppers, etc.) can create a whole new flavor experience.
Aging/packaging/processing can also affect flavors. Most obviously, barrel aging a beer can affect the flavor tremendously. The age and the oak itself will contribute a lot of flavor, texture, and aroma contributions. Frequently, because of the expense of barrels, the relatively low retail price of beer, and just because of the special contributions, beers are aged in barrels which previously played host to wine, brandy, bourbon, or other spirits. These barrels can contribute both a higher alcohol content and interesting flavors. Processing beer can affect the flavor as well. Is a beer filtered, fined, centrifuged, or served en lees? Lees are dead yeast cells, which are often left in some beers, particularly wheat beers. If they are removed, the exact method can affect flavor as well. If a beer is bottle/keg/can conditioned, served on cask, or force carbonated, or some combination of them will affect mouth feel and flavor, as will the exact gas blend used.
Hopefully this is a good start to developing a beer palate, and knowing the important contributions that each decision a brewer makes can have on the final product.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
How To Taste Beer, Wine, and Spirits
So we all know how to drink, right? But how do you taste a beer, a wine, or a spirit to get the most unique and thorough tasting experience? Here's a few helpful hints:
Prepare
You shouldn't smoke, brush your teeth, or eat or drink anything with a strong flavor for about 15 minutes before you taste. Also, use appropriate glassware. If you are tasting specifically to hone your palate, or blind tasting, or doing any other type of formal tasting, you will want a clear glass that allows a good view from all angles of your beverage of choice. You will also want something with plenty of room to breath, and a tapered opening. This will allow the aromas to fully develop in the glass, but also concentrate them on your nose and palate. Snifters and red wine glasses make great tasting glasses.
Look
You want to look at the beer, wine, or spirit first, especially if you are blind tasting, or tasting against a certain style or varietal. You are looking for several things: color, shade, opaqueness, haze, sediment, etc. With sparkling wine and beer, you're also looking at the carbonation. Are the bubbles large or small? Do they rise quickly or slowly, or do they just kind of linger at the sides of the glass or the top? With beer in particular, is there a head? What is the color and consistency of the head? Does it hold or dissipate quickly? Once it dissipates, does it leave lacing on the sides of the glass? Give the glass a slow swirl. Especially with beer and sparkling wine, be gentle. When you swirl the glass, does the beverage leave "legs" or streaks on the glass? This is a good indication of texture, and can give you some clues about residual sugar as well as alcohol content of what you are tasting. All of these factors can provide important clues as to what you're about to drink, or give you some indication of the quality and the adherence to style guidelines and prototypes.
Smell
Our taste buds only taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. The rest of what we perceive as flavor is actually tied to our sense of smell. In order to fully appreciate a drink, we should smell it before we taste it. Give the glass another gentle swirl. This will release more smells inside the glass. Several short sniffs are better than one long one. Especially if you are in a place with other smells, try to isolate the smells of the drink. Don't be afraid to stick your nose right in the glass. Or, make a cup using your hand, or even waft the aromas of the beverage toward your nose. If you are blind tasting, look for smells that stick out as telltale aromas of certain styles, then narrow it down from there. If you are not blind tasting, run through some smells you might expect from this particular spirit, beer style, or varietal. Use the opportunity of smelling the beverage to pull out fruit, caramel, chocolate, or other notes which can easily be confused with sweetness, and make note of them so you can use them later. Let your mind run wild. Our sense of smell is closely linked to a lot of emotional memories, which can mean that smelling a drink can be the most enjoyable part about tasting it!
Taste
Yes, you finally get to taste the spirit. There are a lot of things you're looking for here, and I find that the best way to get them all is to actually taste in three separate sips.
The first sip, wash the beverage through your mouth. Wash it over, under, and around your tongue. Make sure it hits the tip of the tongue, the back of your throat, the roof of your mouth, and swallow it. Although it is a myth that we only taste certain tastes on certain parts of the tongues, the receptors for each taste are distributed differently in each part of the mouth. Swishing the drink over everything allows you to perceive the tastes at different parts of the mouth and tongue. Pay particular attention to sweetness and bitterness here. Sweetness can be tricky, and this is where the smells you picked up on earlier come in. Sweetness in alcoholic beverages comes from residual (unfermented) sugars. Do you get sweetness when you are more focused on the basic flavors of the drink? Or is a chocolate, caramel, fruit, or other flavor giving an illusion of sweetness? Finally, use this as an opportunity to assess the mouthfeel and body of the beer, wine, or spirit. Does it glide right off your tongue? Does it leave a sticky, syrupy residue? Is it somewhere in between? Does it make you pucker up? Does it leave parts of your mouth dry and thirsty for more? This can tell you a lot about the characteristics of a beer, wine, or spirit.
The second sip, swallow the beverage, and immediately exhale through your nose. This will give you a rush of "flavors" as your sense of smell kicks in to process all of the vapors left behind from your drink. This should be the most intense part of the tasting, allowing your senses of smell and taste to interact completely. Look for the same smells you got when you smelled, as well as any new surprises. Do the flavors all come at once? Is there a taste you got when you first took the sip that fades into another mid-palate, and yet another as you exhale?
Finally, just take a sip. Drink it like you would if you were at the dinner table, or at a party with friends. Hopefully your perception is enhanced by the whole exercise of tasting. At the end of the day, though, your overall impression should be based on what you enjoy or don't enjoy on a daily basis. Is the flavor pleasant? Do all of the things you've tasted before blend together nicely, fight for attention, or each stand out individually? Is one dominant over the others? Does one particular flavor linger on the palate? Most importantly, now that you have (hopefully) gained a better understanding of the wine, beer, or spirit, how do you like it? Is it your new favorite, one you can't wait to have more of, a good choice, or not for you?
Tasting can be both fun and educational. Blind tasting is a great way to develop your palate. Tasting a product (even one you've had a million times) in a more thoughtful and structured way is a great way to become more familiar with it, and hopefully gain a deeper appreciation.
Prepare
You shouldn't smoke, brush your teeth, or eat or drink anything with a strong flavor for about 15 minutes before you taste. Also, use appropriate glassware. If you are tasting specifically to hone your palate, or blind tasting, or doing any other type of formal tasting, you will want a clear glass that allows a good view from all angles of your beverage of choice. You will also want something with plenty of room to breath, and a tapered opening. This will allow the aromas to fully develop in the glass, but also concentrate them on your nose and palate. Snifters and red wine glasses make great tasting glasses.
Look
You want to look at the beer, wine, or spirit first, especially if you are blind tasting, or tasting against a certain style or varietal. You are looking for several things: color, shade, opaqueness, haze, sediment, etc. With sparkling wine and beer, you're also looking at the carbonation. Are the bubbles large or small? Do they rise quickly or slowly, or do they just kind of linger at the sides of the glass or the top? With beer in particular, is there a head? What is the color and consistency of the head? Does it hold or dissipate quickly? Once it dissipates, does it leave lacing on the sides of the glass? Give the glass a slow swirl. Especially with beer and sparkling wine, be gentle. When you swirl the glass, does the beverage leave "legs" or streaks on the glass? This is a good indication of texture, and can give you some clues about residual sugar as well as alcohol content of what you are tasting. All of these factors can provide important clues as to what you're about to drink, or give you some indication of the quality and the adherence to style guidelines and prototypes.
Smell
Our taste buds only taste sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. The rest of what we perceive as flavor is actually tied to our sense of smell. In order to fully appreciate a drink, we should smell it before we taste it. Give the glass another gentle swirl. This will release more smells inside the glass. Several short sniffs are better than one long one. Especially if you are in a place with other smells, try to isolate the smells of the drink. Don't be afraid to stick your nose right in the glass. Or, make a cup using your hand, or even waft the aromas of the beverage toward your nose. If you are blind tasting, look for smells that stick out as telltale aromas of certain styles, then narrow it down from there. If you are not blind tasting, run through some smells you might expect from this particular spirit, beer style, or varietal. Use the opportunity of smelling the beverage to pull out fruit, caramel, chocolate, or other notes which can easily be confused with sweetness, and make note of them so you can use them later. Let your mind run wild. Our sense of smell is closely linked to a lot of emotional memories, which can mean that smelling a drink can be the most enjoyable part about tasting it!
Taste
Yes, you finally get to taste the spirit. There are a lot of things you're looking for here, and I find that the best way to get them all is to actually taste in three separate sips.
The first sip, wash the beverage through your mouth. Wash it over, under, and around your tongue. Make sure it hits the tip of the tongue, the back of your throat, the roof of your mouth, and swallow it. Although it is a myth that we only taste certain tastes on certain parts of the tongues, the receptors for each taste are distributed differently in each part of the mouth. Swishing the drink over everything allows you to perceive the tastes at different parts of the mouth and tongue. Pay particular attention to sweetness and bitterness here. Sweetness can be tricky, and this is where the smells you picked up on earlier come in. Sweetness in alcoholic beverages comes from residual (unfermented) sugars. Do you get sweetness when you are more focused on the basic flavors of the drink? Or is a chocolate, caramel, fruit, or other flavor giving an illusion of sweetness? Finally, use this as an opportunity to assess the mouthfeel and body of the beer, wine, or spirit. Does it glide right off your tongue? Does it leave a sticky, syrupy residue? Is it somewhere in between? Does it make you pucker up? Does it leave parts of your mouth dry and thirsty for more? This can tell you a lot about the characteristics of a beer, wine, or spirit.
The second sip, swallow the beverage, and immediately exhale through your nose. This will give you a rush of "flavors" as your sense of smell kicks in to process all of the vapors left behind from your drink. This should be the most intense part of the tasting, allowing your senses of smell and taste to interact completely. Look for the same smells you got when you smelled, as well as any new surprises. Do the flavors all come at once? Is there a taste you got when you first took the sip that fades into another mid-palate, and yet another as you exhale?
Finally, just take a sip. Drink it like you would if you were at the dinner table, or at a party with friends. Hopefully your perception is enhanced by the whole exercise of tasting. At the end of the day, though, your overall impression should be based on what you enjoy or don't enjoy on a daily basis. Is the flavor pleasant? Do all of the things you've tasted before blend together nicely, fight for attention, or each stand out individually? Is one dominant over the others? Does one particular flavor linger on the palate? Most importantly, now that you have (hopefully) gained a better understanding of the wine, beer, or spirit, how do you like it? Is it your new favorite, one you can't wait to have more of, a good choice, or not for you?
Tasting can be both fun and educational. Blind tasting is a great way to develop your palate. Tasting a product (even one you've had a million times) in a more thoughtful and structured way is a great way to become more familiar with it, and hopefully gain a deeper appreciation.
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