Sit back and relax. Here are ten top tips on the beer experience:
- Serve at the best temperature
Like all quality drinks, beer demands to be served at a temperature that best releases its flavours and aromas. Serve too cold and these will be lost. Serve too warm and the liveliness of the bubbles and the satisfying refreshment element will also be lost. Beer is best served at the temperature recommended by the master brewer as indicated on the bottle.
- Listen carefully
Tasting beer should be an experience that engages all the senses. Listen to the sharp hiss as you remove the top and the indulgent glug, glug as the beer is poured smoothly into the glass.
- Pour it gently
To release the full flavour and aroma of beer, and to get the right head of froth, tilt the glass 20 to 45 degrees and start by letting it squirt to the bottom. When a suitable amount of foam has formed, the rest of the beer should slide down the side of the glass. Aim for a head of about 2 cm. Do not fill the glass too much and leave room for the aroma to gather at the top.
- Drink it with your eyes
What’s your first impression of the beer? Hold it up to the light. Enjoy the colour and clarity. Is it the colour of straw? Is it darker than that? Look at the foam. Is it airy or dense? Check the liveliness of the bubbles.
- Let the nose do some work
You taste good beer by using both the mouth and the nose. Activate your sense of smell by sniffing air in short breaths. Does the beer smell like hops and flowers, grain and malt? What does it remind you of? Beer contains a lot of aroma. Sniff it out.
- The moment of contact
Sip the beer. Your lips are one of the most sensitive parts of the body. Enjoy the moment the beer first enters your mouth. If you lift up your tongue and let the beer slide down the sides, you will feel its liveliness as the carbonic acid is released.
- Enjoying the flavour
Sweetness is tasted at the front of the tongue and bitterness at the back. The bitterness of beer is very important to its flavour. Unlike wine tasters, the expert beer taster never spits the beer out during a tasting. The bitter flavour would be lost.
- Once swallowed
The first sip of beer will open all your senses to a range of sensations. What is the temperature of the beer? The alcohol it contains will determine its fullness and warmth.
- You’re in good company
Beer is best enjoyed as it has been since ancient times: in the company of friends or partners. Beer is a celebration of life, a social event, the moment when the day’s events can be talked about and plans for tomorrow made.