Tasting BELGIAN BEERS A beer lovers’ manual With the help of 2 This manual came

Tasting BELGIAN BEERS A beer lovers’ manual With the help of 2 This manual came about with the help of our friend and brewer Dany De Smet. Dany is a graduated beer expert from Gijzenzele now residing in Melle, Belgium. He graduated in 1992 from the University of Ghent with a “brewing technology” degree and a thesis on ‘fluorescence microscopy of yeast cultures’. After his studies Dany has worked several years with brewery Huyghe in Melle as a quality manager. Between 1995 and 1999, Dany joined the University of Ghent were he trained students and amateur brewers. Dany taught theoretical courses in ‘Brewery Technology’ and ‘Quality’ and gave practical lab trainings. Since 1999 Dany created various beer recipes in conjunction with Proef Brewery in Lochristi, Belgium. The project goes under the name of “Slaapmutske” (http://www. slaapmutske.be). The “Slaapmutske” range have won several awards in various countries over the years. Dany is a passionate beer sommelier for Belgibeer as well as a beer architect to many other brewers and beer lovers. 3 Pouring the beer. If you are pouring the beer yourself from a bottle, gently run it down the side of the glass. Judge your pour speed based on the head that is forming. Aim to have about a two finger head when you’re done. Some beers contain visible yeast at the bottom of the bottle that is meant to be drunk with the beer. If this is the case, stop the pour with a bit of beer left in the bottle. Take a moment to look at the colour and brightness of the beer, then swirl the remaining liquid to lift the yeast sediment and pour it into your glass. Check again colour before drinking and note any differences from before. It is very important to choose the right glass for the beer you are going to taste. If possible, always use the specially designed glassware for the beer you intend to drink. If you don’t have a specific glass, the following rule shall apply: the stronger the alcohol content, the rounder the glass (i.e. similar to a wine glass). Beer glassware should never be washed with chemical detergents as those may influence the taste. Always rinse the glass with clear water and dry it with a clearcotton towel. TIP TIP A good looking (and tasty) beer will have the bubbles equal in size, creamy and leave a thick almost sticky foam to the clean beer glass. 4 Note whether the head is dense or thin. Heads are sometimes described as rocky if they are especially dense with dips and peaks forming as some of the bubbles pop. The color of the head is also worth noting and can range from pure white on Pilsners to light or medium brown on some stouts and porters. Examine the appearance of the beer itself. Hold the glass up to the light and note the color and whether it is cloudy or clear. A good all-malt (blond) beer should, on average, retain half of its head for a minute leave “Brussels” lace on the side of the glass as the foamy head falls. Appearance. 5 Aroma. A beer’s aroma is a very complex and interesting aspect to discover! The aroma is determined by the choice of malts and/or sugars and/or herbs used during the brew as well as the variety of hops, the aromatic components that come from the yeast and the fermentation process. When tasting a beer note whether it smells primarily of hops or malts. Generally speaking light colored beers will smell more of hops while darker beers tend to have pronounced malt, roasted, chocolate or coffee aroma. Many ales have a hard to pin down spiciness or fruitiness from their yeasts. Take your time with the aroma. Try to take three good sniffs before your first sip. If you’re taking notes, stop to write your impressions before the first sip distracts you. Be careful to take your time with each sniff as your perception of smell is dulled the more sniffs you odor. Scent also helps deepen the taste and flavor of a beer: NEVER drink beer straight from the bottle pour traditional Belgian beer in your specifically designed “Belgibeer” glass or the brewery’s glassware. 6 If you’d like to discover hop aromatic components intensively, you should know that aromatic hop components chemically concentrate in the beer’s head. So to detect such components you first have to swirl the beer to create some foam, then intensely observe and smell its aroma. Depending on the variety of hops used, you can discover aromas ranging from flowery to spicy or citric! To observe the aromatic components of the yeast and fermentation process, you may smell the beer while you gently swirl the beer. The beer can be smelled without the foam to discover the fruitiness or spiciness of its body. TIP When taking your first sip, try to note the initial sensation as the beer enters your mouth. Think about whether it is sweet, bitter or something else. Beer, especially ale, can be very complex. There can be quite a difference between the first taste and the finish. That is why the first sip is always accomplished without swirling the beer in your mouth. Just take the sip and experience what happens in your mouth. Does is taste hoppy, sweet, malty, spicy..? First sip. This is the texture of the beer or how it physically feels in your mouth. Beer ranges from silky dry stouts, to thick and chewy Scotch ales to thin and fizzy Berliner weisses. This is an important characteristic of a beer. Mouthfeel. TIP To really experience the mouthfeel you have to swirl the beer around in your mouth. Experience the tinseling of the carbon dioxide (foam). Is the beer dry and bitter or thick and malt sweet? 7 Note the lingering flavors after you swallow the drink. Often it can be bitter from the hops or a lingering malty sweetness. Always very interesting to try to follow the evolution of the aroma and the taste while you are drinking the beer. Aromatic components are usually volatile. The way you experience a beer can and will change while your beer warms up and while in contact with the open air. This is a real discovery for the experienced beer taster! Finish. TIP Do not taste new beers with food or soon after eating. The lingering flavors from food can greatly affect your impression of the brew. Cleanse your palate with water. Crackers or cheese with our celery salt sprinkled over it are great but you should remember that even these foods can affect the apparent flavors of the beer. If you’re tasting a number of different beers, let the color be your guide. It is best to taste from light to dark. 8 Foam • Beautiful creamy and stable foam (1 to 2 fingers). • Stable little bubbles. Body • Hazy body: unfiltered and unpasteurized beer • Alcohol percentage of at least 8% • Perfect balance between hops, yeast and malt • Multiple fermentation, the last of which is bottlefermented. • Sediment at the bottom of the glass due to yeast (you can drink: it’s very healthy!) • Ideal temperature to savour all the beer flavours: between 6°C and 8°C Glass • Tulip glass: A tulip glass not only helps trap the aroma, but also aids in maintaining large heads, creating a visual and olfactory sensation. A typical Belgian beer. 9 • Expensive • Artisanal production • Large selection of beers, developing different styles often according to season • Consumer focused on savouring beer: quality • Complex, for which you have to develop a taste • High quality ingredients • Keeping the natural colour, body and flavour of beer: unfiltered and unpasteurized • Variety based on seasonality of hops and yeast • Focus on the product • The emphasis is put on beer itself • Marketing based on providing a greater diversity of beer styles • Promotes local economies Craft 10 • Cheap • Mass production • Small selection of mediocre and tasteless beers • Consumer focused on mass consumption: quantity • Easy to drink • Low/average ingredients: artificial yeast, preservatives, corn used instead of malt, colorants, ... • As bland a taste and appearance as possible: filtered and pasteurized beers • Uniform taste throughout the year • Focus on the brand • Beer is seen as a cheap accessory: for camping, while watching soccer or football • Huge marketing campaigns, sometimes targeting children for future consumption • Protectionism and market saturation in the Food and Beverage industry Industrial 11 History of Belgian beer. In 1364, Emperor Charles IV enacted the “Novus Modus Fermentandi Cerevisiam” decree, seeking to improve the quality of beer with his ’new’ brewing method that required brewers to use hops. In Germany, the “Reinheitsgebot” (1516) stated that beer could be brewed exclusively from barley, hops and water In Halle, in Flemish Brabant, a city account from 1559 refers to a mash for brewing “lambiek” uploads/Litterature/ tasting-belgian-beers-a-beer-lovers-x27-manual.pdf

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