Browsing Category: "How To"
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While the best way to drink a Coors Light (if you’re forced to do so in the first place) is to plug your nose and chug as quickly as you can, perhaps it’s needless to say that with “better beer” comes a better tasting experience. And here’s how to properly do so:
image by The Washington Post
1. Appearance: Before you take your first sip, look at your beer. Hold it up to the light and observe the color – is it brown, red, golden, pitch black? Is the beer itself crystal clear or hazy? Now how about the head – is it thick and pillowy or did it dissipate quickly? How about the color of the head, pure white (common to pilsners and other light-bodied beers), deep tan (common to stouts and porters), or somewhere in between?
2. Aroma: Smell the beer. Is there the spicy, citrusy, piney aroma of hops or the burnt, toasted, chocolate, coffee aroma of malted barley? What are some of the other spices or fruit smells (often caused by different yeast strains) present? Raisins or cloves? Banana or bubblegum? Pinning down the smells can be the toughest part of the tasting process and takes awhile to master. Be sure and take your time and check back in on the aroma of the beer as you drink – it often changes and morphs as the beer warms.
3. The First Sip: When you take your first sip – swirl it around in your mouth and over your tongue; note the initial sensations the beer causes. Is the brew sweet, bitter, sour or something else? As you’re beginning to learn, beer (especially ale) can be very complex and there can be quite a difference between the first sip and the finish.
4. Mouthfeel: This aspect is more important (and maybe more fun) than it sounds. The mouthfeel – The texture of the beer and how it feels in your mouth – of beer ranges from silky & dry and thick & chewy to thin and fizzy. Is your beer slick on your tongue?
5. Finish: Note the flavors that stay behind after you swallow – is it the bitter hops or the sweet malt? Before you take your next, and subsequent, sips make note of your final detections and rethink your conclusions about the beer.
6.Enjoy: This, needless to say, is the most important part. For God’s sake, take pleasure in your beer.
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This is part six, the final post of a six-part series (click here for part one, part two, part three, part four & part five) on improving your beer drinking experience. While the series is written for Better Beer newcomers, it is advice that is beneficial to even the most seasoned beer drinkers out there. Cheers.
image by Diana Nevermind
I had the topic for part-six planned since, well, 6 days ago but it was the only one I hadn’t written yet. So I found it a tad ironic when I woke this morning to see an article in my RSS reader from today’s Washington Post entitled “Thinking Outside the Wine List” all about pairing beer and food together.
The concept of pairing beer and food is a relatively new one, or at least its popularity is. But Julia Herz, craft beer program director for the Brewers Association, said to The Post,
“We believe that tying beer to food is the way to keep craft beer sales growing.”
Or, as Garrett Oliver – the Brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewing Co. – says in his book, The Brewmaster’s Table,
I love wine and frequently enjoy it with my meals. But I’ve never enjoyed wine with all the types of food that I actually eat every day. A roast rack of lamb? Sure, I’d love to have a bottle of Burgundy (though I know beers that will match the lamb just as well). But how about Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Middle Eastern, Indian, and Cajun cuisine, and American barbecue? I love this stuff too, and I don’t want wine with it. Yes, I’ve had all the wines that will supposedly match these foods. Guess what? They are a poor substitute for traditional beer. Why? Because spices distort wine flavors, turning white wines hot and red wines bitter. Because wine doesn’t refresh the palate the way beer does. Because wine has no caramelized or roasted flavors to match those in our favorite dishes. And because, even according to wine experts, there are many foods that are simply no good with wine.
But, if you’re new to pairing beer & food with one another, where should you begin?
- Match strength with strength. Obviously delicate dishes work best with delicate beers, and vice versa; strong foods call for strong beers.
- Find harmonies. Combinations often work best when they share some common flavor or aroma elements. For instance. the nutty taste of a brown ale accents cheddar cheese perfectly. While the dark, strong, roasted flavors of an imperial stout go hand-in-hand with chocolate truffles. The rich flavors of caramel malt in an Oktoberfest accent a roasted pork, and so on.
- Consider sweetness, bitterness, carbonation, spice and richness. The characteristics of food and beer interact with each other in predictable ways. Put a little thought into what’s on the plate in front of you - taking advantage of these interactions ensures that the food and beer will balance each other, each giving you a desire for a taste of the other.
- Consider seasonality. Like light food and beer in the warm summer months or heavier beer in the winter, the beers and foods of a given season pair very naturally and suit the mood as well.
The truth is that practice makes perfect. You won’t get a pairing to be 100% accuracte on your first try but, before you know it, you’ll have the practice of pairing beer and food down to a science. The long and the short of it - don’t be afraid to try things out and seek new possibilities; the best pairings have yet to be discovered. As the Brewer’s Association reminds us,
All beer and food combinations should involve both of these principles. Some pairings will be more dependent on the contrasts, others on complementary flavors, but all should strive for some kind of balance. The chart at the left shows the important contrasting elements.
For more on pairing beer and food: read the list of basic food and beer style pairings from the Brewer’s Association’s website or their list of craft beer and food pairings specially designed for the holidays.
Also check out The Best of American Beer and Food
All of these and more
Well, that does it for “How to Drink Better Beer”, I hope you enjoyed all six posts. Don’t want to miss out on any more of the great offerings from Blog About Beer? Subscribe to the RSS feed now!
Technorati Tags: beer, food, food & beer pairing, wine, Brewers Association
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This is part five of a six-part series (click here for part one, part two, part three, part four, part five & part six) on improving your beer drinking experience. While the series is written for Better Beer newcomers, it is advice that is beneficial to even the most seasoned beer drinkers out there. Cheers.
I’m the first to admit that there’s nothing as refreshing as an ice cold brew on a hot summer day at the ball park. But when enjoying a well crafted beer with character, make sure that you serve the beer between 45-50F (not 35-40F where most American’s set their refrigerators).
These lower temperatures may add to refreshment on a warm day, but the cold temperatures essentially numb the tongue, making it harder to perceive the flavors and aromas of the beer. Allowing a beer to warm up a little before you drink it will go a long way to releasing the true flavors locked inside.
Be sure and check back tomorrow for Part 6 of “How to Drink Better Beer”. Be sure and subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss another moment of BAB!
(image by badangus5)
Technorati Tags: beer, temperature, ice cold beer
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This is part four of a six-part series (click here for part one, part two, part three, part four, part five & part six) on improving your beer drinking experience. While the series is written for Better Beer newcomers, it is advice that is beneficial to even the most seasoned beer drinkers out there. Cheers.
Part two of this series described all of the smells and tastes that can come from a properly poured and drunk beer, but lots of those sensory stimulants are enhanced when the beer is drunk from the right kind of glass.In order to fully experience all of the characteristics expertly crafted into a beer, you need to drink it from the right kind of glassware:
- For aromatic, hoppy, or strong beers, try glassware that resembles a brandy snifter. This type of class will trap the complex and exciting fruity aromas released by the carbonation.
- Elegant and complex beers are enhanced by slender and thin-walled glassware.
- Hearty, dark beers like stouts, browns and porters work best in hearty straight-up pint glasses or handled mugs.
- And lastly, for barrel-aged and/or very strong brews, try short-stemmed wine-type glassware.
Be sure and check back tomorrow for Part 5 of “How to Drink Better Beer”. Be sure and subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss another moment of BAB!
(image by clappstar)
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This is part three of a six-part series (click here for part one, part two, part three, part four, part five & part six) on improving your beer drinking experience. While the series is written for Better Beer newcomers, it is advice that is beneficial to even the most seasoned beer drinkers out there. Cheers.
Yes it’s true that some beers that are high in alcohol content (ABV), have been aged already, or are very hoppy can be cellered — in the right conditions — for years, just like wine. Enjoying a cellered beer after a year or two is a wonderful treat and something you should absolutely get your hands on, if given the opportunity.
However, most of the beer you buy every week is going to be much tastier if consumed fresh. Check the bottles’ freshness dates like you do when buying milk, and try to purchase beer within 90 days of being bottled or within the manufacturers Best Before Date (many brewers provide a freshness date on their package), if there is one.
To get the most out of the beer you buy (which is especially advisable as the price begins to climb), take care of it. If it’s celler-able, keep it in the celler; if it’s low in alcohol and belongs in the fridge, keep it in the fridge. Not taking care of the beer you buy before you drink it will result in the loss of all of the little nuances I mentioned yesterday, as the beer begins to skunk. There are reasons beer is refered to as “liquid bread”; would you enjoy a loaf of bread more three months or a few days after you bought it?
Be sure and check back tomorrow for Part 4 of “How to Drink Better Beer”. Be sure and subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss another moment of BAB!
(image by one/million)
Technorati Tags: beer, How To, Fresh Beer
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This is part two of a six-part series (click here for part one, part two, part three, part four, part five & part six) on improving your beer drinking experience. While the series is written for Better Beer newcomers, it is advice that is beneficial to even the most seasoned beer drinkers out there. Cheers.
If you’re drinking at home, pouring your beer can be a delicate process. Too quickly and you’re left with more head than beer; pour too slowly or use the side of the glass too much and you’re left without any head at all. The perfect pint should, of course, have a nice, balanced combination of the two.What’s the best way to do that? Well, start by pouring the beer straight down the middle of the glass. Then, as the head forms to your liking, slow down the pour and shift to pour from the side.
People drinking wine will always leave room at the top of their glass and swirl and smell their wine before drinking, but this process isn’t unique to wine-drinking (or at least it shouldn’t be). You always want to leave a little open space at the top of your glass in order to smell the beer and swirl it in your glass (without spilling). Doing this will release the carbon dioxide carbonation — which brings with it the aromas of the hops, malt, and fermentation — out of the beer, through the foam of the head and to your senses. Like wine, gently inhale as you quaff your brew.
Next, be cognizant of your senses as you drink. I know this is easier said than done but if you do so, you’ll begin to notice exciting shifts in flavor and aroma balances as you drain your glass and the beer warms. Look for floral and spicy hop smells and tastes, sweet and roasted malt characters, fruity fermentation, bold, complex alcohol, and other intended (or not) surprises. Can you taste the beer on the front of your tongue or the back? Is the beer slick on the tongue or drying, and how does the taste change from sip to swallow?
There is no need to be obsessive about these observations (at least not when you’re starting out on your journey of beer appreciation) but just being aware of the subtle nuances and differences in all beers will quickly elevate your appreciation and heighten your new obsession.
Be sure and check back tomorrow for Part 3 of “How to Drink Better Beer”. Be sure and subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss another moment of BAB!
(image by diegocardf)
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This is part one of a six-part series (click here for part one, part two, part three, part four, part five & part six) on improving your beer drinking experience. While the series is written for Better Beer newcomers, it is advice that is beneficial to even the most seasoned beer drinkers out there. Cheers.
Nearly every town in the first world of any magnitude has a watering hole worth visiting – and the ones that don’t aren’t worth visiting – but finding them can sometimes be a chore; especially if what you’re after is the best beer lineup. There are also thousands of breweries scattered around the world, many of which offer tours (and tastings).Seeking out the best beer can be done easily in one of two ways: if you know exactly where you’re heading on a trip before you leave, check the Internets. There are plenty of sites, such as The Beer Mapping Project, which list and map out the best pubs and breweries in the U.S.
The second option is – once on the ground at your destination – to ask the locals. They often can recommend pubs and bars that are less touristy and more down to earth. No one knows the local bars better than those who call a town home. More often than not, you will find their recommendations vastly different than the heavily commercialized offerings you might find listed in your hotel directory, for instance.
Be sure and check back tomorrow for Part 2 of “How to Drink Better Beer”. Be sure and subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t miss another moment of BAB!
(image by Sandra Leidholdt)
Technorati Tags: beer, How to, craft beer, pub, brewery
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