How do you figure out what you like in a beer?

[Chevette Girl]

I am interested in trying out making beer or braggot but I need to figure out what I like first.

Problem is, I'm not sure how I should be figuring that out, other than drinking and taking notes... is there any kind of trick to figuring out what it is you like about a beer, other than "I'd drink this again" versus "is it almost finished yet"?

After adding hops to a mel, by the smell anyway, I think I like hops...

I know I don't like that much bitter anything but I think it can be OK if it's a sweeter beer...

I know I liked the coffee porter my friend brought around once, but I don't know what I liked about it... I think maybe before I do much more tasting I need to come up with things to think about while I'm tasting in order to figure out what it is about it that I like...

I remember disliking Bud, finding Coors and Canadian to be drinkable, I like Blue but it's been a while since I've had it... Keaths IPA is nice, I recall Rickards Red is fine, Urbock's a little strong, and I'll even drink the odd Guiness, Laker's honey is nice, and I know all these are really disparate but I don't know what makes any of them something I like. Is it a good idea to try them all against each other or separately or what?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[kudapucat]

Find out who's a beer connoisseur that you know.
Tell them you don't like beer, but think it's because you're uneducated. They will not be able to resist showing you their full range of beers they love.

 

[TheAlchemist]

Take a course and become a BJCP judge! Then they can use your help at the Mazer's Cup! Plus you'll have all the education you'd ever want in brews!

 

[AToE]

There's a few major factors that go into making a beer what it is. Hops can contribute bitterness, flavour and/or aroma (depending on when they're added in the process), different people like different amounts of each of these, and even that amount changes depending on the style of beer. Plus, there are different kinds of hops that have very different characteristics.

Then there's malt, which contributes many flavours and aromas, and is responsible for the sweetness and alcohol. How much malt to use, how to process it, and what kind... there's nearly unlimited possibilities. Some malts contribute caramel character, some more like biscuts, some burnt, some toasty, some different colours, some different amounts of unfermentable sugars, the list goes on.

Then there's yeast, most are subtley different until you get into the Belgian style ones, which have as much impact on the final product as any other ingredient does.

It gets overwhelming quickly. The best way to learn about beer though is to make it I say. I remember the first time I opened a bag of hops and put it in the boil, from that day forth I was actually able to start picking apart what was going on in beer I was drinking.

Here's my recommendation. You find a beer you really like, and you google to find a clone recipe, it will probably exist. Come back here with that recipe (or recipes if there were different ones) and people here will help you move forward from there!

 

[Medsen Fey]

Much like mead, a little focused tasting will help you describe what you find, and you can then get a feel for the characteristics you like. This beer tasting wheel may help you.

 

[AToE]

Much like mead, a little focused tasting will help you describe what you find, and you can then get a feel for the characteristics you like. This beer tasting wheel may help you.

Neat. I have a question though, I've always taken "aroma" and "bouquet" to mean precisely the same thing, one was just "fancy talk". The linked-to page seems to say they're two different things though?

What's up?

 

[Medsen Fey]

I don't happen to agree with their separation of aroma and bouquet in beer. In their definition, bouquet is from hops, aroma is from malt. They sort of miss yeast-produced esters and such.

In wine tasting, I think there is more room for a distinction between aroma and bouquet. Aroma is the smell you get from the grapes and fermentation and maturation prior to bottling. Bouquet is that character that develops in the bottle with aging. With wines, the fruity character from the grapes (aroma) tends to fade over time, while the bottle bouquet tends to develop with age.

 

[AToE]

Weird, that's all I have to say about that.

 

[mccann51]

AToE's suggestion of Googling clones of beers you like is a good one. I've done this a lot (mostly in regards to hops), and it really helps to start distinguishing what ingredients impart what flavors, especially when there's so damn many (ingredients)!

A good way to try a lot of different beers is mix-packs, where a store has selection of beers and then you make your own sixer. This isn't the most common thing, but if you come across it take advantage of the opportunity to try a bunch of stuff with out have to commit to buying a full six-pack of one beer. The next best thing is brewery variety packs, where you get a few of a variety of beers. The next best thing (which I should have actually put as the first best thing) is checking out breweries and brewpubs around you; these places often have samplings, or at least have sample platters, so again you get to try a bunch of different stuff without having to commit to this or that. The staff is often informed about beer and what they serve, too, so you can get recommendations and (if you have a beer-geek as your server) some idea of why certain beers taste the way they taste. As you try more stuff, you'll notice you're consistently liking certain qualities, which will help you get a better feel for what it is you like and delve deeper into beer.

 

[TheAlchemist]

Yes! Trader Joe's allows a mixed pack. Brilliant.

 

[Chevette Girl]

Thanks all, those are some really good ideas. Toronto's Mill Street Brewery is opening an Ottawa Brew Pub in September (I think) but I'm not sure where any others are (probably Toronto ), there is one pub in Ottawa that makes some of its own beers and their pumpkin ale was fantastic (it's why I thought I should add hops to a pumpkin mel)... I'll have to investigate sample packs or tastings though. I really can't have more than two beers in an evening, for some reason 5% alcohol hits me way harder than it should (I won't drive for at least two hours after one) and doing shots doesn't hit me anywhere near as hard as it ought to.

 

[YogiBearMead726]

Well, even though the beer may only be 5% ABV, you're drinking about twelve times more of it compared to a shot of alcohol at ~40% ABV. If you were to dilute the shot into 11oz of water (giving you an equivalent to beer at 12oz total), you would only be drinking something at ~3% ABV. That and the sedative properties of hops factor in to make beer a deceptively powerful drink.

 

[Chevette Girl]

My theory is that my body doesn't recognize alcohol in low doses, I can get looped off my arse with 2 beer whereas I feel like I'd be safe to drive after 5 shots... (wouldn't even think of trying driving, but you get the idea).

I think Mill Street offers mixed packs, and the friend who brought over the coffee porter always brings over stuff I've never heard of, so maybe I should invite him over for a beer tasting night...

 

[JayH]

There is a brewing club there in Ottowa

http://capitalchapter.blogspot.com/

Try calling them up and hanging out with your local brew club, you will find a whole batch of people willing to talk to you about beer, and maybe even mead.

Also find out if there are any beer competitions in your area and volunteer to be a steward. They always need more help, it is usually a fun day, and when the judges are finished there is almost always some left for everyone else to taste. Not only that but you get to see how the judges judged them and what the "experts" thought of the beer.


Cheers
Jay

 

[AToE]

I think Mill Street offers mixed packs, and the friend who brought over the coffee porter always brings over stuff I've never heard of, so maybe I should invite him over for a beer tasting night...[/COLOR]

They've got a mixer pack, a surprising one in there is the iced tea beer, really surprisingly good. I'm not a giant Mill Street fan, nothing wrong with them, just not to my tastes mostly, but that one they seriously hit out of the ballpark for a refreshing summer beer.

I think there's also a lager, a few things I can't remember, and a Triple (might have been barleywine, but I'm pretty sure it was a triple). It's not the world's greatest triple, but it does give an accurate sense of the style (heavy yeast ester influence, almost like apples, sweet, strong as hell (9% I think) and very minimal hops, golden colour).

 

[Chevette Girl]

Thanks, Jayh, I'll go investigate them if I'm ever allowed! (my hubby already complains that I never spend any time with him, and he's even got a valid point, I'm somehow never home)

AToE, Now I'm sold, I thought their coffee porter was great but I'm really interested in this iced tea idea!

One of the guys from this site years ago that I knew through another winemaking forum used to like making a hopped tea mead which is also on my very lengthy to-do list...

 

[commonsenseman]

Maybe brewing a kit or two of beer would help you understand better what goes into beer making & what ingredients contribute to flavors you enjoy.

Also, as suggested. Find some commercial beers you enjoy & then find their recipes. Try beers from a bunch of different categories, then decide what type you like best. From their you can decide what beers from each category you REALLY like & determine what specific ingredients are used. You may find that you like some types of hops, but hate others. Or you may find that you like hops, but only in a well-balanced style like an English Bitter.

Many beers that have a reputation as being "strong", are really just dark in color. Color means nothing. Guinness for example is quite dark, but it's low alcohol, low hops. It's dark from the type of grains used & is creamy (on tap) from the nitrogen used to carbonate it (rather than CO2). Other lighter beers, such as IPA's, are much more bitter & usually have more alcohol.

 

[AToE]

Also, the fact that you liked a coffee porter is a good starting point. Most casual beer drinkers don't like beers much darker than the average brown, and porter is typically one of the darkest available, it's just typically a little sweeter and stronger than a stout.

Try a baltic porter, these are higher alcohol and sweeter, very cool beers. Okanagan Springs makes a great one if you can get it our there.

Try lots of browns, different stouts, stuff like that. Might be right up your alley.

 

[Chevette Girl]

Well, I stopped by the brew shop for some Sparkolloid and the little 2-litre brew in a bottle beer kits were on sale for under $4 so I got one. Had some of one before (might have been before I stared making wine), wasn't a favourite but wasn't bad. Meh, it's a start.

When I have money again, I'll make a trip to the Beer Store. For research purposes, fo course .

I think with the coffee porter, it might have been the sweetness that ties it all in together and makes it enjoyable. But again, more research required! Perhaps an easy addition to the neverending to-do list - drink beer!

ccasion14:

Knowing my tastes with wine, I'm pretty sure that anything on the sweeter side will be declared drinkable at the least... I find a little residual sugar covers a multitude of sins.

I'm figuring I'll start with malt extracts and if I like and drink what I make I might move up to partial and full grain brewing, I'd eventually like to try something gluten-free for my mom too but I definitely won't be starting with that...

 

[AToE]

When it comes to beer I'm way different than I am with mead and wine, sweet is fine. I think carbonation is the perfect balancing agent for sweetness, of course the roasted characters, hops, etc help as well.