Ready to raise a glass?

When it comes to tastings, it all starts with the proper temperature

The impulse to guzzle your beer may work for run of the mill suds, but experts say that craft and imported brews benefit from a more refined tasting protocol.

Mark Hunger, brew master at the Great Lakes Brewing Company, and Craig Hartinger, marketing director for Merchant Du Vin, said that the process of properly tasting beer is more about the preparation than the swig.

The first element of a good beer tasting experience is the temperature. Hartinger said anything between the high 40s to 52 degrees is a good temperature for beer. Hunger agreed that it should be warmer than 40 degrees for proper tasting.

“(Tasting really cold beer) will mask a lot of the flavor, because it’s so cold and numbs your senses,” Hunger said.

The next element for a good beer tasting experience is the glass that it is poured into. Hartinger said part of the tasting experience is the interaction between your lips and the beer, so he recommends any glass supplied by the brewery.

“The head is basically CO2, leaving beer,” Hartinger said.

“As it leaves the surface, tension of the liquid creates bubbles, and when those bubbles break they deliver aroma, a little CO2 and some of the real tactile is given to you in the evolution of the head.”

Hunger said that Great Lakes recommends tasting their beers in a stemmed glass.

“(That will) direct the aroma and volatiles more towards your nose so you can smell it a lot better,” he said.

Hunger also recommended putting two fingers of head in the glass as well to ensure you get the proper aromas.

Hartinger and Hunger both added that the way in which the glass is cleaned can also affect the tasting experience.

They both advised against using harsh cleaners or sanitizers before using the glass.

Hartinger said that the environment one tastes the beer in may have an effect on the experience, as well.

“A loud sports bar makes it a little harder to concentrate on the flavors in beer than if you’re in a quiet bar or in a home without a number of distractions,” he said.

Another element of a good beer tasting experience is to not disturb the yeast that some brewers leave at the bottom of their bottles.

According to Hartinger, this yeast is left there as a means to give the beer bubbles without the large industrial carbonators that many larger breweries use.

Once you have your beer at the proper temperature and properly poured into your properly cleaned brewery approved glass you examine the beer.

Hartinger suggests holding the glass up to a white background and looking at that the color. Hunger suggested holding it up to a light.

“There are some gorgeous colors found in beer,” Hartinger said.

“Sometimes they’re brilliantly clear, and other beers are naturally hazy, so take a look.”

Hartinger also suggests listening to the head.

“As the bubbles of the head are breaking, they make a different tone,” he said.

“If they’re breaking rapidly, usually that means there’s a lot of carbonation, a lot of CO2 and that’ll be a higher pitch crackle. Some beers retain the head better than others, so that’ll be a lower pitched crackle.”

As you’re preparing to take your first drink of the beer, Hartinger suggests taking a deep whiff.

“Enjoy that aroma that is being lifted to your nose by the bubbles,” he said.

When actually tasting the brew, Hartinger said it’s better to take a big drink rather than the tiny sips often used for wine tasting, and he also advised that beer tasters actually swallow the beer rather than spitting it out.

“A drink gives you the mouth feel (of the beer),” he said. “Mouth feel is related to carbonation and it’s also related to the actual thickness of the beer.”

If you’re not as interested in becoming a beer connoisseur and just want to enjoy a frosty brew, you can use Jerome Moore’s method.

Moore is the brew master at Railroad Brewing Company, 1010 Center Road in Avon, and he espouses a more no-nonsense approach.

“I don’t really think there is a real proper way to taste beer,” he said. “To me, it’s beer, you know. It’s there to be drunk and enjoyed, so to each their own.”

“A drink gives you the mouth feel. Mouth feel is related to carbonation and it’s also related to the actual thickness of the beer.” — Craig Hartinger, marketing director for Merchant Du Vin

METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION