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For many years now, the idea of “Wine Tasting” has gained huge popularity. For those of us who more prefer to indulge in fermented barley than fermented grapes, it’s important to note that there is just as much of an art in tasting beer. Tasting beer in competition is known as ‘Beer Judging’.

All too many look at beer as a simply, an easy to drink alcoholic beverage that will get you drunk. Those of us (most everyone reading this website) who have experienced the nuances of good and bad beers are likely to disagree. Between the sweet, grain tasting flavor of barley malt, and the bittering and flavoring qualities of hops, every beer has a distinctive flavor.

This article will define for you the method and madness behind seeing and tasting the quality in beer.

First, it is important to note that every beer style has it’s own unique qualities, and concerns. For example, if you are going out to your local car dealer to buy a midsized sedan, the things that you would look for in a 2 seat sports car are probably not appropriate in judging that sedan. The same holds true for beer. The first thing to do when judging beer is to determine what style of beer you are supposed to be considering.

According to the American Homebrewers Association, there are slightly more than 50 styles of beer. Each has it’s own characteristics with respect to color, bitterness, alcohol content, etc. For information on these styles, please refer to this Chart of Beer Styles.

Now that we understand that there is more than simply one kind of quality or flavor of beer, let’s dig in to the art of judging beer.
First, these pre-requisites. You are strongly recommended to follow the following guidelines when judging beer.

Any combination of the following list should be observed. It is important to understand that what we eat, and drink, in any period before the tasting, will have a measurable effect on your ability to recognize the subtleties in the beer.

Avoid smoking, be it tobacco or other substance
Refrain from other alcoholic beverages
Do not eat spicy, or acidic foods
Avoid caffeine the day of testing
If you have a cold or other sinus, throat, or nasal illness, postpone the judging.

Once you have your physical senses ready to go, the rest is pretty much as easy as it sounds. There are a few simple rules.

Never sample more than 2-3 ounces of any given beer.
Unlike wine tasters, who “spit” the sample. You should always swallow the sample, evaluating the “aftertaste”

It’s best to sample multiple examples of a similar style. Also, it’s better to taste 10 light lagers, than it is to test 10 different styles. If you are sampling multiple styles, sample the lightest first, then progress through to the darkest style.

Does the glass matter?
Well, yes and no. First, make sure it’s glass, completely clear, and VERY clean. Do not clean with any detergent that has an animal fat base. This tends to leave a oily residue that will destroy the head.
Some experts say to use a brandy snifter because it will make it easier to detect the subtle floral characteristics in the beer. I personally find a highball, or old fashioned glass to be great choices.

Temperature:
Every beer style is dependant upon having the appropriate temperature for the style. In general, those temps are as follows:

Pale Lagers 45 - 50°F.
Amber & Dark Lagers 50 - 55°F.
Pale Ales 50 - 55°F.
Dark Ales & Stouts 55 - 60°F.

Ok, now we have the right glassware, and the right temperature, let’s get on to the important part, the judging.

Appearance
Observe the color of the beer. Every beer style has an associated color range. This is critical in determining the score of any beer, with respect to it’s target style.

Carbonation. In general, a good beer should maintain ½ of it’s head, for one minute. There are style specific exceptions to this rule. But it is a good general “rule of thumb”.

Turbidity. How cloudy is the beer. Some styles specifically “expect” more cloudiness in beer than others. Commercial brews are always very clear, because they are filtered. This is not necessarily a quality in a beer.

Aroma
Simply put, how does the beer smell?
As soon as the beer is poured, take a sniff. What do you smell. Is if nutty, fruity, sweet, sour bitter, earthy, citric? In general, the aroma should match the style. An IPA, for example, with it’s high hop character should not have much of a roasted odor. It should smell heavily of bitterness, or hops.

Flavor. Ahh, the important one right? Well, in pro beer judging, the flavor accounts for 38% of the score. We’ll examine those percentages in a minute. For now, take a drink, let it settle on your tongue. Now roll the beer around in your mouth a bit, enough to allow the beer to touch all of the taste receptors on your tongue, but not enough to foam it up in your mouth.
When judging flavor, as with the other categories, it is critical to keep in mind the style of beer you are judging. Is it a stout? If so, it should be full of earthy, roasted, chocolate like flavors.
What amount alcohol is percepted in the beer?
After the initial taste, wait for a few seconds. How is the flavor now. Finally, after you’ve swallowed the beer, what is the after taste like?

BODY:
What does the beer “FEEL” like in your mouth. Is it heavy, or water like, or somewhere in between? An American pale lager (Bud like) beer should be smooth, soft on the palate. A nice porter should be much heavier, with a “malt” like quality to the body.

Drinkability and Overall Impression
This is the place that a beer judge will give their overall “feel” for the beer. Criticism in complament are both common on this piece. Simply, what do you think of the beer? Does it meet the guidelines for the style? Do you like it in general? Why, or why not?

Judging beer is done with a scale that is broken down like this. Each topic is scored, with a maximum as shown in the table below, than the scores are totaled.

Bouquet/Aroma 10
Appearance 6
Flavor 19
Body 5
Drinkability/Overall 10

For more information about beer judging, we recommend the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) website at http://www.bjcp.org.