|
Tour of Craft Beer
Diana Battista
On April 21, 2010, thirteen members gathered at Jimmy’s No 43 (43 East 7th Street) to hear beer consultant Sam Merritt introduce the emerging field of beer certification and tasting. After selling beer for the Brooklyn Brewery, Sam started his consulting business and serves as an instructor in the Cicerone Program, preparing trade personnel to achieve professional certification in the selection, acquisition and serving of beer, in an effort to close the gap between beer and wine studies.
The “accident” of beer likely occurred 900 years ago in China, with historically fermented beverages likely safer and more nutritious than water. Today, beer ranges in alcohol content from 33% (a recent strong Scots brew Tactical Nuclear Penguin) to a low of 2 ½ %.
Encompassing all the senses, Sam outlined the following guidelines for tasting beer:
• Always taste from a glass that is clear and that you can see through.
• The glass should be “beer clean” – cleaner than a wine glass; small glasses should be used for strong beer, big glasses for low alcohol; the shape should be similar to an English pint, belling out at the top; look through the glass from above for clarity (you can not determine the strength of beer by color).
• Aroma is 90 percent of flavor perception – the nose of the beer is the flavor; swirl the beer in the glass, hold your hand above the glass to concentrate the volatiles, bring it to your nose and take a deep breath – if the aroma is pleasing, the beer will taste good.
• Beer should be tasted at room temperature or chilled; never freeze the glasses – freezing causes points of nucleation creating foam.
Beer is to be consumed fresh: as soon as it is done fermenting, it should be drunk. The main issues affecting beer include:
• Skunking: Light energy breaks down compounds in the beer; experienced in the aroma, and is a particular problem with clear and green glass bottles (cans treat beer better than glass).
• Beer smells like artificial butter flavor
• Stale/oxidized – tastes dull and flat
During the evening, we tasted four craft beers: Victory Harvest Pilsner, Beer de Mars, Peak Organic Espresso Amber Ale and Youngs Chocolate Beer, accompanied by fresh raw oysters compliments of Jimmy’s 43, and cheeses compliments of Kerry Gold.
We extend our sincere thanks to Sam Merritt (visit his website at www.civilizationofbeer.com) for the wealth of information. Special thanks to Jimmy’s 43 for donating the space, Kerry Gold for the generous donation of cheese and to Katy Keiffer for planning the evening.
Photo of Sam Merritt by Katy Keiffer
< BACK
|
|
