I love tasting beer and have been privileged to judge in a number of international competitions which include: The World Beer Cup, the Great American Beer festival, and the Brewing Industry International Awards.

The importance of beer tasting is often overlooked. Our opinion of the taste of a beer is a key factor which will most tempt us to buy another one (OK so its got to look right as well) No-one will normally buy and drink a beer they have previously tasted and disliked. Tasting beer is important in any sized company, a regular, structured, objective approach to beer tasting will be very beneficial. It will:

• Help ensure beers are ‘consistently excellent’ and its quality and reputation is maintained and enhanced
• Help avoid process drift which can result in flavour changes before the trade notices and reacts
• Give companies a good ‘feel’ for their beer and what their customers are experiencing
• Help manage the image and quality of a beer for the future growth and success of a company
• Help with troubleshooting and identifying quality problems

The link between Tasting and Beer Quality

Regular, systematic tasting of beer can help indentify and rectify many quality issues in the brewery. For example, problems with yeast can give unpleasant sulphury/meaty flavours and aromas. Unusual, sometimes unpleasant flavours can be identified and attributed to process problems in other areas.

Please look at the “Articles” page for information on World Beer Cups and beer tasting / palate matching.