Beer is a perishable food product. There are many ways that beer can become contaminated before it arrives at your business, or it can just get too old. It is important to be able to identify “off” flavors so you know when to get the customer a replacement.

Dust bottle by Geoffrey Gallaway on flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Although rare, it is possible for beer to become contaminated or damaged before it arrives. Loose seal, inconsistent transportation environment, or poor storage are some ways beer can become damaged or spoiled.

This section helps identify some common off flavors in beer.

The reading material for this section was found in:

RealBeer.com. When your beer really stinks. Beer Break Vol. 1, No. 16. http://www.realbeer.com. Accessed October 3, 2015.

MoreBeer!. “Off” Flavors In Beer; Their Causes & How To Avoid Them. http://www.morebeer.com. Accessed October 3, 2015.

Oxidation

Oxidation means that oxygen has gotten into the beer and made a bad reaction. It can happen during the brewing process, or it can happen later due to poorly sealed packaging.

Oxidation is identified by these aromas and flavors:

• Stale
• Old, wet cardboard
• Paper
• Pineapple
• Rotten vegetables
• Sherry

Oxidation can also make beer bitter or harsh. And it can create aromas and flavors like wax or lipstick.

Skunky/Light-struck

When light hits the hops in beer, it creates the same chemical in a skunk’s spray.

The reaction happens stronger in light colored beers.

Clear glass and green glass provide almost no protection from light. Amber colored bottles do provide excellent protection, but even amber colored bottles should be stored away from light.

Skunkiness in beer shows up mostly in the aroma.

Skunked beer is identified by these aromas:

• Skunk
• Must
• Burned rubber
• Cat musk

Dirty draft lines

Recall from lesson 6 “Draft systems” that draft lines must be properly maintained. A perishable food product is traveling through those lines. Make sure the draft lines and other parts of the draft system are cleaned at regular intervals.

Two common signs of dirty draft lines are aromas and flavors of:

• Butter
• Vinegar

Buttery

In the last lesson we talked about the buttery flavor of diacetyl, made by yeast. Diacetyl is usually considered a flaw in lagers, while small amounts are often desired in ales.

Diacetyl can also appear as a contaminant in beer, and especially in dirty draft lines.

Diacetyl is identified in beer by these aromas and flavors:

• Butter
• Rancid butter
• Butterscotch

Diacetyl can also cause a slick mouthfeel.

Vinegar

If the beer has an astringent or sour/acidic flavor that tastes tart or like vinegar, it is likely contaminated by bacteria or wild yeast.

Lambic beers are an exception.

“Lambic style beers,” it says in the MoreBeer! article, “are beers that have been purposely exposed to specific types of wild yeast and bacteria to create the unmistakable cidery and sour flavors they are known for.”

Conclusion

So this is a little bit about how to identify off flavors in beer.

By properly storing your beer products and developing a keen ability to identify off flavors, you have the improved ability to always provide the best beer service to your customers.

So that’s it for Part III. Beer Flavor and Evaluation.

Now we’ll go into Part IV. Beer Ingredients and Brewing Processes.

Flashcards for this section

Based on the reading materials mentioned and my notes above, here are my flashcards for this section.

What is oxidation in beer?

Oxidation is what happens when oxygen gets into beer and makes a bad reaction.

6 aromas and flavors of oxidation in beer

1. Stale
2. Old, wet cardboard
3. Paper
4. Pineapple
5. Rotten vegetables
6. Sherry

Also: bitter, harsh, wax, lipstick

What is “skunked” or light-struck beer?

Beer becomes “skunked” when light hits the hops and creates the same chemical as in a skunk’s spray.

4 aromas of skunked beer

1. Skunk
2. Must
3. Burned rubber
4. Cat musk

2 flavors from dirty draft lines

1. Butter
2. Vinegar

3 aromas and flavors of diacetyl contamination in beer

1. Butter
2. Rancid butter
3. Butterscotch

Also: slick mouthfeel

Why write the flashcards by hand? Buy the full set here: Instant access!

The post 017. Off-flavor knowledge appeared first on Beer Exam School.

Light Reading by Martin on flickr (CC BY 2.0)

After that tough section on all those beer styles, I was finally able to distill it down to flashcards for all of the beer styles in the Certified Beer Server Syllabus.

If you want to go back and read all the stats and info for each and every beer style, knock yourself out. But the flashcards make it so much easier.

Now we gotta get back in the saddle and keep studying through the last few sections. I’ll keep publishing my study notes along the way.

I hope you’re finding the notes on this site helpful. Send me an email and let me know. And if you have questions about any of the materials, leave comments below any of the sections. I’ll try to answer any questions I can, or maybe we’ll hear the answer from someone else who’s reading along.

So let’s look at the reading list for part 3.

The first step is to get my study materials together

This time I kind of did it backwards. I was too eager and dug into the syllabus forgetting about the “free study links” at the Cicerone website.

Then I got stuck in some parts of my studies and I had to go back and find more study material. So here are the materials that I’ll need to study for the Certified Beer Server, Part III. Beer Flavor and Evaluation.

Feel free to get anything that you think you’ll need to pass the exam. Or just check out my free study notes throughout this site.

Reading list for Certified Beer Server, Part III. Beer Flavor and Evaluation

• Mosher, Randy. Tasting Beer: An Insider’s Guide to the World’s Greatest Drink. North Adams, Massachusetts: Story Publishing, LLC, 2009. Print.
  The parts about “sensory evaluation” are helpful and interesting, and there’s a little bit from “brewing and the vocabulary of beer flavor” that’s pertinent to this section.
• Wikipedia. “Flavor.” http://en.wikipedia.org. Accessed August 28, 2015.
  Check out the first 2 sections, the introduction and about “flavorants or flavorings.”
• Beeradvocate. “How To Taste Beer.” http://www.beeradvocate.com. Accessed August 28, 2015.
  A short guide of techniques for beer evaluation.
• Real Beer. “When your beer really stinks.” http://www.realbeer.com. Accessed August 28, 2015.
  A short piece about “skunky” beer.
• MoreBeer! “‘Off’ Flavors In Beer; Their Causes & How To Avoid Them.” http://www.morebeer.com. Accessed August 28, 2015.
  This is an awesome resource about off flavors in beer. It’s kind of advanced, but it’s especially good if you want to advance your knowledge.

I also used these resources:

• Cicerone® Certification Program. “Certified Beer Server Syllabus.” http://cicerone.org. June 1, 2013. PDF. Accessed October 9, 2014.
  The syllabus was the main guide for my notes about “evaluation techniques.”
• Jackson, Michael. Michael Jackson’s Great Beer Guide. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. Print.
  The short section at the back was helpful: Lexicon of Flavors & Aromas.
• White, Chris and Jamil Zainasheff. Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation. Boulder, CO: Brewers Association, 2010. p 3. https://books.google.com accessed September 25, 2015.
• Oliver, Garrett. The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oxford: The Oxford University Press, 2012. p. 134. https://books.google.com. Accessed August 21, 2015.
• Palmer, John. How to Brew: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time. Boulder, CO: Brewers Publications, 2006. Chapter 21.2. http://www.howtobrew.com. Accessed August 21, 2015.

So we need only a few resources to study for the Certified Beer Server syllabus, Part III: Beer Flavor and Evaluation.

But those resources are loaded with information. The hard part is discerning and pulling out only what we must know for this section.

Sign up to study with me

We’re almost done now. There are just 3 parts in this section, and one part in each of the next 2 sections.

It has taken me way too long to do this. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken on this whole website thing along with studying to pass this exam.

But hey, you get the benefit of using all of my study notes! I’m buying the books, digging through the materials, writing it all up in easy format, and I’m sharing my flashcards, too. Now it’s all in one place, easy for you to learn from.

So keep studying along with me and we’ll pass this exam together!

Sign up for the email list to make sure you hear when I publish each new post. Plus there’s a free gift, too!

Now we’re going to go deep into the character of a beer to understand its inner being.

Join Beer Exam School

Study along with me–let’s pass this exam!

Sign up for the email list:   Enroll me in Beer Exam School!

The post 014. Reading list for Certified Beer Server (part 3) appeared first on Beer Exam School.