The ability to objectively evaluate your homebrew is an important skill to have. When things go wrong, and even when things go right the homebrewer needs to be able to taste, see and smell what's going on. If you cannot recognize an off flavor than you won't know how to correct it. If you are unable to compare a recent batch to a previous batch then it will be difficult to reproduce successful results. All of our senses are used to judge and evaluate the beer we make from the water we start with to the final beer we drink.

Tasting the homebrew
Taste is the most basic of evaluation skills a homebrewer can use in discerning thier beer. This is a skill we all start out with and if you have ever had a beer than you have already used your taste to evaluate it. Of course downing a beer in a bar is far from tasting it for evaluation, but we do all know what beer we like and don't. Our toungues are capable of four different tastes, salty, sweet, sour and bitter. While this is common knowlege the homebrewer must learn to use all four tastes to properly evaluate the balance of your beer. One of the key reasons most of us homebrew is so we can adjust this balance to suit our own tastes.

Smelling and Tasting
Taste alone will not enable you to judge the balance of your beer. You must taste the flavor which requires the use of your nose as well as your toungue. The taste of your homebrew is augmented by the aromas of the recipe ingredients. The three primary sources of these aromas are the yeast, malt, and hops. The schedule of the hops you add and the specific types are often designed to use a certain style of hops to increase the aroma. You havn't fully experienced your beer or any commercial one for that matter until you have stuck your nose in the bottle and taken a good whiff. As in wine tasting, smelling the beer before drinking allows you to get a much better idea of the flavors. The increased awareness often allows you to catch a flavor you're not too interested in so you can make adjustment in your recipe the next time.

Let's Evaluate

When learning how to evaluate beer a good way to start is by using some of your favorite commercial brews. By doing so we remove the need to judge for off flavors and can concentrate on learning what makes the beer we like so good. Then you can apply this knowledge to your own beers and know when or when you have not achieved the flavor you like. It's also not a good idea to try and evaluate different styles of beer at the same time, if using more than one brand use all of the same style of beer.

Technique
Before you begin smelling and tasting the beer it's a good idea to have a palate cleanser at the ready. A slice of white bread or another relatively flavorless and dry food item will work. Having a bite of the bread allows you to clear your senses and reset your tounge for a new beer. We begin the evaluation by opening the beer and pouring it into a clear glass. The pour allows the aromas to escape and the clear glass provides a wider vessel for smelling as well as an unobstructed view of the beer for visual inspection.

The first thing we want to do is put our nose in the glass, almost to the point of touching the beer. Take a deep smell pausing to exhale so we can discern the wide array of aromas. Do this a few times until your nose is familiar with the smells. Next we hold the beer up to evaluate the color and clarity. Depending on the style, is it clear and the proper color for the type? What is the heading quality like, is it thick with large bubbles and how well is it holding during the evaluation. Now we can move on to the actual tasting, by taking one long slow swallow giving the toungue time to react on all four tastes. Give yourself a little time after the sip even sniffing the beer again to immerse your senses. While you pause to to savor the taste, read the bottle label for the hops and malts used. Try to discern each of the flavors indicated each time you sip the beer. If needed, take another swallow to refresh your memory. Note the bitterness or lack of it, does it start sweet and finish bitter like a quality pale ale? Or is it smooth and crisp like a well crafted lager.

Recording Your Impressions
As with most things in life beer evaluation is highly subjective. The tastes you experience can vary quite a bit from any other person. This is why it's important when evaluating beers for comparison that you write down the tastes and smells you personally experience. You should note how bitter the hops were, or how sweet the malt tasted so later on you can accurately pass on that knowledge to other tasters without bias. Make your own rating scale in addition to the notes and your comparisons will be consistent from beer to beer by being able to rate each beer on the same points. No matter what you taste or how you rate it you should always enjoy the evaluation experience. Well crafted beer either commercial, micro, or home is something to be savored and enjoyed.