This past Saturday, I took a sensory training class called “Off Flavor,” put on by my good friend Os Cruz from HeySmartBeerDude.com and Vito Forte of The Copper Mine Pub. Off flavors are something that are experienced in beers quite often, in certain cases it is tolerable but there are extreme cases that completely ruin the beers we drink, this short class is the ideal way to learn to identify them.
With everyone going for Cicerone certifications and becoming beer judges lately, Os Cruz, saw an opportunity to aid people in their studies by hosting this class to help people along during their studying process. Since I am going for my certified beer server in a few months I thought it would be a great way to learn something and grab some new content for the blog.
In the case you see above are six defects mostly found in beer; Acetaldehyde, Isoamyl Acetate(esters), Diacetyl, DMS (Dimethyl-Sulfide), Trans-2-Nonenal, and Infected.
Just one of these vials is good enough to taint a whole pitcher of beer.
Our control beer for the experiment was Yuengling Lite. A good choice as it is not that complex of a brew and will allow the palate to pick out the defects.
This was the second class that was hosted and as you can see it filled out nice.
Owner of The Coppermine Pub and gracious host, Vito Forte, pouring us our tainted beers.
Os Cruz has to be one of the biggest beer fans I know and I couldn’t think of anyone else that should be hosting such a class.
Although tasting a beer might not sound difficult, it actually is. I did my best to pick out what I could but it took me more than a few sips for my palate to dial in on the defect notes.
Thank god for palate cleansers.
While sampling each defect we were taking notes that would later be compared to what you should have tasted. I could honestly say I probably would have flopped the tasting portion of the Cicerone and I really hope the defects are a little more prominent when taking it in the future.
I would like thank to Vito and Os for putting this on, I learned a lot and will use it to it’s full advantage. For those that missed out on this class, they will be doing them every month so stay tuned to Hey Smart Beer Dude and The Copper Mine Pub for details on the next class. It is a worthwhile experience; a must do for anyone considering Cicerone certification, BJCP, home brewers, and beer heads alike.
-Brian