The Art of Beer Tasting: appearance
The first consideration when evaluatign a beer is the appearance. Three things are usually taken into consideration:
- head retention
- colour
- clarity
The correctly poured beer should start off with a 2-4cm head. This should not dissipate too quickly, and should leave a coating of “Belgian lace” on the glass as the beer is drunk. Sometimes an impressive looking head can turn out to be pretty short lived. I remember my first batch of Otter’s Pocket Stout – the head was so think and creamy it made me want to stick a flake in it. But by time I got back from the kitchen it was all but gone.
The colour and clarity of a beer are best judged by holding the glass up to a white background in a well-lit place. Assess the clarity by looking through the liquid, and the colour by looking at the top and sides of the glass. You must bear in mind the variety of beer when assessing its colour and clarity. For example, you would expect a lager to be clear and bright, whereas a wheat beer may have a more cloudy appearance.
Unusual appearance should also be noted. Are there notably large bubbles? Is there sediment present, and if so, how fast does it settle? etc…
On the subject of dodgy looking pints… Lunchtime cheekies at the Retreat have been a regular occurance lately. Especially with the Ashes on. Get there for 12 and see the last hour of play before lunch. Nice. But I have learned not to go for a pint of London Pride! :-S At lunchtime, its always the first out of the barrel and is a cloudy soup of dubious solids which settle into a inch of brown muck at the bottom. Not pleasant.
