I was invited to a press event last week to kick off the Nicholson’s Spring 2015 Ale Festival (April 23rd – May 10th). I attended a beer tasting from the Grain to Glass competition where three British breweries were given the task of making a casked ale from a “blind”selection of ingredients.
I don’t shy away from the fact that I literally know nothing about beer. I know what I like and that’s about it. I was lucky enough to bring Sam as a plus one along to this event as I knew he’d get a huge kick out of it. So first things first. It turns out there are beer sommeliers. I met one. He also gave us a crash course on proper beer tasting etiquette. The biggest difference from wine tasting is that you don’t spit the beer out because after swallowing beer, when you breathe out through your nose you get hits of flavours in the beer. Or something like that.
Here are the 3 simple steps I learned about beer tasting. 1. Hold it up to the light to examine it’s color/clarity. 2. Smell it. 3. Drink it. Pretty simple, I guess. I thought it might interest you to hear Sam and my different tasting notes on the four beers.
Beer 1: Acorn, Santa Maria (ABV 3.7%, colour- blonde, style-blonde). It’s meant to be paired with fried chicken. (You can never go wrong with fried chicken.)
Me: Slightly bitter. Stereotypical “man” beer. Rating: 4 out of 10.
Sam: Bitter, juicy, tasty! Rating: 8 out of 10.
What we were meant to taste: tropical fruit, caramel and citrus with an impart of grapefruit, pineapple and melon.
Beer 2: Harviestoun, Tasman Bullet (ABV: 4.0%, colour-blonde, style- blonde.) And this one was meant to be paired with sausages.
Me: sweeter than the last one. Rating: 8 out of 10.
Sam: light, really fruity, zingy! Rating: 9 out of 10.
What we meant to taste: citrus, tropical fruits, kiwi honey.
*My favourite.
Beer 3: Sambrook’s Speakeasy Pale Ale (ABV 4.5%, colour-blonde, style-blonde.) Meant to be drunk with an apple and plum crumble at dessert.
Me: Not as sweet as #2, not as bitter as #1. Rating: 6 out of 10.
Sam: Milkshakes, creamy, better after first sip. Rating: 10 out of 10.
What we were meant to taste: citrus, with sweet bitterness, with an orange and tropical finish.
*Sam’s favourite
Beer 4: Nicholson’s Pale Ale. (colour- golden, style-golden)
Me: Very balanced between bitter and sweet. Rating 6 out of 10. r
Sam: The least interesting but the one you can drink all day. Rating: 8 out of 10.
What we were meant to taste: An English taste on an American Pale Ale.
The Grain to Glass brews will be on offer along with a huge selection of microbrews and craft beers. I think it’s a super interesting statistic that there are currently the largest number of breweries in the UK since WWI.
This is the face of a beer sommelier at work.
All four ales and their majestic lineup.
Various food pairings for the ales.
I think it’s safe to say that neither of us has a bright career as a beer sommelier.
