Good sensory properties, better beer

Interview Marlene Speck-Waller Sensorik

Mrs Speck-Waller, we humans have five senses. Which of them are activated when drinking beer?

Marlene Speck-Waller

Almost all of them, actually. The appearance of the beer is of course the first thing we notice. Is it golden, dark or fiery red? Then we already have an idea in our heads of what to expect on the palate. When we take the first sip, the mouthfeel comes into play.  Does it feel creamy like a wheat beer or tangy like a pilsner? And then, of course, the whole variety of flavours that we perceive with our taste and olfactory cells.

How important is this topic for brewers? Will he be able to brew better beer if they are fit when it comes to sensory analysis?

Speck-Waller

Yes, I'm quite sure of that. Good sensory analysis is also important for quality assurance. If you can identify the flavours of young beer, you know when the beer is the beer is fully matured. And it also helps them in the development of new varieties or when perfecting a recipe. I would recommend this, first describe your own beer as precisely as possible. Does does my dark beer taste more like caramel or chocolate? And where should the journey
go?

However, people often find it difficult to put sensory impressions into words. How can you get better at this?

Speck-Waller

The best way to start is to walk through the world more consciously. For example sniffing the flowers in your own garden or pausing on a walk and asking yourself and ask yourself: What does it actually smell like here?  It is also a good exercise to blindfolded to smell your own herbs and spices in the kitchen. Ideally, you should have a second person on hand to help you. Because it is really important to switch off your sense of sight and only trust your nose. trust your nose. It often takes several passes, but at some point you will recognise what you what you smell.

Are there flavours that every brewer should definitely know and recognise?

Speck-Waller

Identifying off-flavours is immensely important. Incidentally, this is best done in warm beer, i.e. at room temperature or slightly below. For example, there is the dimethyl sulphide, also known as DMS. It is reminiscent of the flavour of cooked vegetables or boiled corn and is an indication that the wort has not been boiled long enough boiled long enough or that there has been contamination with wort bacteria.

Diacetyl is also important, the so-called butter flavour. It indicates insufficient maturation or contamination of the beer. If I recognise these and and some other flavours in my beer, then I make sure that only excellent only excellent beer leaves my brewery. Or maybe I'm sitting in the pub pub, order a beer and then notice this butter flavour. Then I know that the dispensing system is not in order.

Can anyone learn sensory quality assessment or do you need a certain innate talent for it?

Speck-Waller

Anyone really can learn it and I am the best proof.