What Does Beer Look Like? 4 things to describe about beer appearance
When you're tasting beer, you need to take in different aspects of the beverage to fully appreciate it. Not only do we need to take in the aroma and taste, we also want to look at the appearance. But how do you describe what a beer looks like? There are four parts to thinking about what does beer look like. I’ll describe how to assess those in this blog post.
What does beer look like? - Put it in a glass
The first step in assessing what does beer look like requires a glass. Generally, it doesn't really matter what glass, but different glasses are good for different beer styles. The reason that we put the beer in a glass is not only so that we can see it outside of the can or bottle, but it's also so that we can release the aromas and flavours, This helps us later on when we move on to aroma and taste. On certain beers, especially if they've been aged, you would also want to move the beer off of the older yeast cells or any sediment in the bottle so that you can get the full flavour.
Think about colour when considering what does beer look like?
The first thing we're going to assess when we consider what does a beer look like is its colour. The colour of a beer is measured on the SRM scale. That is the standard reference method scale. This ranges from two at the lightest end with your palest Pilsner, which can be described as straw, up to 40 plus at the darkest end like an Imperial stout, which is going to be almost black. Colour is added to your beer by the malts that are selected by the brewer. If a lighter malt is added, then you're going to get a lighter colour. But if more roasty or specialist malts like caramel malt are added, you're going to get more colours like amber, red, chestnut, brown and black. So it's important to consider what malts the brewer may have used in the beer that you're trying.
How clear is your beer? This adds to what does beer look like
When wondering what does a beer look like, next we look at clarity. This is the clear-ness of your beer. some beers can be bright and clear. Some will be hazy and some might even be soupy. Consider if you can see all the way through your beer, you might want to put your hand behind your beer and see how clearly you can see it. And in darker beers, it may not be as opaque as you think. Sometimes they have a highlight. One way that real beer geeks and beer judges assess the clarity of their beer is to get a torch and shine it through their beer. In this way, you can sometimes see that a dark beer might have a red or a gold highlight. You don't need to keep a torch in your pocket though. You can use the light on your mobile phone or hold your beer up to a light in your room.
What does beer look like with a head?
Next, we're going to look at head. This is an important part of describing what does beer look like. Heads can be big and small, they can last all the way to the end of your pint. Or they can disappear almost entirely as soon as the beer is poured. Look at the shape and the thickness of your head. Is it thick and creamy? Is it rocky? Is it made up of lots of little bubbles? Sometimes they can be quite fizzy and disappear quickly - maybe on a sour beer. And on a nitro beer, you're going to get that cascading effect when it is poured and then a thick, dense creamy head at the top. The glass that is used for the beer might also affect the head. For example, in a wheat beer, there are specific glasses that capture the dense head that wheat produces. In the correct glass you get a nice thick creamy head at the top of your beer. Some, however, can make the head dissipate very quickly. Another way that your head will dissipate very quickly is if you're eating anything with oils, or if you've got lipstick or lip balm on. This is going to affect the head retention on your beer. So if you are in a mindful tasting zone, try not to wear lipstick or lip balm and don't eat anything with oils like crisps or pork scratchings because it will destroy the head of your beer.
Think about the colour of the head. The head on beer can range from a lovely bright white to beige, or tan, and sometimes brown. If the beer contains fruit, you might also end up with a tinge to the head. If there are raspberries, strawberries or cherries in the beer, for example, you might end up with a pink tinge to the head as well. So consider again, the ingredients in your beer, while thinking about what it looks like.
Carbonation in beer - what does beer look like when carbonated?
Let's not forget carbonation when we're considering what does beer look like? Have a good look in your beer for bubbles. If it's hazy, it's going to be more difficult to see those carbonation bubbles. But in your lighter beers, you might be able to see lots of streaming carbonation bubbles in the body of your beer. What size are those bubbles? Are they big, fat and lazy? Are they tiny and tight, quickly moving up through the beer? Or are they streaming nicely through the middle of your beer. Don’t forget to use these descriptors when wondering what does beer look like.
Those are the four different components to look for in appearance, when considering what does beer look like. Put your beer into a glass and look at it’s colour, clarity, head and carbonation. Don’t forget the importance of using a glass when mindfully tasting a beer and remember that the ingredients chosen by the brewer have a huge impact on what you see.
If you would like to learn more about beer tasting and assessing beers, you can join my beer tasting course Build Your Beer Vocabulary, where we look at the appearance of beer as well as learn about the taste. Through live beer tastings and sensory activities we will build your understanding of beer tasting and give you new words so that you can describe boldly the beers that you're enjoying. You can find out more about the course and how to join me on Build Your Beer Vocabulary here.
