We know that we can get better at smelling and tasting beer, but how does it work? From Tasting Beer author and sensory guru Randy Mosher, here are some insights to help us identify and better understand our own strengths and weaknesses.
The processes that change beer’s flavor over time are complex, but by understanding them, we can better brew beers built to last—and we can better appreciate them when fresh.
Our growing awareness of thiols and other hop compounds are just scratching the surface of beer’s aromatic complexity. Inspired by some recent research into wine, Randy Mosher outlines a new model—aroma pools—that might help us think differently about how and what we smell in beer.
With the English tradition of stock ales and barleywines firmly in mind, here’s an original recipe from Randy Mosher. Note the options for oak-aging and Brett—but however you brew it, this is one to lay down for months or years.
Brewing up something big and ponderous, and looking for inspiration? The British barleywine tradition offers more quirks than you might think, including more funk, more hops, and more time.
You can simply add a bunch of fruit to a beer and see how it goes. Or, you can take a step back, carefully consider the flavors involved and how they intermingle, and—from creativity to reality—plan and execute a more superlative fruit beer.
The processes that create beer’s deepest colors and flavors are incredibly complex—a Lovibond rating doesn’t begin to describe what you might get. Here, Randy Mosher digs into the science of those processes, makes the case for evaluating your malts firsthand—and shares a simple way to do it yourself.
A restrained touch of caramel, firm bitterness, citrus-forward hops, and a pitch of thiol-promoting yeast all come together for a new spin on the classic American IPA.
By applying what we know now—using a grain bill that goes easy on the crystal/caramel malts and new yeast strains that overlay fresher, brighter aromas—we can achieve an updated throwback that lets us enjoy the best of both worlds.
These cool customers have co-evolved with us as brewers and drinkers, traveling and prospering while producing some of the world’s most popular beers. Behind these yeast strains and their important differences, there is a unique genetic story.