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Test your knowledge about these popular libations. Answers at the bottom – no cheating!

1) In winespeak, aroma and bouquet mean the same thing.

True
False

2) When brewing beer, the addition of yeast creates alcohol and carbonation as well as chemical byproducts called phenols that give beer its complexity. Phenols can create which aromas in beer:

a) Clove
b) Banana
c) Burning Hair
d) All of the above

3) Which of the options below is true about tannins?

a) Tannins are present in the wood, bark, leaves, and fruit of various plants
b) Tannins are a form of self-protection for plants
c) Tannins create a drying feeling in your mouth when drinking certain wines
d) All of the above

4) A beer or wine that is lacking acidity could be called: 

a) Flabby
b) Wobbly
c) Sulfitic
d) Grassy

5) Tannins can be present in beer

True
False

6) Choose the wine/beer that would make the best contrasting pairing with French fries:

a) Champagne/Pilsner
b) A buttery chardonnay/Irish red ale
c) Pinot Noir/Porter
d) Zinfandel/Stout

7) Hops are a perennial climbing plant which imparts citrusy and bitter notes to beer (among other flavors), and there are dozens and dozens of different types. Which of these groups are not types of hops?

a) Junga, California Cluster, Pacifica
b) Spiro, Stuttgart, Yellow Oros
c) Hallertau, Willamette, Falconer’s Flight
d) Early Green, Idaho 7, Polaris

8) If a wine is referred to as hot, what does that mean?

a) It is very young
b) It has matured in oak barrels
c) It has a high alcohol content
d) It was produced from a blend of grapes near the equator

9) In 2021, what is the number of recognized beer styles in the United States according to The Brewers Association?

a) Over 200
b) 158
c) 74
d) 31

10) About how many different grape varieties can be found worldwide?
a) Over 10,000
b) 750
c) 276
d) 59

ANSWER KEY:

1. False – aroma alludes to the nose of a young wine, while bouquet refers to the smells associated with a wine that has been aged for a considerable period of time.
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2. D; phenolic beers such as hefeweizen and Belgian ales can have pleasant aromas, but if the brewer is not careful, odors such as medicine cabinet and burning hair can ruin a brew’s flavor profile.

3. D; tannins can be found in red wine, beer, coffee, and tea. The astringent taste is a mechanism to deter animals from consuming the plant.

4. A; flabby is the negative term used to describe an unbalanced wine or beer with no acidity.

5. True – tannins can be found in the husks of barley as well as from hops.

6. A; the brightness and effervescence of the champagne and the pilsner refreshes the palate when enjoying fatty and salty food like French fries.

7. B; Learn about different hop varieties here: https://www.morebeer.com/articles/homebrew_beer_hops

8. C; calling a wine hot refers to the burning sensation made by the alcohol. Bonus points is you know that’s why Michael prefers fortified wines such as Port.

9. B; check out these links for more information: https://www.brewersassociation.org/edu/brewers-association-beer-style-guidelines/
https://www.tapvillesocial.com/craftbrewu/2018/5/22/how-many-beer-styles-are-there

10. A; while we are most familiar with Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc, there are over 10,000 grape varieties worldwide. According to Forbes, some wine producers are starting to search for lesser known grape varietals on the edge of extinction to create new and exciting wines.

Tasting beer and wine properly need not be an intimidating experience. Sure there are steps to take to ensure the full experience is achieved, but the activity itself can be as laid back or as complex as you’d like to make it.
Believe it or not, there are many similarities between wine and beer tasting processes. In fact, both start with your eyes. It may sound odd, but closely observing the libations can give you your first hints about them. Notice the color, is the beer a light straw or a dark amber? Is the merlot a deep, vibrant ruby or a muddy purplish-brown? Also take this time to observe the opacity of the liquid. Is it crystal clear or cloudy? What do these things say to you about what you’re about to taste?

Next, we’re using our noses, as smell is an integral part of the tasting process. And while seasoned professional tasters will be able to make more inferences and connections in this step, it is still of the utmost importance for even the layman. Sticking your nose in the glass may make you feel silly, but it is imperative. Just some of the common beer aromas are sweet, roasted, piney, yeast, earth, and floral. Wines can be all of the above and then some, fruity, peppery, leather, smokey, herbal, etc. 

After employing our eyes and nose, it’s time to taste. When tasting still wine (no carbonation), there is technically no need to swallow. Moving the wine around your tongue and palate can suffice. Though the tongue is NOT divided up into “regions” of taste (as we touched on in a previous article), taste receptors are pretty evenly divided across the tongue, the roof of the mouth, and even into the throat. On the other hand, carbonated beverages such as beer and sparkling wine must be swallowed to enjoy the full experience. As you swallow, the carbon dioxide is released as gas and travels up through your nasal passages, providing you with a better overall taste profile. As you taste, try to identify as many unique flavors as you can. Compare and contrast those with the aromas you initially smelled. Are the flavors as expected? Are there any surprises?

In our next article, we’ll compare and contrast wine and beer tasting jargon and go a bit beyond just flavors and smells. In the meantime, swing by Stockholm’s and do some beer or wine tasting of your own! May I suggest our current seasonal, Saison, a refreshing and light farmhouse ale. Or if you prefer wine, try the Peirano Estates Old Vine Zinfandel for a delicious and complex tasting experience. Skoal!

As we touched on in an earlier article, discerning flavor profiles is a complex and multisensory task. When it comes to beer, there are so many factors that contribute to your perception of that first sip: the types of hops used, how the beer was carbonated, malt to hop ratio, the temperature of the beer upon consumption, etc. The alcohol content of the brew, or Alcohol by Volume (ABV), is also inherent to a beer’s flavor profile. A low ABV is characteristic of modern “light” beers; with values generally within the 2-5% range. The higher the ABV, the “bigger” or more intense the flavor. Fun fact, according to manofmany.com, the title for highest ABV beer in the world belongs to Snake Venom from Scotland’s Brewmeister with a whopping 67.5%! (The bottle even comes with a warning label that if you drink it in its entirety, it could kill you). 

Back to the topic at hand, calculating ABV is actually just a simple math problem: (Original Gravity – Final Gravity) x 131.25. Gravity is a measurement of a liquid’s density, the total amount of dissolved solids in the beer. These solids are of course sugars that can be converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This measurement can be taken with a number of tools including a refractometer, saccharometer, or hydrometer. 

The Original Gravity (O.G.) reading is taken of the liquid before the addition of yeast. This measurement can give the brewer some valuable insight, such as the potential alcohol content. The more sugar solids present for the yeast to feast on = higher alcohol content. This Original Gravity reading also establishes a baseline to which the brewer can compare future measurements throughout the fermentation process for quality assurance purposes. 
The Final Gravity (F.G.) measurement is taken obviously when the fermentation process is complete and the brew is ready for consumption. A low Final Gravity means a dry, crisp flavor while a higher Final Gravity means a sweeter, malty brew. Now that you have your O.G. and F.G. values, just do the math! Your ABV is the end result. 

Did you learn something new? If so, here’s your homework. Next time you visit Stockholm’s, order a Voyage – five 4 ounce samples of our craft beer. Choose brews with varying ABVs, like Loki’s Pils 3.2%, Third Street Ale 5.5%, and G.P.A. 6.8%. Do you pick up on the nuances of flavors from one to another? How does a higher or lower alcohol content contribute to your tasting experience? We’d love to hear from you!

Contrary to what you might have learned in 6th grade science class, the tongue isn’t evenly divided up into neat little regions of taste. Sweet at the front, bitter in the back, and so on. Humans actually have taste receptor cells for each of the five types of tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami) pretty evenly distributed across the tongue and even at the roof of the mouth and into the throat. 

Yet before the food or drink even makes it that far, the tasting process has already begun. The olfactory sensory neurons in your nose have already started firing off signals to your brain to identify the smell. Pleasant? Not-so-pleasant? Does it inspire feelings or specific memories? 

The second the food or drink is consumed, it’s time for the 8,000 or so taste buds to get to work. Simultaneously, two cranial nerves, one at the front of the tongue and one at the back, begin sending messages of their own to the brain. This precisely orchestrated conversation between your nose, mouth, and brain is called Neurogastronomy, the science of taste perception. A lot is happening behind the scenes while we’re enjoying our meals!

There is also an evolutionary component to our taste perception. While salt and sugar are necessary for biological function and energy production, tastes like bitter and sour inherently meant underripe, spoiled, or even DANGER! 
But as we evolved, so did our palates. People have been increasingly adventurous in the flavor profiles they want in their food and drink. Take craft beer for example. Once considered “beer spoilage microorganisms”, strains such as Pediococcus and Lactobacillus are now sought after to create the traits that make a good, sour beer. There are several ways brewmasters go about crafting a sour, most requiring the injection of these Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) at some point in the beer making process. 
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Our latest Barrel Aged Brew, Honey Barrel Brown, was aged for 518 days in a Bourbon barrel from now defunct Fox River Distilling out of Geneva. This barrel, as many do, inherently had LAB present. Therefore, the honey added to the brew promoted the production of lactic acid within the beer, resulting in a stark tartness or sour taste, which is then offset by the sweetness of the honey. It is a very complex beer with many layers of flavors. So give a snifter a try and practice a little Neurogastronomy. 

As Michael made his way through the latest Beverage Master publication, an article caught his eye. The article turned out to be more of an advert for a particular provider of beer filtration systems and how carefully selecting the proper filtration method can make or break the end result. But it was only the opening paragraph that piqued his interest. The author very basically stated that correct process + time + gravity = great beer. But he went on to say, “When a brewer speeds up that process, corners get cut, and compensation has to occur. Proper filtration methods are one way to do this…” 

Invariably in these modern times, patience is not so much a virtue as it is a relic of the past. Time is just another obstacle to overcome using technology and creativity. This is definitely true in the beer world, where getting from wort to mug quickly and efficiently is paramount. Filtration is sometimes utilized by breweries in order to “cut corners” as it were. 

At Stockholm’s, we’re fast approaching 19 years of craft brewing in the Old World Tradition. Our beers are made in small batches right in our front window; naturally conditioned and unfiltered in order to produce the kind of beer you’d find in a German hofbrau around 1900. Choosing not to filter our beers helps us achieve a broader flavor profile, as filtering by its very nature removes subtle flavors and nuances. After all, the Old World process + time + gravity = Stockholm’s Handcrafted Beer.