Swilling down a chilled mug of beer is all you need to allay the day's stress and get some respite from the balmy weather of summers. Ask any beer lover and they'll nod in a ‘yes'. But, loving your beer and knowing your beer are two different things. Knowing your beer only heightens the pleasure of guzzling it. So, to enable all the beer buffs to enjoy their drink in its elementary form, a one-of-a-kind beer review and tasting event was recently organised at Together At 12th in Gurugram. The event saw more than 12 brands of beers lined up for review in a bid to find the best tasting wheat and lager beers in India. Nine beer enthusiasts formed the panel of judges to pick the best beers in two categories - lager and wheat beer.
(Also Read: 10 Types Of Beer Everyone Needs To Know)
Beer review event
The event was conducted by Mishry.com (a review platform exclusively for products in the kitchen & dining space) in collaboration with Nitin Tewari, a veteran mixologist, and entrepreneur, and co-founder of Together At 12th. A whole host of popular beer brands were brought in for the review. The beers were adjudged on the basis on three parameters: appearance, aroma, and taste.
The event kicked off with a fun review session wherein the panelists were blindfolded and were handed glasses of beer samples one by one. They were asked to score the beer according to the aroma they emitted. Nitin explained why blindfold was a necessary step to pick the right beer, "I personally believe whatever you taste and whatever you smell, they are all co-related. Ninety-five percent of what you taste is through your nose." After the aroma test, the beers were tested on basis of color, head and finally for taste.
'Mishry's founder and one of the panelists, Tanu Ganguly said, “Beer is something that evokes a great deal of passion. So we thought it would be exciting to do an open review for the best beers with a curated group of beer lovers.”
(Also Read: 5 Benefits Of Beer. Really!)
Beer tasting session
Beer tasting is a nuanced art and only your love for the fizzy drink will let you master it. Nitin Tewari gave us the low-down and told us all we need to know to taste beer like a pro.
How To Master The Art Of Beer Tasting
1. Always taste beers in the same category at a particular time. Don't mix up.
2. Make sure to pick your beer stored at the right temperature. The ideal temperature of a particular beer is mostly mentioned on its back label.
3. Choose the correct glassware to pour your beer into. Make sure it is clean, completely soap-free and preferably chilled. Unclean glassware can change the actual taste of the beer.
4. After meeting the above-mentioned preconditions, set off with the review process by first taking a big whiff. It is said that the head of beer (froth at the top of the drink) consists of bubbles, which start bursting the moment you open the bottle and pour into the glass. It's the bubbles that emit the true aroma of the beer.
5. Check for the colour and texture of the beer before making your pick. Generally bright, translucent beers are lager beers and cloudy ones are wheat beers.
6. Last but not the least, take a long, deep slug of the beer and let your taste buds round off the job.
Nitin Tewari explains that there are four basic 'S's all the beer connoisseurs follow - sniff for the aroma, sip some beer, swirl it in your mouth, and then swallow. So, next time you go for a beer tasting event like this one, keep these tips in mind and let your love for beer bubble up.