Appreciating the smell of a beer

Smelling the beer is arguably the most critical step in a beer tasting, since our sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than our sense of taste. As the senses of taste and olfaction are linked, smelling the beer gives the palate a sense of what to expect.

The sense of smell becomes saturated quite quickly, and it is therefore important that you concentrate and take special note of the aromas you detect during the first smell.

As you inhale, you should at first notice the dominant scent. The dominant scent is the initial aroma released during the pour, and, depending on the beer style, can be a mixture of:

• malt
• butterscotch
• hops

and other strong scents. Any “off” aromas present, such as the skunky odour of a light-struck beer, or the cooked vegetable smell of a beer suffering from a bacterial infection, will hit you along with the dominant scent.

As the beer settles in the glass, the dominant scent will give way to the more mellow secondary scent. Detecting these more subtle aromas can be helped along by giving your beer glass a gentle swirl, and you should be on the lookout for floral, fruity and spicy scents.

Once the secondary scent has passed, you will be left with the residual scent, often referred to as the beer’s “signature smell”. It is here that the more unusual aromas, such as earthiness or nuttiness, are released.