How to taste a beer

Janet | Aug. 10, 2021, 4:22 p.m.

Just a personal micro guide.

For one, the new beer tastes different. New beers are complex, with a complex flavor profile that makes the taste experience more like drinking something new than simply drinking something familiar.

For another, the first few days of drinking a new beer are different than the last. New beers require a little more preparation, the preparation that can be both fun and challenging. And the fun can be as simple as cleaning the new beer well, or as complicated as mastering the nuances of a new beer.

These challenges will be familiar to anyone who's ever opened a bottle of wine or cracked open a bottle of liquor.

How do I open a fresh beer?

First, grab the beer. You don't want to try to open a beer while it's still warm or it will just explode.

Next, take the beer out of its plastic bottle and hold it close to the light. Hold the bottle like you're going to light a match.

Next, look up. You want to focus on the bottle itself, not the light. Notice how the top of the bottle just starts to shine with light. Now you will see two colors, not just one. One color is carbon dioxide, and the other is a yellowish-greenish tint.

Look at how the two colors are overlapping and how they seem to flow together. If you look at the beer closely, you'll see the carbon dioxide slowly flowing into the bottle.

As the cap comes off, the gas can be seen spilling out. It's important to look right next to the carbon dioxide as it escapes from the bottle. As it does so, it will change colors and fade.

As you watch the gas pour out, try to take note of what's happening. Look at what you see. What is the color of carbon dioxide? Is it a pale yellow? Is it a bright orange?

Where is the carbon dioxide coming from? What type of flow is occurring?

What are those bubbles?

Is the carbon dioxide moving quickly enough to create those bubbles of something like this? The first time I tried it I didn't even know I was drinking a beer, and I'm a beer drinker so I know what I was. 

I'll be back to try the other flavors.

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