Part III, Section B: Identify Normal Flavors of Beer and Their Sources Flashcards
What are the 3 main sources of aroma and flavor in beer?
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- Malt and grain
- Hops
- Fermentation (yeast and water)
What is the most common grain used for beer?
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Barley is the most common grain used in beer
because its high starch content is readily
converted to sugar and its shells serve as filters.
How are the starches in grain converted to fermentable sugars?
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“Malting” produces enzymes which then convert the starches in the grain to fermentable sugars.
The grain is moistened (steeped) enough so that it germinates
and starts to sprout. Then the grain is dried and
heated to stop the process.
What are the 4 basic types of malt?
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- Base malts (lightly heated to dry, preserving enzymes)
- Kilned or colored malts (dried at higher temperatures with diminishing active enzymes based on how long and how hot the kilining)
- Crystal or caramel malts (heated wet to mash temperatures before kiln drying) These have no active enzymes)
- Roasted malts or grains (also with very little or no enzymatic activity)
What are adjuncts?
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Adjuncts are any unmalted ingredient that contributes fermentable sugar. Common adjuncts are corn, rice, unmalted wheat or barley, honey, and oats.
Adjuncts don’t get kilned or toasted, and they contribute very little flavor. Their main purpose is to reduce or lighten the malt flavor of the beer.
Give 5 examples of adjunct grains:
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- Unmalted Wheat
- Oats
- Rye
- Corn
- Rice
- Unmalted Barley
What are the main flavors of pale/yellow beer?
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Uncooked flour, bread dough
What are the main flavors of golden beer?
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White bread, wheat bread, water cracker
What are the main flavors of light/pale amber beer?
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Bread crust, biscuit, or graham cracker
What are the main flavors of amber beer?
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Toasty, caramel, or pastry/pie crust
What are the main flavors of brown beer?
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Nutty, toffee, chocolate
What are the main flavors of black beer?
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Roasted, burnt, coffee
How many varieties of hops are there?
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There are over a hundred varieties of hops.
What are the characteristic flavors of American hops?
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- Citrus - Mainly grapefruit, then orange and lemon
- ‘Resinous’ - having a ‘piney’ character as in pine trees or pine needles
- Newer varieties have tropical fruit character as in pineapple, mango, passionfruit
- Others remind some of garlic or onion
What are the characteristic flavors of English hops?
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These hops are commonly described as having an earthy, woodsy, herbal, or slightly rose-like character.
What are the characteristic flavors of German/Czech hops?
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Described as:
- Floral, perfumey
- Peppery, minty
What are the characteristics of new New Zealand and Australian hops?
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Descriptors include:
Tropical fruit, passion fruit, lychee, pineapple, and melon
What are the 2 main types of yeast for fermenting beer?
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- Lager yeast (saccharomyces pastorianus)
- Ale yeast (saccharomyces cerevisiae)
What are the main flavors of lager yeast?
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Generally don’t produce esters and phenols and during lagering, remove any off flavors they may produce, leaving little flavor of their own.
What are the main flavors of ale yeast?
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Esters: produce fruity flavors
Banana, apple, pear, sometimes peach, apricot
Phenols:
German Weissbier yeast imparts clove flavors, some say nutmeg or allspice
Belgian ales often have a spicy yeast flavor often described as being like fresh ground black or white pepper
What is diacetyl?
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Diacetyl is a chemical that tastes like butter or butterscotch.
Both lager yeasts and ale yeasts produce
diacetyl. Brewers often use “diacetyl rest” to get
rid of it. (A diacetyl rest is a fermentation step used by brewers to eliminate the common beer off-flavor, diacetyl. The diacetyl rest occurs at 68°F for a few days to ensure that yeast reabsorbs diacetyl, removing the butter-like flavor from the beer. )
What are the main flavors produced by Weissbier yeast?
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Clove, banana, bubble-gum fruitiness
What are other yeasts and bacteria used in beer?
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Brettanomyces (yeast) horsey, smoky and spicy flavors. As the name suggests, this strain is found most often in lambic-style beers but is also commonly found in Flanders and sour brown ales.
Pichia and Candida are among the so-called ‘wild yeasts’ used in Lambics to produce complex esters
Lactobacillus and Pediococcus (bacteria) are used to produce souring in beer
Acetobacteria (bacteria)
What is oxidation in beer?
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Generally considered ruinous, exposure to oxygen can happen virtually anywhere in the brewing process, from the brewhouse to the fermentation cellar, to the packaging line, and even within the bottle in storage after packaging.
We perceive the evidence of oxidation as off-putting stale notes that are variously described as leathery, papery, wet cardboard-like, sherry-like, or black currant.
What color beer is associated with:
Uncooked flour; bread dough?
Very pale/yellow beer
What color beer is associated with:
Bread; wheat bread; water cracker?
Gold beer
What color beer is associated with:
Bread crust; biscuit; graham cracker?
Pale/light amber beer
What color beer is associated with:
Toasty; caramel; pastry/pie crust?
Amber beer
What color beer is associated with:
Nutty; toffee; chocolate?
Brown beer
What color beer is associated with:
Roasty; coffee; burnt?
Black beer
