Having a new reporter on the team who is keen to learn all there is to know about the drinks industry has given me a renewed sense of curiosity. Or in not-so-polite terms, a bit of a kick up the arse.
After 19 years in the trade and with numerous brewery, winery and distillery visits under my belt, as well as my wine and spirits diploma, it hadn’t really occurred to me to do more drinks courses. But the opportunity arose recently to do my Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 in beer. The course, along with Level 1, was introduced earlier this year, in an effort to broaden the WSET’s horizons in drinks education.
The set up is very similar to the wine courses – there’s a systematic approach to tasting, a textbook, a workbook and sections are followed by tasting sessions that illustrate what you have just learned.
So, what did I learn?
On a personal note, I learned that the hazy pale spell that I have been under is pretty boring in comparison to what else is out there. I’m not saying I won’t be drinking those on a sunny afternoon, but I also feel like I had forgotten that so many other exciting styles of beer exist.
Of course, we learned about the production process, different malts, yeast strains for lager and ale, and about the characteristics of various hop varieties. We also learned about adjuncts – non-malt sources of fermentable sugars – and what various off-notes smell and taste like.
Inevitably, a few of the beers we tasted weren’t at their peak. This is no criticism of the team at the WSET, who have meticulous systems in place. Rather, it shows the challenges of storing and selling beer in top condition.
Then there’s the packaging – we learned that light strike can occur in beer that is not protected from sunlight, making colourless glass bottles more susceptible to allowing UV light to impart a skunk-like aroma on the beer. If you haven’t smelt a skunk, this was also compared to cat pee or burning hair (the latter much more familiar to anyone with hair straighteners).
Staling is another fairly common problem – it occurs due to oxidation and makes beer smell a bit like paper or wet cardboard. It also causes hop aromas to fade.
Bedsides understanding faults, for any retailers who want to stock a more varied selection of beer, this course will give you a good understanding of what’s out there, and how to read the labels. I learned you can tell a lot about a beer from its colour and its name. If it’s called Helles Bock, for example, we’re expecting something light in colour and high in alcohol. Light colour indicates base malts, rather than roast or caramel malts, so that also gives you a clue as to what it might taste like. A Helles Bock also suggests German hops. Oh, and fun fact – bock comes from the German for goat, so expect a bit of a kick.
Having started the course with an idea that my favourite beers would be hazy pale styles, I finished with a love for Flanders Red – a funky beer with vinegar-like aromas from the acetic acid, as well as notes of prunes, treacle and cherry.
And like learning anything, once you start, you realise there’s a whole lot more to discover.
Fancy a beer?
For more info on the course, click here.
