Aromaster Beer Aromas 1

Today we’re doing a different exercise — we’re going to have some smell practice.

On many occassions when we taste beer we find ourselves frustrated with our inability to pick out tasting “notes” — you know, when someone says “I get a hint of grass on the nose”, or something like that.

Mostly I just taste malt, and hops; and if a beer is a stout, maybe chocolate, or coffee; and if it’s a good IPA maybe some varieties of citrus.

Sometimes I’ll just reach for something and make up something imaginative to have something interesting to say.

So we got an “aroma kit”:

It’s got twelve bottles of essential oils or something, smells that you might expect in beers.

Let’s stick our nose in four of them and see what we experience!

Lemon

It’s lemon. I feel confident I can pick out lemon flavor. We use lemons most every day in cooking.

Sour.

Apple

It’s tart. Like a green apple. Not like a red apple.

I feel silly about this exercise and wonder if I could pick out this flavor while sipping a beer.

I decide now is an opportunity to really embed this flavor in my brain.

I have Aimee wave the bottle under my nose several times while I say “green apple, green apple, green apple”.

Tart and sweet.

Green apple, green apple, green apple.

Pear

I say “pear” before opening this one and sticking it under Aimee’s face.

This time while I am chanting pears, I look at the card that accompanies the kit, with pictures of every aroma. I visualize “pear”, I say “pear”.

Aimee approaches with a bag of open coffee beans and says, “you want to clean your nose?”

I know she is asking if I want to stick my nose in the bag of coffee, as if that will cleanse my palate, and I am doubtful.

I stick my nose in the bag of coffee and inhale deeply.

I love the smell of roasted coffee beans.

Coffee also a good beer aroma.

I chant “coffee, coffee, coffee”.

Melon

I don’t know what kind of melon is in the picture. Honeydew?

I just chant “melon, melon, melon”.

It’s a rounder scent, doesn’t suggest acid like the lemon or pear.

Aimee is distracted with her laptop, a final-generation Intel MacBook that she has been supremely disappointed. Presently the mouse cursor is stuck.

Thoughts

I am somewhat dismayed at the collection of scents here, as I think I know these well. Though I might not think of “melon” while drinking beer, so having these primed in my brain seems like a worthwhile exercise.

Now to taste a beer.