“Bock” to basics: 5 tips for beer beginners
by Andrew Heisler ’13
Whether you like your brew malty, hoppy, or well…watery (I’m talking about you, Keystone Light), beer of all tastes, styles and origins hold a special place in the hearts of Wisconsinites. It has its own place in the Wisconsin Food Hall-of-Fame right next to the wheel of cheese and the grill full of bratwurst.
Wisconsin has a booming craft beer industry. Well-known regional breweries such as New Glarus Brewing Company, Capital Brewery and Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company are only the tip of the iceberg. According to Wisconsin’s Best Beer Guide, 2nd Edition, Wisconsin is home to over 90 breweries. When you think about the fact that many of these breweries make several different kinds of beer, you begin to fully grasp the reach and popularity of the beer industry in this great state.
So how does one go from “beer weak” to “beer geek?” Don’t stress. It is quite understandable to be slightly overwhelmed or confused with the wide array of options. That’s where Terrace Views comes in. With the help of Bill Rogers, owner of The Malthouse tavern and co-founder of Madison Craft Beer Week you’ll be loving lagers and appreciating ales in no time.
1. Don’t be influenced by your connoisseur friends.
Your friends are going to want to push the beer-iest and boldest flavors on you immediately. According to Bill Rogers, though, you have to learn to walk before you can run.
“Beer geeks tend to scout more extreme examples and that’s not the way to get started,” Bill says. “You’d never start drinking whiskey with something really powerful and smoky.”
Start with flavors and aromas you find pleasant. Once you consistently enjoy the mild, toasted flavor of brown ale, for instance, moving into uncharted territory seems a lot less daunting.
2. Your sense of smell is your friend… even more so than your sense of taste.
Obviously, your sense of taste plays a role in whether or not you find a particular beer appealing over another, but it’s the sense of smell, according to Bill, that lets you truly pick up on the ingredients in a beer—ingredients your sense of taste may miss.
“Most of our sense of taste actually comes from our nose in the back of our nasal passages,” Bill says. To put it in perspective further, imagine having a horrible cold and stuffy sinus. Blockages in your nasal cavity make it very difficult to enjoy the flavors of your favorite foods. Why else do we plug our noses when eating lima beans or taking nasty medicine? (Apologies to anyone who enjoys lima beans.)
According to Bill, the best way to smell a beer is to get your nose near the top of the bottle or glass immediately. The pleasantly pungent aromas can quickly dissipate into the atmosphere and if you miss them, you’re forced to leave the beer analysis to your sense of taste. To prevent this, try cupping your hands over the top of the beverage vessel and stick your nose in between your fingers. This allows you to breathe in the enjoyable smells without letting them disappear into the air.
Bill also recommends holding your mouth open while you smell the beer. It actually pulls the aromas further back into your nasal passages. This technique, however, requires some practice so make sure you’re not in public when you first do it unless you want some strange looks.
“A good judge can tell you most of the things about the beer just by the aroma,” Bill says. “Then they just taste it just to confirm what they smelled is actually in the beer.”
3. Drink your beer at the right temperature.
Have you ever wondered why the large “megabrew” companies market their beer as the coldest and most refreshing?
“The colder something is, the less you’re going to taste it,” Bill chuckles. “You’re not drinking the beer to experience the flavor of it.” The big corporations market their beer as super cold so their consumers can’t taste it. Let’s be honest: we’ve all had a warm, corporation brew at some point. And unless you’re weird and enjoy drinking flat, tepid beer, it has been and forever will be a regrettable experience.
It’s for this reason that temperature plays a crucial role in fully tasting and appreciating a well-brewed craft beer. Bill recommends drinking lagers at a chillier temperature (roughly 38-45 degrees) and ales at a comfortable 40-50 degrees. In fact, there are many great beers that people enjoy at cellar temperature (if, of course, you have the luxury of owning a beer cellar). This provides the drinker with the optimum conditions to experience the beer with all five of their senses.
4. Bitterness is your friend in the end…but your enemy at first.
Beer can have overpowering flavors that can overwhelm an inexperienced drinker if they aren’t properly prepared. Bitterness especially takes some getting used to as humans are biologically turned off by bitter tastes. Knowing which types of beers are for beginners makes your transition to a connoisseur much easier.
“Most people won’t start drinking craft beers with something very powerful and bitter and hoppy like an Imperial IPA or an Imperial Stout,” Bill remarks. “Instead, start with the maltier styles like Scotch Ales, maybe a Belgian Lager.”
Other good starter brews include Bocks (i.e. New Glarus’s “Back Forty Bock”) or Brown Ales (i.e. “Mad Town Nut Brown” from Ale Asylum). Bill even goes as far as to say that Nutbrown Ales are a “gateway beer,” allowing beginners to expand their hoppy horizons and branch into more complicated brews.
5. In the end, just enjoy yourself and take advantage of Madison’s beer resources.
Drinking a beer, whether you’re in your home or at the Terrace with friends, is supposed to be a relaxing, enjoyable experience. It doesn’t matter if you’re “beerliterate” or an expert, so long as you are having a pleasant time and enjoying what you’re drinking.
Interested in meeting Bill in person? You are in luck. Bill is the instructor of the upcoming Wisconsin Union Mini Course, “Beer Geek 101” which is offered Tuesday, 6/25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m AND Monday, 7/22 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Also, keep your eyes open for Wisconsin Union’s once-a-semester course called “Beer Class: The History of Wisconsin Craft Beer” held in The Sett Union South. This restaurant boasts a variety of craft brews and is often one of only a few locations in Madison to have certain small batches distributed. We hope to see you there!
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Andrew Heisler is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying Strategic Communications. His favorite beer is Hofbräu Dunkel because of its drinkability and sweet honey-like aroma.
