Gina Goes Great Guns
National Account Controller Gina is getting up a head of steam in her pursuit of becoming a qualified Beer Sommelier.
She has taken the “Understanding Off Flavours and How to Judge Beer” one-day course in her stride gaining a 90% success in the exam, closely followed by smashing the “Beer and Food Pairing Course” one-day course with a score of 95%.
We caught up with NAC Gina to see how she is enjoying the challenge:
Q: Tell us a bit about “Understanding Off Flavours and How to Judge Beer”….
A: Off flavours sound a bit off-putting but beer quality is fundamental to being able to enjoy a good pint!
A bad pint can really put someone off beer for life, so it’s important to know the signs to look out for and what causes the problem.
There are ten common off flavours in beer ranging from diacetyl, which is a butterscotchy flavour, phenolic which is the taste of cloves, right through to Isovaleric which can give a smelly socks character!
Everyone’s taste palate is different so some people are better at detecting off flavours than others and also our palate changes with age. So it’s a real challenge to be able to pick up all the off flavours.
Once you know what to look out for, the next step is to understand what causes the off flavours and how to prevent them. There are lots of different elements that can lead to off flavours from poor hygiene to problems with yeast. However, it's also about understanding that some off-flavours are desirable in certain beer styles.
Tasting beer can be subjective, so understanding the technical methods of analysing beer quality is a really important aspect of the course.
Understanding how beer is judged in competition will hopefully open up opportunities for me to get involved in the many great beer competitions held throughout the year!
Q: How will this help new knowledge help you in your day-to-day role?
A: The core elements of these courses will help me to present the flavour profile of both new and existing beers to buyers in a professional and consistent way. The knowledge I have gained will help me answer questions around quality and freshness which are integral to our values as a brewer.
Q: Why is learning about food pairing so important?
A: This can really enhance your appreciation of a beer. There’s a real science to understanding how flavours interact between food and beer, and how best to balance a beer’s intensity with food. There are some recognised principles to successful beer and food pairing. This means you can plan beer and food matching menus and learn how to deliver successful events.
I really enjoyed experimenting with all the different beer and food combinations. In the same way with wine, some combinations are classics, but I really enjoyed some of the more unusual pairings like a sour cherry lambic with bitter dark chocolate - this was a revelation and tasted exactly like black forest gateau. The next time I invite friends and family over for a meal, they are going to be in for a treat!
Q: What’s next?
Next I'll be working on building my portfolio of evidence ahead of my 90-minute beer sommelier exam!
We wish Gina well!
To keep up to date with all the news from the Hogs Back Brewery, sign up to our newsletter below (get 10% off your first online beer order) and follow us @HogsBackBrewery on X, Facebook and Instagram.