BEER

Beer is just malted grain, water, and yeast, usually spiced with hops.

When the brewer has combined the elements perfectly, it is called BALANCE. When all the elements in the beer are balanced we are describing the harmony not just in the bitter, hops, and sweet malt, but the harmony between contrasting elements, and how all those aromas and flavors come together as a choir.

There are four mayor taste and aroma producing agents:

MALT: Beer is made of grain that has been malted; this grain is responsible for the color of the beer. The various hues come from the way the malt is kilned or roasted, which also contributes aromas and flavors. Malt is principally sweet, but roasted malt may be bitter like coffee. . Malt gives beer the scent and flavor of bread, cracker, nuts, toffee, dark fruit, or chocolate - to name just few-.
HOPS: The most versatile ingredient in beer is the hops. They may imperceptibly balance the sweetness of malt, as in light beer, or they may make a beer profoundly bitter, like some double IPAs. Hops can add intense aromatics and lush flavors as well as some grapefruit, pine boughs, or mint in your glass.
YEAST: It is an agent more than an ingredient, and you taste the chemical compounds it leaves behind. In some beers like lagers it leaves very little, but in others, like hefeweizens and Saison, it creates startlingly fruity or spicy notes that are the hallmarks of those styles.
SUGAR, SPICE, AND EVERYTHING NICE: Beer must be made of water, malt, and yeast, but it may also be made of almost anything else. And it has been. In modern commercial brewing, the use of other ingredients is becoming more common: Breweries regurlarly add sugar to boost strenght without adding body, but honey, maple syrup, or molasses give flavors as well.

TASTING BEER

When you have a glass of beer, you can do much more then just drink it fast. You can learn how to appreciate it. Your senses are important. But it is your mind and ability to observe, that allow to understand what you are drinking. Let's try it:

Open the beer and slowly pour in into the glass:

LOOK

Your eyes will tell you a lot about the beer. If you pour it from a bottle, notice whether it comes out syrupy or water-thin. Once it is in the glass, you can look to see the color and clarity of the beer, how vigorously the bubbles rise from the bottom of the glass, and what the head looks like. Does the head resemble a skiff of whipped cream, with bubbles so small you can not see them, or is it made of larger visible bubbles, stacked like a tiny beads? What color is it? How fast does the head dissipate?

SWALLOW

The final experience comes after the beer is gone. As the beer travel down your throat, a final round of flavors and aromas emerge. Your nose will detect the vapors left behind and your tongue, still awash in a slight residue, will continue to taste. Only by swallowing do some of the important characteristics emerge - crispness, roundness, hoppiness, and tartness, to name a few.

The appearance, flavors, and aromas are all clues to the ingredients, style, and brewing methods of the beer.

SMELL

A good beer will delight your nose. Rouse the aromatic compounds by swirling the glass, then get your nose right down to the surface and inhale. Malt and hops contribute the most obvious scents - bready, roasty, or nutty in the case of malt; floral, spicy, or citrusy from the hops. You might find other aromas that are less obvious, like pear, rose, or clove; these emerge from compounds created during fermentation.

SIP

You finally taste the beer once it washes over your tongue, but flavor is not the only thing going on. Swish the beer around the mouth so the aromas warm unfold - flavors will envolve as the beer enters your mouth and taste and aroma commingle, building as you swallow. Beyond flavors, you will pick up the texture of the beer, its viscosity, level of carbonation, and alcohol strength.