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Does anyone have any tips for reviewing beers? I would like very much to be able to give better feedback during the tasting sessions and would like to be able to review some of the beers available to me for my blog...

I decided tonight to do an experiment and I taste tested a bottle of Fullers Honey Due before looking at any reviews for it, I then took my own notes and compared them to the reviews on Beer Advocate [url:e96wak2m]http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/71/5368[/url:e96wak2m] and from the looks of things I am waaay off the mark, the only things I had correct (according to these other reviews) was the carbonation and head retention.

I could not detect the hops, and the level of honey was waaay down on my charts, I would have put it at minuscule levels of honey aroma and flavor at best. I'm even convinced I detected a small aroma of wheat (very small, but there IMHO)...

I'm aware that tastes and aromas are subjective to the person tasting them, but I find it difficult to believe that my own particular tastes could be so far off so many others, I will post the notes I have taken, but I fear they are not good at all... I also managed to skip the mouth feel section of the review...

[quote:e96wak2m]Fullers Honey Dew

First impressions, labeling is very nice, definite indication that there is honey present in the brewing of the beer.

Upon pouring, the beer did not keep its head for very long, it settled back into a light and sparse pseudo foam. It is however very clear in composition, a light golden yellow color with a mere few bubbles rising to the top to indicate the level of carbonation. It has quite a sweet, almost sticky or candy aroma; similar to what one would find in a lemon and lime soft drink, however at 5% ABV it is anything but a soft drink...

The first tastings do not provide a whole lot of flavor, there is a sweet aftertaste and a moderate amount of carbonation. Although indicated, there is not a terribly strong indication of honey present, none of the lovely sweet "rotting the teeth right out of your head" flavors present in the brew.

There is also no discernible hop profile to be found in the beer. Unfortunately their claim of "zesty hops" seems to have alluded me as I cannot taste any of them... and I seem to have a peculiar pallet when it comes to hops so I tend to spot them within the first sip.

Although the head retention seems to be quite poor, and the beer is very very clear, I am smelling a somewhat "wheaty" aroma, although I cannot place it. There is also minuscule amounts of lacing. The aftertaste, while not unpleasant, seems to linger for quite a while after the initial swallow.

All in all, I was quite disappointed and would rate it as a 6-7/10. Certainly drinkable, but there are so many other beers available that would take preference in my fridge.[/quote:e96wak2m]

Jaysis I wouldn't have started with Honey Dew. That's like having your first driving lesson in a JCB. Your review matches what I think of the beer, anyway.

Get something with bigger, clearer flavours for your next go: Torpedo or Rochfort 10, say.

And the way I look at it, if it didn't occur to you to say anything about the mouthfeel then the mouthfeel isn't worth saying anything about.

My top tip for describing beer is steal remorselessly from this guy[/url:2fkhg76n]. He's brilliant at it.

People have differently developed senses of smell and taste - that is why some wine experts can tell so much from tasting a bottle!

However, the first thing they use is a sort of check list of questions to get a consistent approach. In the good book 'clone brews' they list a simple list. I'm sure we can come up with a suitable Beoir recommended evaluation/tasting guide?

Will

Perhaps you are correct TBN, I will be sure to give it a go...

On a second passing the wheaty aroma I got could be (possibly) compared to the "bread like" aroma others have received...

Will, I think I have that lying around here somewhere, Ill have to dig it up.

It depends on what you want to review the beer for. If it's for a Blog it'll be a lot more wordy (obviously), and if it's just as a future reference point you just need to break it down to the basics elements.

Personally, I do the latter, so just basic impressions with main points covered, Appearance, Head, Nose, Taste, ABV, Overall Opinion. I just like to have a reference point if I want to try the beer again. I always like to check back to make sure it wasn't a stinker, and it's also nice to compare previous notes. I never check reviews beforehand as you can be led by other peoples' opinions, but it is nice to compare afterwards. All that said, I sometimes find it a bit tiresome taking notes.

is there a recommended thing to drink between beers to refresh the taste buds ? I was in london recently and had some Jaipur after that everything else was like p$ss. Great pint.