You may have stumbled a little if you’ve ever been asked to describe the beer you’re drinking. Beer is difficult to describe since, in reality, what does beer taste like?
Bread, caramel, and bananas can be said without seeming overly weird. It might be challenging to describe the flavour and features of a beer since sometimes a beer tastes like flavours that you have never had before.
Think of this what does beer taste like guide as your new best buddy in home brewing. It has all the information required to describe the flavour of beer and dazzle your loved ones.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients that Alter Beer Taste
- What Does Beer Taste Like? Glossary of Beer Flavours
- Types of Beer and What They Taste Like
- FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Ingredients that Alter Beer Taste
Do you think your homebrewed beer doesn’t taste well? Do you ever wonder how certain beers get their flavours? Yeast, hops, barley, and water are the four common elements that many brewers use to alter the flavour of their beer.
Let’s examine how these four components may affect the flavour of beer:
Yeast
Without yeast, which aids in the fermentation process, beer cannot be produced. Yeast aids in the conversion of sugars to alcohol, and the sort of beer you create will determine how much yeast you use.
Generally speaking, whether a lager or an ale is produced depends on the amount of yeast added. Because yeast uses carbohydrates, the component gives the beer a sweet flavour.
Hops
Hops, which are made from female flowers, are frequently used to give the beer a bitter taste or acidic flavour.
Generally speaking, a beer gets more bitter the more hops it has. Hops are occasionally added to beers to give them a more complex and well-balanced flavour.
Barley
In order to add sugar to beer during the fermentation process, barley (and specifically malted barley) is frequently utilised. Alcohol and carbon dioxide are produced by yeast by pulling on barley.
By adding more sweetness, barley can change the sweetness of the beer and its flavour. Barley is a grain, therefore depending on how much is added, it may give beers a gritty flavour or texture.
Water
There wouldn’t be any beer without water. Since water makes up 95% of beer, the type of water you use will affect the flavour.
Because of this, bigger breweries alter the chemical composition of the water they use to manufacture their beers. You probably don’t have access to that kind of technology if you often consume beer or are a home brewer.
What Does Beer Taste Like? Glossary of Beer Flavours
Acidic
In beer, acidity typically goes hand in hand with sourness, but the phrase connotes a sharp, tangy quality rather than necessarily having the same flavour implications as “sourness.”
Alcohol
Since beer often has a low ABV, alcohol flavours should be minimised. Of course, the higher the ABV, the greater the likelihood that you’ll taste the alcohol, although expert brewers can hide it for a while.
Although the taste of alcohol is typically seen as an undesirable characteristic, some beers, such as those aged in bourbon barrels, may include a specific boozy flavour as an essential component of the flavour.
Banana
German wheat beers frequently have a distinct banana flavour that isn’t a result of adding actual fruit to the beer. This is a result of the specific yeast strains utilised, which during fermentation give off a yeasty banana flavour.
Bitter
Since hops are one of the primary ingredients in beer and they add bitterness, bitterness is one of the primary flavouring agents in beer. Depending on the kind of hops used for bittering, bitterness can be either severe or smooth.
A beer may have strong hoppy flavours and aromas without tasting very bitter or vice versa. Bitterness can be distinguished from “hoppiness.”
Bourbon / Whiskey
Beer that has aged in real bourbon or whiskey barrels often has a bourbon flavour; this is especially common in imperial stouts. Any type of oak might indicate bourbon flavours when it ages.
Bread / Biscuit / Cracker
Given that beer typically contains the same components as bread, with the exception of hops, many beers can have a bready flavour, depending on the grain bill as different grains contribute different flavours.
As well as various Belgian varieties and malty British beers, lagers frequently have flavours like bread.
Bretty
Since Brettanomyces, often known as Brett, is a type of “wild” yeast, it serves more as a fermentation agent than as a flavouring ingredient.
But because Brett has such distinctive qualities, it is frequently used as an adjective, as in “this beer smells quite Bretty.” This and “funk” are frequently used interchangeably.
Caramel
A typical flavour that some malts can produce. Typically, caramel malts add a deeper, stickier type of sweetness.
Cider / Apple
Due to a straightforward, light malt base and the tangy, fruity beer tastes produced by Belgian yeast, many Belgian beers include overtones of cider or apple. Due to their naturally acidic, dry flavour, many sour beers will have a tart apple flavour.
Citrus
The most frequent description of many American hop types, especially West Coast hops, is citrus. Citrusy is a popular adjective used to describe pale ales and IPAs.
Chocolate
Porters and stouts frequently have chocolate flavours. Dark malts alone can conjure up the flavour of chocolate.
Beers featuring the word “chocolate” in their names such as Rogue Chocolate Stout and Young’s Double Chocolate, typically incorporate real chocolate or chocolate flavouring to accentuate the flavour.
Clean
“Clean” belongs to a series of adjectives that characterise a beer’s sweetness and richness. Clean suggests that a beer doesn’t taste rich or sticky and has a clean finish.
A beer can, however, be both malty and clean, with distinct, sweet malt flavours that aren’t gummy or overpowering.
Coffee
Stouts and porters frequently have a faint coffee flavour. Dark malts alone can suggest coffee, but “coffee stouts” are a typical sub-style brewed with genuine coffee. The name of the beer will typically make this evident.
Dank/Earthy
The only way to adequately describe the flavour of some hops, like Columbus and Chinook, is to call the beer “dank,” but not in a bad manner. Such hops will give IPAs a strong, earthy, woodsy flavour. Porters and stouts, which are darker beers, can occasionally have a “dank” flavour as well.
Dry
In contrast to sweet, the word “dry” is employed. A beer can be clean and malty, but it is challenging for a beer to be both extremely malty and dry. Dryness can be produced by increasing the amount of sugar that the yeast consumes (attenuates) in a beer or, for a somewhat different result, by hiding any lingering sweetness with bitter hops.
Esters
A flavour that is similar to light fruit, frequently banana or pear. Yeast produces esters, sometimes as a result of stress and other times due to the selection of the yeast strain. Many styles, especially wheat beers like hefeweizens, wits, and Weisse, as well as many Belgian styles, are characterised by esters.
English yeast can produce fruity flavours, albeit they are not as distinct as the European strains’ banana-like characteristics. Under stress, most yeast will produce esters, albeit in many genres this would be regarded as a defect.
Floral
A typical hop quality, especially in European hops or styles.
Funky
A key component of sour beer flavours or beer aged with Brettanomyces (i.e. Orval.) Unsour beer can nevertheless have a weird flavour. It’s hard for me to compare the fragrance of “funky” to anything else I’ve ever tasted or smelled.
It’s a wild, living, real smell. Some people refer to this rich, earthy, leathery quality as “barnyard” or “farmhouse.”
Fruit
Water is probably the only element used in beer that won’t occasionally add a fruity flavour. Fruitiness in beer can be caused by a variety of factors:
Utilizing actual fruit in the brewing process American wheat beers are particularly prone to this trend. Fruity flavours like grapefruit, citrus, mango, passionfruit, lemon, and orange are present in many hop types.
Additionally, yeast can impart fruity flavours, especially in wheat beers (banana), Belgian beers (apple, lemon, and banana), and sour beers (apple; mango; lemon).
Finally, some malts provide flavours that resemble dark fruits. Darker Belgian beers, such dubbels and quads, may taste like plums, while barleywines and other high-ABV beers may have a sweet raisin or fig flavour.
Hoppy
One of the primary qualities and essential components of beer. Hops can add dozens of various flavours and fragrances, depending on the kind. Grapefruit and citrus, flowery, pine, peppery, earthy, dank, mango, passionfruit, lemon, orange, and other fruits are typical hop qualities.
Hops do have a bitter flavour, but how strong and severe it depends on usage.
Oak
The type of oak (and the country of origin), the degree of toasting, the method of oaking (chips, cubes, barrels, etc.), and the length of oaking all affect the flavour of the beer.
Oak can provide flavours like vanilla, roasted coffee, sweetness, spice, and a richer mouthfeel in addition to an oaky, woody, or toasty flavour. These characteristics are also imparted by ageing in oak barrels that have previously housed wine or other alcoholic beverages.
Malty
Depending on the grains used and how they were roasted, malt flavours might vary, but describing a beer as being “malty” typically conjures up images of sweet, bready, nutty, caramel, and dark fruits like figs or raisins. In terms of overall ingredient percentages, malt (grain, similar to what you would need to make bread, roughly) is by far the most important component in beer.
Once malt and water have been combined, sugar is added for the yeast to consume and ferment into alcohol. (How sweet beer will taste depends on how much sugar is left over after fermentation by yeast.)
Therefore, there is some malt flavour in almost every beer, but in others, such as light, hyper-hoppy IPAs or super dry sour beers, it may be lessened or insignificant.
Consider Scottish beers, strong ales, barleywines, Oktoberfests, dunkels, and many German lagers, which are almost entirely malty in flavour.
As malts are what contribute the majority of the sugar in the first place, “malty” suggests some sweetness, but beer can still have clean malt tastes without tasting unduly rich or sugary.
Regardless of the amount of residual sugar present, different malts can provide a range of flavours, some of which will taste sweeter than others.
Interested in learning more about malt? Visit our Beer vs Malt Liquor guide!
Phenols
The flavour of phenols, which are created by yeast and can therefore vary depending on yeast stress or yeast strain, is typically spicy and clove-like and may go along with a fruity banana flavour. Numerous Belgian styles frequently feature phenols.
Phenolic flavours that are more overt or present in the majority of other kinds are regarded as off-flavours. Phenols can produce an unfavourable Band-Aid, solvent, or medicine flavour at high concentrations.
Pine
A characteristic of hops.
Roasty
A toasted, bitter, and black flavour. can have a softer flavour, like dark chocolate or bread, or a stronger flavour, like black coffee. especially typical of stouts.
Rye
Beer gains a smooth, dry flavour from rye malt. It might produce a peppery flavour, like in rye bread, if it makes up a significant portion of the grain bill.
I’ve discovered that rye may produce a sweet, almost vanilla/oak taste in malty, low-ABV beers when used in lower amounts. A flexible ingredient that pairs nicely with the richness of common malts and the bitterness of hops.
Smokey
Any sort of malt that has been kilned over a fire made of wood is called smoked malt because it has absorbed some of the tastes and smoke from the fire.
All woods will taste “smokey”—as if the beer was brewed over a campfire—and can add diverse flavours. Beers with a strong smoky flavour sometimes taste almost like bacon.
Spice(s)
Almost every spice can be used in brewing and most likely has been. Some varieties have historically incorporated spices, such as Belgian wit beers, which commonly incorporate coriander and orange peel.
Winter warmers and pumpkin beers both frequently contain spices. There is really no restriction on which spices can be used, or in what beer, as adding spices is perhaps one of the most popular (and simplest) means of experimenting for brewers.
Spicy / Clove
Without adding any actual spices to the brew, the phenols made by Belgian yeast give many Belgian beers a spicy or clove flavour.
Sour
Nowadays, sour beer is commonly regarded as one of its own genres, with several sub-styles. It is the beer that has gone through a special fermentation process using yeast and bacteria that are not typically utilised in brewing. The mouth-puckering flavour of sourness, or acidity, is made even more intense by the fact that these beers are usually extremely dry.
Most sour beers have very little malt flavour left; they can be compared to kombucha or even very dry white wine. While some sour varieties (such as fruit lambics) will employ genuine fruit to complement the beer’s ripe, acidic characteristics, fermentation and dryness will bring forth delicate fruity flavours.
However, because sourness is a process, it can be present in different beers to varying degrees; also, different fermentation methods will produce distinct kinds of sour flavours. For instance, beers made with a sour mash typically have a lower bitterness and less complexity.
Sugars (various)
Brewing can be done using any number of speciality sugars, and most of them will add their own distinct flavours. Common additives include maple syrup and honey. In order to obtain a high ABV while maintaining a light, drinking body, Belgian beers commonly use candi-sugars.
Contrary to popular belief, sugar actually dries out beer instead of sweetening it. This is because most sugars are almost entirely fermentable by yeast, which means that any addition will result in alcohol and CO2 production rather than sweetness. Additionally, the beer’s body is made thinner as a result of this.
Sweet
Sweetness typically indicates a profile that is rich in malts and high in residual sugar. Beer is likely to be sweeter the more malt it contains. Due to the enormous amounts of malt needed to make them, some kinds, including imperial stouts and barleywines, are intrinsically sweet.
Nevertheless, the sweetness can be concealed by a number of elements, including fermentation (particularly attenuative yeast) and hops, resulting in a beer that tastes malty but not too rich.
Tart
Dry, sour, acidic, and sharp flavours—like underripe fruit or green apples—are closely related to tartness.
Wheat
A beer that contains wheat will typically be labelled as such because wheat beers are a distinct style in and of themselves. Wheat doesn’t have a lot of flavour on its own; instead, it contributes more to the body of a beer, giving it a silky, smooth feel.
Additionally, because wheat contains a lot of protein, wheat also helps a beer develop a thick, fluffy head. It might offer a mild (but satisfying) sweetness and a touch of tanginess to the flavour.
However, the distinctive yeast strains utilised are chiefly responsible for the distinctive characteristics found in the majority of wheat beer.
Types of Beer and What They Taste Like
What flavours can you thus anticipate from various beer types? Let’s examine some popular beer varieties and how they taste:
Amber Ales
Amber ales can be compared to toast, biscuits, sugar cookies, dark fruit, figs, nuts, and caramel. These beers emphasise a barely-based sweet, malty flavour. The American version will be more bitter than the English one, which will be sweeter.
German Pilsner
This beer has a light appearance and flavour. German pilsners are crisp, dry, and some may even have a hint of sweetness. But the hoppiness of German pilsners frequently overpowers the malt. German Pilsners are brewed using Noble hops, so you can anticipate a strong hop flavour in this style of beer.
Pale Ales
Pale ales, which are often blond to light orange in colour, can have a good balance of sweetness and bitterness. However, compared to standard pale beers, India Pale Ales, Imperial IPAs, and Double IPAs are frequently stronger and more bitter.
Typically, an English Pale Ale will contain bread and caramel tastes that are offset by a faint bitterness. However, American Pale Ales are herbaceous and tropical because they place more emphasis on the hops than the barley.
Porters and Brown Ales
While the flavours of the two are comparable, brown ales often have a softer flavour than porters. However, both contain malts that have been sufficiently roasted to impart a cacao nib or coffee flavour. It almost tastes like baking chocolate or dark chocolate, although this rich, chocolaty flavour can be a little bitter.
Stouts
A stout is like a porter who has been punched in the behind. They offer a wide variety of roasted tastes and bitterness. For example, an Irish stout tends to be bitter and dry yet is easy to drink. Milk or sweet stout, on the other hand, is similar to a liquid treat.
Wheat Beer
One wheat beer that evolves with bubblegum, clove, or banana tastes is hefeweizen. Wheat beers are mellow, energising, and less harsh than certain other types of beer. In summer, they are well-liked.
Want to learn more about Ale vs Lager, visit our guide!
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Due to the wide variety of beers available, it can be challenging to define a beers taste. However, most people agree that the bitterness of beer comes from the hops. The malts’ sweetness and perhaps some fruity or acidic scents tinge the harshness. The flavours are more delicate if you choose a lighter beer, such as a lager. Nearly watery.
Beer is more often bitter than sweet. The majority of people are typically shocked when they drink beer for the first time since it is so bitter that it almost makes their lips pucker. Like coffee, beer is an acquired taste. The remainder of the pint will be considerably simpler to drink, even if the first taste is usually awful. You will be able to distinguish the numerous smells and aromas after you become acclimated to the flavour of the beer.
When it comes to flavour, beer has a reputation, and it’s not exactly a good one. Particularly for non-drinkers, beer can be surprisingly harsh and unappealing. But a closer look reveals that this reputation may not be entirely merited. Beer is said to be more of an acquired taste.
Relatively few beer styles have noticeable residual sugar content, and sweet taste rarely rules the beer palate. But certain more vigorous varieties, such as Scotch ales, doppelbocks, and barley wines, frequently have semisweet flavour characteristics.
