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You have a great physical relationship with your beer, sure, who doesn’t? But, you’ve been together for a while now and you want to start to get to know more about your beer. Sure it can get me drunk and show me a good time, but can it provide me with a meaningful experience? I’m here to tell you that yes it can.

Beer has so much to offer. If you’ve been paying attention the last few years, beer is really coming into its own as a beverage to be savored and appreciated, rather than just something you chug down and forget. Much like wine, and actually even more so than wine, beer provides a number of flavors, aromas, colors, and even feelings to be enjoyed by the drinker. There is no need to become an expert in the matter of beer evaluation, but a little education goes a long way towards getting to know your beer a little more. Before you know it, you just might be willing to say “I Love You.” To help you get started furthering your relationship, I recommend the book, Evaluating Beer.

Evaluating Beer was made by Brewers Publications and is not so much a book as it is a collection of articles on several topics of, you guessed it, evaluating beer. Since it is a bunch of articles on various aspects of evaluating your beer, it makes for a pretty easy read. Got a few minutes, read an article. Have a commute on the bus or train, read an article or two. You don’t have to worry about getting bogged down in a long chapter, or having to read things in order, pick a topic you want to learn about and just read.

All in all, when everything is said and done, Evaluating Beer provides a great introduction to all the aspects and characteristics of beer and how to properly smell, taste, see, hear, and feel them. It presents you with several charts, diagrams, etc. on the various profiles of beer for easy reference, as well. There are list of descriptor words to help you in explaining or documenting your beer, as well as explanations on how to doctor your beer with different flavors in order to practice your tasting and smelling skills.

Here’s a quick rundown of the articles in the book:

Evaluating Beer – By: Charlie Papazian

The Flavor of Beer – By: Morten C. Meilgaard, D.SC., F.I. Brew

Sensory Aspects of Zymological Evaluation – By: David Eby, PhD

Sensory Evaluation for Brewers – By: Jean-Xavier Guinard, PhD and Ian Robertson

Beer Flavor In Your Beer – By: Ron Siebel

Origins of Normal and Abnormal Flavor – By: Ted Konis

Flavor Profiles – By: Ilse Shelton

Training Ourselves in Flavor Perception and Tasting – By: Raoul Palamand, PhD

A Simple Technique for Evaluating Beer Color – By: George Fix, PhD

The Language of Flavor Communication – By: Charlie Papazian

What to Aim for in Flavor Profiling – By: Charlie Papazian

Beer Evaluation Techniques: Getting the Most From Your Beer – By: Grosvenor Merle-Smith

Perceiving Flavor: Techniques for Recognizing Beer’s Subtle Flavor Components – By: Jim Koch

Know Your Consumer Through Testing – By: Morten C. Meilgaard, D. SC., F.I. Brew

Aroma Identification: Flavor Wheel and Beer Flavor Terminology Chart – By: Charlie Papazian & Morten C. Meilgaard, D. SC., F.I. Brew

Testing Yourself – By: Charlie Papazian

Always a great book to have on hand when drinking a beer, especially if you plan on documenting your experience. If you are a homebrewer, this book is an excellent reference for figuring out problems with your beer (ie: off-flavors and aromas, etc.) and suggestions on how to fix said problems. Evaluating Book is at the least a must read for any serious beer drinker, and I highly recommend owning a copy, to have around when you need it.

Overall Rating:
8/10

Rating System:
1-3: Don’t bother. Spend your money on some good beer.
4-6: Good read and informative, but not a necessary read.
7-9: You need to read this book.
10: A must have.