Scan Magazine
Lifestyle
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Columns
Scandinavian Lifestyle Tasting beer like a pro, easy as 1-2-3 Beer tasting can look serious with a lot of swirling and sniffing, sipping and swooshing, holding up beer glasses to the light, nodding or shaking heads, and – finally – some clever comment about the type of hops used. No need to feel intimidated though; it’s actually easy peasy. With three simple steps, you too can taste beer like a pro. Step one, look at what’s in your glass. Colour and clarity will give you a hint of what it is. For example, a golden, hazy beer might be a New England IPA (although looks can be deceiving!). By the way, the best glassware for tasting beer is a stemmed glass such as a tulip glass, so you can hold it by the stem and don’t risk warming up the beer. Next, swirl the glass to release aromas and take a sniff. Take care not too overswirl, if you keep on swirling and sniffing
and swirling some more, you’ll swirl all the carbonation away and might think the beer is flat. When smelling the beer, think about what it reminds you of. The easiest is relating the scent to those in cooking or baking. Perhaps it smells of freshly baked baguette. Or does it remind you of coldbrewed coffee with a splash of vanilla? Finally, taste the beer. There are only five basic tastes – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami – and what comprises ‘beer flavour’ is actually a mix of a wide range aromas and these basic tastes. Consider the level of bitterness, mouthfeel (is it watery or syrupy?), and alcohol warmth when you swallow. That’s how easy it is to taste beer: look, smell, taste. But how do you know if the beer is any good, you might ask? Well, that’s preferential. Would you have another?
By Malin Norman
Malin Norman is a certified beer sommelier, beer judge and member of the British Guild of Beer Writers. She writes about beer for Scan Magazine, beer magazines and beer suppliers.
Times of preparation By Alejandra Cerda Ojensa
August always brings a feeling of starting afresh. It’s a month’s transition from the summer holidays to the new semester, with whatever that might entail. I remember the August feeling very vividly when I was at school as a kid: excitement was in the air. It felt like a new year... only the expectations weren’t nearly as high as on actual New Year’s Eve. I still get that feeling. As a part of our preparations for the new school year, new work year, or maybe even a new job, I’ve noticed we tend to buy things. We have the urge to buy a new backpack, a new notebook, a set of new clothes, a new watch… Things that symbolise the new. It’s as if the purchase is part of the transitional ritual. I find myself looking at knitted sweaters even though the sun is still shining bright, new shoes even though the ones I wore last 20 |
Issue 145
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August 2022
year definitely will do for another season, and notebooks – ah! It might not be very surprising for a freelance writer, but I love notebooks and bullet journals. It’s as if I believe the book itself will make me a more structured and successful person – a better me. According to the Old Farmers Almanac – a book intended to forecast the weather before today’s technology – August is a month for harvesting. The seeds have transformed into edibe crops, ready to be picked from the soil and fill us with energy before winter comes. If you, like me, live a more urban lifestyle it might be wise to do things differently this year. Resources are not unlimited and inflation is noticeable. Instead of buying new, I will try to harvest whatever is already stored in my house and give it new life. After all, the most important preparation happens in the home, not the store.
Alejandra Cerda Ojensa is a Swedish sustainability blogger based in Copenhagen. She loves sustainable fashion, plant-based food, natural wines and music, and writes a column for Scan Magazine about sustainable lifestyle. Instagram: alejandracerda.co
