Beer Flavor Log
The following text was posted by Rich Webb,
rbw1271@appenine.ca.boeing.com in HBD #1599. It describes the language
of the well-known "Beer Flavor Wheel", but in a chart, or log, form.
The "Beer Flavor Wheel" is an attempt to standardize a language through
which beer tasters can agree on a word-to-flavor correlation.
Recommended Descriptors of Beer Flavor
Relevance Key:
- O: Odor
- T: Taste
- M: Mouthfeel
- W: Warming
- Af: After flavor
Class Term, Relevance, Comments/synonyms/definitions
Class 1 - Aromatic, Fragrant, Fruity, Floral
- 0110 Alcoholic OTW The general effect of ethanol and higher alcohols
- 0111 Spicy OTW Allspice, nutmeg, peppery, eugenol. See also 1003 Vanilla
- 0112 Vinous OTW Bouquet, fusely, wine-like (White wine)
- 0120 Solvent-like OT Like chemical solvents
- 0121 Plastics OT Plasticizers
- 0122 Can-liner OT Lacquer-like
- 0123 Acetone
- 0130 Estery OT Like aliphatic esters
- 0131 Isoamyl acetate OT Banana, peardrop
- 0132 Ethyl hexanoate OT Apple-like with note of aniseed.
See 0142 Apple
- 0133 Ethyl acetate OT Light fruity, solvent-like. See
also 0120 Solvent like
- 0140 Fruity OT Of specific fruits or mixtures of fruits
- 0141 Citrus OT Citral, grapefruit, lemony, orange-rind
- 0142 Apple
- 0143 Banana
- 0144 Blackcurrant OT Blackcurrant fruit. For Blackcurrant
leaves use 0810 Catty
- 0145 Melony
- 0146 Pear
- 0147 Raspberry
- 0148 Strawberry
- 0150 Acetaldehyde OT Green apples, raw appleskin, bruised apples
- 0160 Floral OT Like flowers, fragrant
- 0161 2-Phenylethanol OT Rose-like
- 0162 Geraniol OT Rose-like, different from 0161. Taster
should compare the pure chemicals
- 0163 Perfumy OT Scented
- 0170 Hoppy OT Fresh hop aroma. Use with other terms to
describe stale hop aroma.
Does not include hop bitterness (See 1200 Bitter)
- 0171 Kettle-hop OT Flavor imparted by aroma hops boiled
in the kettle.
- 0172 Dry-hop OT Flavor imparted by dry hops added in tank
or cask.
- 0173 Hop oil OT Flavor imparted by addition of distilled hop oil.
Class 2 - Resinous, Nutty, Green, Grassy
- 0210 Resinous OT Fresh sawdust, resin, cedarwood, pinewood,
sprucy, terpenoid.
- 0211 Woody OT Seasoned wood (uncut)
- 0220 Nutty OT As in Brazil-nut, hazelnut, sherry-like
- 0221 Walnut OT Fresh (not rancid) walnut
- 0222 Coconut
- 0223 Beany OT Bean soup
- 0224 Almond OT Marzipan
- 0230 Grassy
- 0231 Freshly-cut grass OT Green, crushed green leaves,
leafy, alfalfa.
- 0232 Straw-like OT Hay-like
Class 3 - Cereal
- 0310 Grainy OT Raw grain flavor
- 0311 Husky OT Husk-like, chaff, 'Glattwasser'.
- 0312 Corn grits OT Maize grits, adjuncty
- 0313 Mealy OT Like flour
- 0320 Malty
- 0330 Worty OT Fresh wort aroma. Use with other terms to
describe infected wort, e.g. 0731 Parsnip
Class 4 - Caramelized, Roasted
- 0410 Caramel OT Burnt sugar, toffee-like
- 0411 Molasses OT Black treacle, treacly.
- 0412 Licorice
- 0420 Burnt OTM Scorched aroma, dry mouthfeel and sharp
acrid taste.
- 0421 Bread-crust OTM Charred toast.
- 0422 Roast-barley OTM Chocolate malt.
- 0423 Smoky OT
Class 5 - Phenolic
- 0500 Phenolic OT
- 0501 Tarry OT Pitch, faulty pitching of containers.
- 0502 Bakelite
- 0503 Carbolic OT Phenol.
- 0504 Chlorophenol OT Trichlorophenol (TCP), hospital-like.
- 0505 Iodoform OT Iodophors, hospital-like, pharmaceutical.
Class 6 - Soapy, Fatty, Diacetyl, Oily, Rancid
- 0610 Fatty acid
- 0611 Caprylic OT Soapy, fatty, goaty, tallowy.
- 0612 Cheesy OT Dry, stale cheese, old hops. Hydrolytic rancidity.
- 0613 Isovaleric OT Dry, stale cheese, old hops. Hydrolytic rancidity.
- 0614 Butyric OT Rancid butter.
- 0620 Diacetyl OT Butterscotch, buttermilk
- 0630 Rancid OT Oxidative rancidity.
- 0631 Rancid oil OTM Oxidative rancidity.
- 0640 Oily
- 0641 Vegetable oil OTM As in refined vegetable oil.
- 0642 Mineral oil OTM Gasoline (petrol), kerosene (paraffin), machine oil.
Class 7 - Sulphury
- 0700 Sulphury OT
- 0710 Sulphitic OT Sulphur dioxide, striking-match, choking,
sulphurous-SO2
- 0720 Sulphidic OT Rotten egg, sulphury-reduced, sulphurous-RSH
- 0721 H2S OT Rotten egg
- 0722 Mercaptan OT Lower mercaptans, drains, stench
- 0723 Garlic
- 0724 Lightstruck OT Skunky, sunstruck
- 0725 Autolysed OT Rotting yeast (see also 0740 Yeasty).
- 0727 Shrimp-like OT Water in which shrimp have been cooked
- 0730 Cooked vegetable OT Mainly dialkyl sulphides, sulphurous-RSR
- 0731 Parsnip / celery OT An effect of wort infection
- 0732 DMS OT Dimethyl sulphide
- 0733 Cooked tomato OT Tomato juice (processed), tomato ketchup.
- 0736 Cooked onion
- 0740 Yeasty OT Fresh yeast, flavor of heated thiamine
(see also 0725 Autolysed).
- 0741 Meaty OT Brothy, cooked meat, meat extract, peptone, yeast broth.
Class 8 - Oxidized, Stale, Musty
- 0800 Stale OTM Old beer, overaged, overpasteurized.
- 0810 Catty OT Blackcurrant leaves, ribes, tomato plants, oxidized beer.
- 0820 Papery OT An initial stage of staling, bready (stale bread crumb),
cardboard, old beer, oxidized.
- 0830 Leathery OT A later stage of staling, then often
used in conjunction with 0211 Woody.
- 0840 Moldy OT Cellar-like, leaf-mold, woodsy.
- 0841 Earthy OT Actinomycetes, damp soil, freshly dug soil,
diatomaceous earth.
- 0842 Musty OT Fusty.
Class 9 - Sour, acidic
- 9000 Acidic OT Pungent aroma, sharpness of taste, mineral acid.
- 0910 Acetic OT Vinegar
- 0920 Sour OT Lactic, sour milk, Use with 0141 for citrus-sour.
Class 10 - Sweet
- 1000 Sweet OT
- 1001 Honey OT Can occur as an effect of beer staling, e.g. the
odor of stale beer in a glass, oxidized (stale) honey.
- 1002 Jam-like OT May be qualified by sub-classes of 0140 Fruity.
- 1003 Vanilla OT Custard powder, vanillin.
- 1004 Primings
- 1005 Syrupy OTM Clear (golden) syrup.
- 1006 Oversweet OT Sickly sweet, cloying.
Class 11 - Salty
Class 12 - Bitter
Class 13 - Mouthfeel
- 1310 Alkaline TMAf Flavor imparted by accidental admixture
of alkaline detergent.
- 1320 Mouthcoating MAf Creamy, 'onctueux' (Fr.).
- 1330 Metallic OTMAf Iron, rusty water, coins, tinny, inky.
- 1340 Astringent MAf Mouth puckering, puckery, tannin-like,
tart
- 1350 Powdery O Dusty cushion, irritating (with 0310 Grainy)
mill room smell.
TM Chalky, particulate, scratchy, silicate-like, siliceous.
- 1360 Carbonation M CO2 content.
- 1361 Flat M Under carbonated.
- 1362 Gassy M Over carbonated.
- 1370 Warming WMAf See also 0110 Alcoholic and 0111 Spicy.
Class 14 - Fullness
- 1410 Body OTM Fullness of flavor and mouthfeel.
- 1411 Watery TM Thin, seemingly diluted.
- 1412 Characterless OTM Bland, empty, flavorless.
- 1413 Satiating OTM Extra-full, filling.
- 1414 Thick TM Viscous, 'epais' (Fr.).