How To Taste Beer

Written on June 25th, 2025

Learn how to taste beer with our top tips. Develop your expert knowledge and skills so you can spot a perfect pint!

Appearance:

Before going in and tasting your drink, you need to have a look at the beer itself.

How did it pour? Was it smooth, easy to pour and make a good head or was it flat and foamy?

How about how it’s settled? Take a look closely at the head and then follow the three C’s – colour, clarity and carbonation.

A head that doesn’t dissipate too fast once your drink has settled is a sign of a good brew no matter the type of beer you’re tasting, whereas factors like colour and clarity will depend on the brew you’ve chosen. For example, when looking at lager vs ale vs stout, lagers tend to be lighter in colour and clearer compared to slightly darker and hazier ales, with stouts often being known for their very dark colour that makes them opaque.

Carbonation is also a crucial factor to look at when analysing the appearance, there should be a decent amount as it helps to enhance the flavours of the beer and improve mouthfeel, giving your drink that refreshing feel.

Top tip: When beer foam sticks to the glass, it’s a sign you’ve got a good pint!

Aromas:

The next stage to tasting beer is evaluating the aromas. Start by swirling the beer around the glass to release all the underlying scents, then take some short, sharp sniffs of your drink. Once you’ve done this, you can take a final, longer smell to uncover all of the flavours and aromas of the beer. Some common notes include:

• Coffee
• Caramel
• Fruity flavours
• Malt
• Bread

Top tip: The flavour profile will vary based on the type of beer you’re drinking and the types of yeast and malts that are used in production. Try to see if you can uncover any notes of citrus or herbs, this will tell you more about the malt.

Flavour:

Now you have looked at the appearance and experienced all the aromas of your brew, you can move on to the ‘tasting’ part. As we’ve uncovered many of the aromas in stage 2, beer taste is all about the mouthfeel and any aftertaste left from your pint. 

Take a sip and swish it around, ensuring the beer coats your whole mouth so you can experience the full sensation. Make notes of the feeling when you sip and the taste it leaves behind, is the aftertaste completely new? Has it left you pleasantly surprised?

A good beer will often have an aftertaste that uncovers new flavours or enhances your drink to make your experience even better.

Now you know the stages of tasting beer and some top tips on what to take note of, you’re on your way to becoming a pint expert!

To enjoy all your beer garden favourites at home, why not pop into store and explore our beer event, we have some great offers for you throughout the summer. Find your nearest store by tapping the button below.