What priority do you place on a beers nose ?

Beer and Spirits
1

I have noticed over time how important a beers nose it to me. Is it because I was first and still, a wine geek and that has crossed over to my ever growing love of craft beer ? I don’t know, but I do know that I place a huge priority on nose. I think with the ever expanding landscape of the craft beer world where a lot of recipes are re-hashes on an existing formula the nose for me is the discerning factor of a really well made beer. Thoughts and for more fun, what is one or two of your favorite noses on a beer. I’ll start, Noble Ale Works Citra Showers blew me away recently and is very close to Lawsons Finest Liquids Double Sunshine. Now that can, and probably will change again, but hell its a start.

Cheers,

Bud

2

Well, since I was overcome by the nose of Noble’s Citra Showers just by Prying off the bottle cap, I would say that a beer’s aroma (can’t see using the word “bouquet” here) plays an important role. After all, skunky beer smells skunky before one even tastes it.

3

A wine with a muted nose is, for me, necessarily disappointing. I don’t feel the same way about beer. That said, it absolutely can enhance the experience. Zombie Dust and Madame Rose are a couple favorites in this regard.

4

It’s important to me, but not as important as with wine. Why? Because I find that the aroma of most beers isn’t nearly as complex as the aroma of many wines, so I guess I just don’t expect as much from beers as I do from wines.

5

I am with Brian but I’ll add that glassware plays a very important role in beer aromas. Maybe more so than stemware and wine? I recently had Belgium Tripel from Hopworks in Portland in a pint glass and then in the snifter-shaped goblet and they were entirely different beers aromatically.

6

I was gifted new Spiegalau IPA glasses recently and did side by side’s with beers I know very well and without a doubt the Spiegalau stems did increase the nose on the beers drastically.

Cheers,

Bud

7

I am dying to see if beer geeks take their own glassware around SF next week.

8

I think you will see that.

Cheers,

Bud

9

+1.

10

What Brian said. Although, that fresh, piney scent of certain hops is definitely intoxicating!