Feb
21
2008
How Color Affects the Taste of Beer (Part 4)
Posted on 17:03, February 21st, 2008 by Ron
Color has taste? No, it is not a typo… I’m going to attempt to blog about how color can affect the taste of beer, albeit indirectly.
I believe there is a subconscious expectation on how the beer will taste based on its color which becomes an interesting factor. You expect a light colored beer to taste light, and a dark beer to taste heavy. When a beer’s color does not line up with how it tastes, I believe there is a perceived negative effect on how good it is. I also think the opposite is true, but not to the same degree. That is, when a beer’s color matches its expected taste, the beer tastes better, or maybe tastes just right; but in this case it is less of a factor.
A light colored beer that has strong beer flavors, either malt sweetness, or more commonly a strong hop bitterness or aroma, can cause one to be pleasantly surprised. Such was the case when I tasted Blue Point’s Hoptical Illusion and Southern Tier’s Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale.
When the beer color is in the middle of the scale, I believe there is more mental flexibility on taste.
All if this, of course, is not a hard and fast rule or something that can be measured; it is indirect, subtle, and was just a wild-ass theory of mine until I read some articles from experts with similar thoughts.
I hate when I am sorely disappointed, as I find in something like Killian’s Red. I find it weak compared to its great color. What experiences have you found with beer color, for good, or for worse?
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Comments
Absolute bullshit. Appearance is of no relevance to the enjoyment of beer. There are loads of absolutely cracking northern British beers in particular that look like awful cooking lager; then you get the likes of Guinness where lots of research went into its beautiful black-red hue but none into its vapid dead flavour.
If we all went back to drinking out of clay mugs there’d be less of this kind of nonsense.
I think you’ve missed Ron’s point. Most Americans have been brainwashed into the idea that beer is clear, light straw colored, and fizzy. Heck, a significant part of Anheuser-Busch’s recent advertising touted this. They put a Bud next to what looks like a red ale, and suggest that that “other” beer is too heavy.
I, and every other beer enthusiast, have worked hard to reverse that subliminal bias. I know that I personally have had a beer that was pretty dark and was surprised at how “thin” it was, and have also had beers that were very light in color and was surprised at how flavorful it was.
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