The five basic tastes exercise is designed to give participants a deeper understanding of their sense of taste and how those senses can be used in sensory evaluation. Learning more about our sense of taste gives us additional tools in our sensory evaluation toolbox.

When we use sensory exercises to develop our palates, particularly by building our aroma recognition and descriptive vocabulary, our sense of smell takes center stage. Arguably, it is the most complex and nuanced component of beer - and most consumables, for that matter. I have to admit, it was only a couple of years ago that I started to realize how helpful and important it is to pay attention to other parts of my palate, specifically my sense of taste and my trigeminal sense, both of which contribute to the concept of mouthfeel.

Explaining how bitterness works as a taste sense, how it appears in beer, and how we perceive it is one of my favorite sensory exercises to do. People come away with new knowledge not only about bitterness, but also about their palates and how they perceive bitterness. This is a super easy exercise to set up that also scales fabulously for large groups, so it is low-effort, high-reward for you as the organizer and for the participants.

Okay, technically, this is a brewing technique and not a sensory technique. However, it is also an effective method for preparing malt steeps from dark grains, especially for a large group.

The cold water extraction technique was developed in the early 2000s by Mary Anne Gruber during her time as the Director of Technical Services for Briess Malting Company.

The Jen Blur Method is a great beer sensory exercise that not only builds your beer style discrimination skills but also helps you become a more confident blind beer taster. The Jen Blur Method can be adapted to varying skill levels, from those looking to train their palates for beer tasting to those preparing for beer exams such as the Cicerone or BJCP tasting exams.

The jelly bean test is a quick and simple sensory exercise designed to demonstrate the difference between orthonasal and retronasal olfaction. Understanding how orthonasal and retronasal olfaction are different is a foundational key to becoming a better beer taster.

Tell the story of beer, piece by piece.

The beer style exploder is a sensory exercise designed to give you a deeper understanding of the flavors of individual beer ingredients and how those ingredients come together in the finished beer.

Every glass, every time. Properly cleaned glassware enables properly poured beers. A hallmark of a great beer program is a team that consistently creates and fills beer-clean glasses.

Flavor standards are a key element in learning to taste beer and improving your beer sensory skills, particularly for identifying off-flavors. However, not all flavor standards are created equal when preparing them. Understanding how to prepare different flavor standards properly will ensure that you are achieving the correct concentration.

Using random 3-digit numbers for your beer sensory panels or beer tasting exam practice means that you’re not unconsciously biasing yourself or others. Random 3-digit codes allow for impartial evaluation.

Cups are a necessary part of almost every sensory exercise. However, you can’t just grab any cup from the store, taproom, or cabinet. Selecting the proper cups for your sensory exercises is an often neglected element that can have a huge impact on sensory.

Believe me when I tell you that doing the preliminary work of making, printing, and affixing labels to cups and other things is the difference between a well-organized beer sensory session and a confusing mess.

Everyone loves to rub hops. Hop rubs are quick, easy, and messy. Experience beer’s ingredients in as many different forms as possible.

The hop tea method is useful to assess the potential dry-hop aroma of hops. For those studying for beer exams with a tasting component, such as Cicerone, BJCP, or WSET, hop teas are a great way to learn more about hop aromas and distinguish among hop varieties.

The hop grind method is a simple, quick, and repeatable sensory exercise for evaluating hop aroma.

The hot steep method for the sensory evaluation of malt and other grains is the best way to learn more about how malt contributes to the finished beer.