In one of my many conversations with my fantastic colleague, Nate, I have recently discovered a few things:
(1) I think of the taste of a beer in terms of an EQ curve.
(2) I am not alone in this odd perspective.
Since I work in sound and love sound, and since I love beer (although I do not work in beer), I think I’ll be exploring this a little more.
First, I need a methodology. For simplicity I’ve settled on a five-band “graphic EQ” model which, in audio, would represent lows, low-mids, mids, high-mids, and highs. In beer, here’s how different flavors and descriptors map out for me:
LOWS – earthiness, fullness, body
LOW-MIDS – malt, richness
MIDS – toasted hops, presence
HIGH-MIDS – bitter hops, edge, brightness
HIGHS – crispness, citrus
I’ve decided I’ll choose a number from 1 to 5 to represent the level of each of these “taste bands” relative to my general experience with beer. Since I’ve just finished drinking a beer, I can give a real world example.
The EQ of a
Red Hook Long Hammer IPA
2-4-4-4-3
I don’t have much practice at this, since it’s something I seem to have only just invented now, but that’s how I taste a Long Hammer IPA. Not a hugely full body to it, but pretty rich, quite present and hopsy, with a moderate crispness on the top.
Any other beer lovers out there want to take a crack at this? What’s the “frequency contour” of your favorite brew?
This is geeky and awesome!
Good to hear from you, Rob! And thanks. What can I say… I LOVE geeky awesome things.
I was thinking that what you created is a cool variation of flavor profile. By almost scary coincidence, I had a Long Hammer tonight. I didn’t have your cool guide in front of me so I don’t have a full rating of my own, but I would agree it skews toward the high-mids.
This doesn’t fit exactly with the EQ model, but there could also be elements of reverb tails. For example, what lingers on your palette after drinking, and for how long? Is it sharp piney taste that peaks and dies quickly, or does it ring out and linger long after the initial impulse?