NEUTRAL BIAS BEER TASTER

I like the name best. Images via DG Studios

A Beer Taster needs a clear palate, a neutral bias.

If you agree a good beer, a great beer, is equal to the breath of life, then how can you tell if someone explaining a new beer shares your view?

The breath of life part comes from CPR and the first puff of air you blow into a victims mouth. The training may differ, but the breath of life still makes sense.

That glass of beer in your hand carries the same weight. Good day, or bad, a great beer can change things for the better.

And a bad beer leaves you with something to look forward to.

Oregon has roots to the Olde Country? So do other parts of the country, just not as good, like their beer.

It’s a sure thing you’ve arrived on the beer map when national breweries move to your region.

It’s an even more sure thing when the biggest beer companies cherry pick your region so they can push brands further.

This is where you get into cloudy water. Will a beer owned by a major player keep it’s taste?

When Thrillest ranks states by their beer, and Oregon comes out #1 even with interference, you’ve got to believe.

Here’s how you keep a neutral bia in beer tasting, and why you can trust others if they follow the rules.

First, take the biggest mouthful of beer possible and swallow. While swallowing, inhale through your nose.

This is a Kenny G trick called circular breathing he used for extended notes. It also extends a beer’s taste.

Take another max swallow and breath it out.

If the first breath impressed you, and the second one promised even better, you’ve got a winner.

Now rinse your mouth with Becks Beer to go back to normal. You can’t down one great beer after another. You need a base. Becks is that base.

Not too heavy, not too light, not too fizzy, not too hoppy. It’s got enough ‘not too’ that it qualifies as base beer.

You can do it. You can drink beer and like it. The varieties are wide enough you won’t be left out.

What if you find THAT beer, but not in your town? Find some beer shipping, like Deal News.

Find beer, drink beer, rate beer. That’s too easy.

Why not get into the state of new beer, craft beer, and see how your region matches up?

Or even better, get on the world beer stage and see how countries with famous beer see America’s offering. A beer taster accepts that challenge.

Wall Street Journal reports that England likes us:

Highly aromatic American beers using hops from states like Oregon, Washington and Idaho have proved particularly popular in Britain, say brewers. 

To get to good beer, great beer, you have to wade through Lone Star, Blitz, Olympia, Millers, Rainier, Bud, Coors, PBR, and forget about them.

Once you’ve felt the breath of life from a beer, inhale hard.

The beers pictured on this post come from a trip through Virgina, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C.