Knowing what beer style it is and having measurements such as ABV, IBU, and gravity will go a long ways towards helping you pick the beer that suits you best, but that doesn’t always give you enough information to choose wisely. So, what other information can you glean from your beer?
On most beer bottles and many beer menus, you will find a description of the beer that the brewer wrote. Undoubtedly it will speak to subtle fruity or floral notes, confections like vanilla, chocolate, toffee, coffee, or caramel. If your palate is refined enough to pick out these delicate flavors, then they may help you select your beer, but for the vast majority of people, they are way too subtle to use them as the basis of your beer selection. Words like “robust” or “complex” will speak to the depth of the flavor and may help you with your decision. The words “malty” and “hoppy” will be the most important to pay attention to. When the description speaks to the hops as the important feature, you can be almost assured that the beer will be on the bitter side. You may also see a description that lauds the maltiness of the beer, and if there is no mention at all about hops, you can be assured that it is likely sweet with less bitterness. Unfortunately, what you’ll see many times is a phrase that talks about the maltiness and then about a “hop backbone” or “hoppy finish.” While they may be accurate, they don’t tell you how well balanced the two are.
