How complex can your reviews be?

My name is Raul, hear me roar!

 

It's normal at first not to be able to describe precisely any beverage you're drinking. It's the same thing for wine and spirits as a lot of aroma and flavour can be nuanced and subtle.
Definitely I'd say that some people here have a better ability to get this nuanced.

If you want to improve your testing experiences and be able to get more of those aroma and flavour, here's a tip of how I did it on my first tastings as a BA:

1) Take the time to sit and enjoy the beer you're reviewing.
2) have a look and describe how it looks (colour, head, head retention, global aspect => is it fizzy ? Thick ? etc.)
3) Have a good smell and note what you're first impressions are.
4) Have a good sip and note what you're first impressions are.
5) Compare those impressions with other BA reviews and see if it fits. Maybe you've got at first "fruity notes" for example, if other BA reviews often say "passion fruit" or "mango" or "berries" about this beer, retake a good smell and sip and see if you can find this or that note. In essence, see if you agree with the other reviews. As you're doing that you can say "ok so this is passion fruit!"
6) Repeat the same experience with other tasting sessions over and over, as much as you repeat the process you'll get a better focus on the aroma and flavour profiles and might be better to differentiate nuances.


As for now I humbly consider myself as a good beer palate but it took time.
Lately I don't have as much time to review correctly my tastings on here but well it might be good at first to progress.
Also, I have to say that with NEIPA, pastry stouts or pastry sours being all the rage in the craft beer industry right now, it's much harder to find nuanced or subtled notes in beer tastings. Don't get me wrong I love all those style of beers, but when you drink an imperial stout with coffee, vanilla and cocoa added, it's hard to get anything else from there. Same thing if you drink a berliner weisse with raspberries, it's rarely to get anything else than the fruit from there.

Cheers!

 

Definitely agree here. Sometimes the juicy sweetness, malts, and alcohol can be overpowering. I find the the more milder-flavored beers such as pilsners and lagers sometimes have the most nuanced and complex flavors.