Beer 101

Cicerone Michael Agnew demystifies the process of picking your poison

No matter how intimidated or confused the beer trend has made some of us, there’s hope yet for the average beer drinker, and it comes in the form of people like Michael Agnew of A Perfect Pint.

Image credit: METRO

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Drinking beer was once such a simple task. Open can. Ingest. Repeat as desired. Choices were limited to “imported” and “domestic,” and consumption was a ritual commensurate with everyday life: watching the game, mowing the lawn, shooting the shit. Chances are your father, and his father before him (no disrespect to the oft-neglected beer-loving mom and grandma crowd), partook in this institution throughout your childhood, then one day you found yourself at the refrigerator doing the very same thing.

Today’s beer-drinking world is a lot different. The trajectory of beer appreciation—and the snobbery that followed—looks similar to that of the high-end coffee craze. You can find the micro-est of microbrews at your neighborhood liquor store. Homebrewing is no longer akin to moonshining—it’s fashionable. Some well-meaning enthusiasts have become insufferable rubes, a la Paul Giamatti’s character in Sideways (“If anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving!”).

Rest assured, though. No matter how intimidated or confused the beer trend has made some of us, there’s hope yet for the average beer drinker, and it comes in the form of people like Michael Agnew of A Perfect Pint, a local beer blog and education business. Agnew started homebrewing about 10 years ago, which is when he says beer “turned into an obsession.” In 2008, the same year he started A Perfect Pint, he passed an intense three-part exam to become Minnesota’s first certified cicerone—a trademarked title that, like a sommelier is to wine, basically means “beer expert.”  

In the three years he’s had certified cicerone status (“certified” is the second in the three-level Cicerone Certification Program; he hopes to become a master cicerone this year) Agnew has become the Twin Cities’ reigning expert on all things hops, malt and yeast. He’s kindly agreed to break down the basics of beer for the “beer-curious” (his term)—even if you still subscribe to the “open can, ingest, repeat” school of thought.

Basics

There are four main ingredients in beer: malt, hops, water and yeast. Malt, hops and yeast are the flavor producers of the bunch (the composition and quality of the water can influence flavor to some extent, but in a more nuanced way). The taste of individual beers is determined by the type and ratio of those ingredients—although every beer will contain elements of all three—meaning there are virtually infinite flavor combinations. “It’s one of the things that makes brewing so fun,” he says.

Agnew explains that the flavors we perceive in beer are based on which ingredient is highlighted. Those high in malt (a grain, usually barley, that has undergone a malting process) will produce flavors similar to baked goods: bread, graham cracker, nut and chocolate. A high concentration of hops (the flower, or cone, of this vining plant is what’s used in brewing) will impart flavors similar to plants: grass, citrus, spices and licorice. When the yeast in beer ferments, it produces both carbon dioxide and alcohol, as well as an assortment of other chemical byproducts—which generally fall into either the “fruity” or “spicy” category. Agnew gives the example of German wheat beer, which contains banana and clove flavors—both of which are yeast byproducts.

STYLES

Every type of beer lies on a spectrum of increasing flavor intensity, with hoppier brews—and those with higher alcohol content—tending to fall at the more intense end. Newbies sometimes mistakenly think this spectrum runs from “light” to “dark” but, as Agnew points out, “Color means very little in beer, actually.”

Lager Vs Ale

All beer falls into one of these broad categories, both of which encompass many styles. The main differences are the type of yeast used, and the yeast's fermentation temperature (fermentation is the process that kicks out all those flavor-producing chemical byproducts, remember?). Ales ferment warm; lagers ferment cold. Cold fermentation inhibits the production of those byproducts, and warm fermentation promotes it. That’s why lagers tend to be crisper and cleaner, while ales tend to be rounder with fruitier, spicier notes. Beyond the nuances that come from the difference in yeast type and fermentation temperature, “the entire infinite range of flavor possibilities and combinations is available to either lagers or ales,” Agnew explains.

Beer for Beginners

Many novice beer drinkers, and those who generally stick to lagers, have a misconception that they must start with PBR or Budweiser and wean themselves up the spectrum into hoppier territory. Not so, says Agnew. “I’ve learned over the years to stop selling people short. You’ll get people who say, 'Oh, I don’t like hops. I’m not a hops person.’ Then you give them a lineup of beers and the one they like best is the hoppiest.”

For those looking to expand their horizons beyond tried-and-true brews, he recommends darker, German-style lagers (like Dunkel or Helles) or strong Belgian ales (like Delirium Tremens). “American-lager drinkers tend to go for [strong Belgian ales],” Agnew says. “The nine or 10-percent [ABV] Belgian beers are really good to introduce people to more intense beers. Surprised the hell out of me.”

Serving

According to Agnew, a pint glass will suffice for most varieties (although a snifter or bowled glass will make a difference for some beers, like barleywines, imperial stouts or strong Belgian ales). While there’s no need to invest in fancy-shmancy glassware, Agnew does have one request: “Just drink it out of a glass—not out of the can or bottle. The majority of the flavor we get in food or drink comes from smell. If you’re drinking out of the can or bottle, you can’t smell the beer. So you’re cutting off a huge portion of the enjoyment.”

Temperature is also important. As beer chills, malt flavors disappear and hops flavors intensify, throwing off the flavor composition. Each category of beer has its own temperature range at which it’s best savored. Another pro tip: Save the frosty mug for your root beer. “You’ve taken the care to warm your beer up to the proper temperature,” Agnew says. “If you pour it into a frosty mug you chill it right back down.”

Storage

Beer is meant to be consumed fresh. Agnew says most beers will go downhill after six months. “Beer is best at the brewery,” he explains. “It’s like driving a new car off the lot. As soon as it’s off the lot, you start to lose value.” Most beers should be stored upright, in order to avoid yeast sediment settling at the bottom, at a constant temperature (ideally in the 50s) and away from light and temperature extremes.

He might be an expert, but Agnew is no snob. His no. 1 recommendation for grasshopper beer-drinkers: “Just drink beer and enjoy it. That’s what it’s about.”

+ Michael Agnew is available for private and corporate tastings and beer events. Find his beer writing at seriouseats.com, City Pages’ Haute Dish blog and in the Star Tribune. Watch for his beer travel guide to the upper Midwest, out Fall 2012 through the University of Illinois Press.