10 things Colorado’s master Cicerone can teach you about beer ahead of GABF
There are only 16 master cicerones (think: beer sommelier) in the world — and one of them lives in our collective backyard.
Stapleton’s Daniel Imdieke has worked for MillerCoors for 3½ years now. He’s currently on a nationwide initiative called Know Your Beer that attempts to teach beer drinkers more about brews.
He stopped by The Denver Post last month to give us a quick lesson on how to properly taste beer. While we had him here, we decided to pick his brain a bit on what he knows. Turns out it’s quite a lot. Here are 10 things
you can learn about beer from a master cicerone.
1. There is no “magical tasting gene.”
Beer tasting is not about natural talent. It’s all about practice, attention, slowing down and being present in the moment, Imdieke said. The goal is to deconstruct the flavor. There are five steps: Appearance, aroma, taste, mouthfeel and finish. Analyze each step as you drink a beer. Trust your gut — even if it’s silly. (Sometimes a beer does taste like hand soap.)
2. Most of your taste comes from smell.
Imdieke ran an experiment. Plug your nose and throw a jelly bean in your mouth. What do you taste? Sugar. Now release your nose. Suddenly the taste of cherry hits the senses. Most of taste — as in 80 to 90 percent — comes from smell, he said. Essentially, your tongue warms up beer and it travels back up through your nose. What does this mean for you, beer drinker? Make sure you breathe in and out of your nose as you taste things. This one thing will change people’s experiences drastically, he said.
3. Drink with friends.
Tasting is hard. A lot of identifying flavors comes from your memory. So how do you improve that? Work with friends! Call out flavors as you taste a beer. A friend may be able to draw your attention to something you missed.
4. Lesserknown breweries people really need to check out.
Coloradans have heard of Great Divide Brewing Company and New Belgium Brewing Company. But there are lesserknown local breweries doing great stuff. The first one Imdieke recommended was Hogshead Brewery, which is known for its Englishstyle beers. If you like German lagers, Prost Brewing and Bierstadt Lagerhaus are your gotos. More into sour and wild flavors? Check out Glenwood Springs’ Casey Brewing and Blending. Also great are Call to Arms Brewing Company off Tennyson Street and Bootstrap Brewings in Longmont. And with the caveat that Imdieke works for MillerCoors, he also recommended Blue Moon RiNo, saying the brewery is an experimental playground, offering beers you won’t see on its national line.
5. Don’t be “matchymatchy.”
When pairing food and beer, make sure you’re contrasting. If you have a fruit beer, don’t pair it with a fruit dessert because it’ll mute both flavors. Pair chocolate and fruit but make the beer the fruit. Think: Sweet and salty or sweet and sour. Some good matches: witbier and sushi, American pale ale and burgers, German pils and pizza.
6. Sour is not actually a style of beer.
Lately, it seems like sour beers are all the rage. But despite what you might think, sour is not a style of beer, it’s a taste. You can get German sours or opt for the funkier Belgian and American sours. The truly distinguishing factor is the tongue taste.
7. Don’t be afraid of 12 ABV.
The flavor will be intense and worth it. But when you have a 12 ABV, the key is to share it with someone. Or make that your beer of the night.
8. The most popular style of beer in America is ... .
The American light lager. When German immigrants moved here, they made the beers they had back home but with local ingredients, which meant you got corn or rice components.
9. How to say “cicerone.”
Phonetically it’s “sihsuhROHN.”
10. How to successfully navigate the Great American Beer Festival.
Everyone has their own way of doing GABF. But for Imdieke, it’s not about whale hunting, or simply going to the trendy breweries. He prefers to walk an aisle, chatting with people and trying the beers to discover your “Holy cow!” beer. And remember: Don’t forget the water station and don’t forget toeat.