Jen Blair is one of the smartest people in the American beer landscape and her new venture, called “Aroma: Explore The Wheel,” is an online webinar series that explores the role of smell in beer. Aroma is a central part of our lives and helps us know when things get bad (sour/rotten) to helping us make memories (the smell of a childhood home) and more. Aroma is also an essential part of beer. Beer ingrdients like yeast, malt, hops and even water lend aromas to beer and can be good indicators of style and technique but also of off-flavors and faults.
Blair’s webinar is currently geared towards the beer industry (but anyone who is excited about learning about aroma can take the class) and each class focuses on a different category inspired by beer flavor wheels and maps. Participants receive 6-10 unique aroma vials and access to a live webinar. During this time period, participants blind smell their vials, decide what they think the aroma is, and enter it into a form. After the first blind-smelling panel, the class will discuss the individual aromas and their possible causes in beer. Then, participants will again evaluate their vials and enter their decisions in a new form. At the end, there is a reveal about what is in each vial.
Master Cicerone Jen Blair is helping people think differently about beer aroma in her venture, Aroma: Explore The Wheel
Caroline King
“Smell training is critical to developing sensory abilities and descriptive language, but many people are confused about what smell training entails, unsure of where to start, and overwhelmed by the options,” said Blair. “Aroma: Explore the Wheel fills the niche of people of any experience and skill level wanting to develop their sensory palate and their descriptive vocabulary. It’s easy to think you know the difference between, for example, mango and pineapple, but can you discern the difference when you have an unlabeled vial in front of you?”
Why is this important? Well, next time you go to the pub or buy a six pack at your local shop, sit down and give it a sniff. What do you smell?
“Many of the flavors found in beer are not only in beer but also in beverages, food, and nature,” said Blair. “Being able to describe a beer as “fruity” is a great start but your fruity may not be my fruity. You may think “banana” while I think “navel orange.” Each month, you get to dive deep into subsections of the fruity umbrella: tropical fruits, citrus fruits, pomme fruits, stone fruits, melons, and berries.”
Think of this class as a workout for your brain, helping you navigate aroma and realizing that you are capable of smelling and tasting on a level you previously didn’t realize. As Blair pointed out, genetics play a small role but having a good palate is about “mindfulness, exposure and repetition.”
“You don’t go to the gym once and declare that you are near peak physical condition. Your palate is no different – if you train consistently and mindfully, you will see gains a lot quicker than it can feel like when you are starting out” said Blair.
Blair also recommends the following books to help hone your sense of taste and smell at home. Books such as Flavorama: A Guide to Unlocking the Art and Science of Flavor by Arielle Johnson, How to Taste: A Guide to Discovering Flavor and Savoring Life by Mandy Naglich, Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat by John McQuaid, Flavor: The Science of Our Most Neglected Senses by Bob Holmes, and Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells by Harold McGee are all on Blair’s bookshelf.
Is there anything you can do at home now to help boost your aroma?
“One of the best things about developing your sensory skills and descriptive language is that you likely already have a ton of resources at home. Spice racks, pantries, and refrigerators are an embarrassment of riches.” said Blair. “You can compare spices and herbs or smell the different vegetables in your crisper. Recently, one of my friends set up a sensory panel composed entirely of peppercorns – green, black, pink, and white. Sensory training does not have to be elaborate or expensive. It can literally be stopping to smell the roses or smelling different citrus fruits at the store.”