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Advanced Cicerone® · Beer Flavor and Evaluation

Advanced tasting exam exercises

Syllabus Path

Advanced tasting study should prepare candidates to identify off flavors, discriminate styles, and write precise consumer- and technical-facing descriptions.

  1. III. Beer Flavor and Evaluation
  2. E. Tasting exam format
  3. 1. Advanced tasting exam exercises

Exam Focus

  • Separate observation, intensity, likely source, and style appropriateness.
  • Practice off-flavor identification, four-style discrimination, consumer description, and technical description.
  • Support every tasting conclusion with sensory evidence rather than a style guess.

Core knowledge

  • Off-flavor identification: name the perception, likely compound family, intensity, and whether it fits the beer.
  • Style discrimination: compare aroma, flavor, bitterness, color, body, carbonation, fermentation profile, and finish across similar styles.
  • Consumer description: translate sensory facts into clear, useful language without unsupported technical claims.
  • Technical description: connect perception to likely compound, ingredient, process, handling, or storage cause.

Study application

Build each tasting answer from evidence, then state the conclusion and likely cause.

Key Terms

Off-flavor identification
name the perception, likely compound family, intensity, and whether it fits the beer.
Style discrimination
compare aroma, flavor, bitterness, color, body, carbonation, fermentation profile, and finish across similar styles.
Consumer description
translate sensory facts into clear, useful language without unsupported technical claims.
Technical description
connect perception to likely compound, ingredient, process, handling, or storage cause.

References

2 available