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Assessing Quality in Craft Beer: Style Guides and Taste Descriptions in Beer Judging Practice

Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSNChapter

Published
Publication date13/12/2021
Host publicationResearching Craft Beer: Understanding Production, Community and Culture in An Evolving Sector
EditorsDaniel Clarke, Vaughan Ellis, Holly Patrick-Thomson, David Weir
Place of PublicationBingley
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited
Pages129-147
Number of pages19
ISBN (electronic)9781800431843
ISBN (print)9781800431850
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

This chapter explores how quality is assessed in craft beer through describing tastes and aromas in relationship to categories of beer style. Drawing on documentary sources, it explores the development and formalisation of definitions of beer styles, and the development of the contemporary language used to describe and assess taste. It then ethnographically explores how these are combined in the practice of craft beer judging at a competition through a novel assemblage of different methods. The empirical work contributes novel methods for exploring tasting practices, detailed ethnographic description of beer judging and an exploration of how the organisation of style guides and taste descriptions have contributed to defining and assessing quality in craft beer.