BDT 121 - Beer Styles and Flavor Evaluation

Credits: 3
Lecture Contact Hours: 3
Description: This course introduces the history of beer, beer styles and the factors contributing to flavor development and flavor defects. Focus will be given to understanding and evaluating foundation and modern beer styles and the role of ingredients and the brewing process on the final products’ characteristics. Students will critically evaluate 50 beer styles as catalogued by the Beer Judge Certification Program, and their ingredients, using a sensory evaluation process.

Prerequisites: Students must be at least 18 years of age to take this course [MCL 436.1703 Section 703, (13)].
Corequisites: None.
Recommended: BDT 101

Course Category: Occupational
This Course is Typically Offered: Winter, Spring, Fall
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Course Competencies

Examine the properties of the four major components of beer and their contributions to flavor development.
Assess ingredient specifications and processing methods and their effects on finished beer.
Correlate byproducts of the brewing process with their influence on the final product.
Correlate the variety of beer styles with the combination of ingredients, sensory characteristics and processing methods that distinguish each.
Evaluate beers and beer ingredients using a sensory evaluation process involving appearance, aroma and taste.
Analyze beer defects and their sources.
Describe how beer’s history has contributed to the development of modern beer styles.
Explore the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), its role in learning about beer styles and the pathway to becoming a BJCP judge.
Evaluate a beer’s flavor with scientific methods.