Anglian Craft Brewers are all for development and helping each other. The club are lucky to have lots of experience at hand. We are lucky to be able to tap into this experience to help bring the standard for the whole club up. Continuous development and always challenging the norm is important to keep moving forward. From August 2025 we’ll be running another set of BJCP judge training sessions aiming to get trainees to complete the BJCP online exam in time for the June 2026 Tasting Exam in London.

The below blog aims to help anyone interested in widening their beer description vocabulary. Being able to concisely describe your beer tasting experience is key to filling out a BJCP score sheet. Paired with the style from the 2021 BJCP Style Guide, you can give accurate feedback.

Sometimes you need a few additional words to describe something, especially when you go for the tasting exam. It’s good to find faults (not for the beer) to help the brewer, you also need to be able to give constructive feedback to the brewer on how to help eradicate the fault next time.

The following headings follow the BJCP scoresheet’s layout and provide some descriptors, then later on there’s a list of intensity descriptors, which is another important consideration to get the best feedback score on your tasting exam possible. Being able to fully fill out a scoresheet with a host of accurate descriptors and intensity levels is important. It makes the difference between being recognised and certified. Recognised iawarded at 60-69 exam points and certified 70+ points and gaining 5 experience points.

Aroma Describers

• Malt: bready, biscuity, toasty, caramel, toffee, nutty, chocolatey, roasty, grainy
• Hops: floral, citrusy, piney, herbal, spicy, earthy, resinous, tropical, grassy
• Yeast: fruity (e.g., apple, pear, banana), phenolic (clove, pepper), sulphur, bubblegum
• Other: DMS (cooked corn), diacetyl (buttery), oxidation (papery, stale), alcohol (solvent-like), phenolic (Jim’s favourite) peppery, plastic, plaster/band aid 

Appearance Describers

• Colour: straw, pale gold, amber, copper, brown, black, opacity, hue (holding a mobile phone light to the glass showed a delightful ruby hue…) 
• Clarity: brilliant, clear, hazy, cloudy, opaque
• Head: white, off-white, tan; persistent, fleeting, creamy, rocky, foamy, lacing (Belgian lacing) bubble sizes consistent, different,

Flavour Describers

• Malt: sweet, dry, rich, toasty, burnt, caramelized, chocolatey
• Hops: bitter, spicy, citrusy, floral, earthy, resinous
• Balance: malt-forward, hop-forward, well-balanced
• Yeast: fruity esters, phenolic spice, clean, neutral
• Other: astringent, metallic, sour, buttery, oxidized, alcoholic warmth, 

Mouthfeel Describers

• Body: light, medium, full
• Carbonation: low, moderate, high, spritzy (or a mix of 2x using a hyphen “moderate-high” for in-between perceptions)
• Texture: creamy, smooth, slick, dry, warming, astringent

Overall Impression

It’s important to be as positive about the beer as possible. Collate your findings into a succinct, but brief overview covering your drinking experience. If needed, you can be less specific on levels here to save space. Ensure you include the levels in the sections above. Talk about drinkability, balance, anything pleasing you find. Always suggest improvements if you can, and ensure that you include fixes for any faults you identified in the earlier sections. See the table below for suggestions. Most importantly, say what you mean. If you liked the beer say so. If you would like to brew the beer yourself, ask for the recipe, they have your email address on the scoresheet. 

Off-Flavour Describers (for faults)

• Diacetyl – buttery, slick mouthfeel
• DMS – cooked corn, vegetal
• Acetaldehyde – green apple
• Oxidation – cardboard, sherry-like
• Light-struck – skunky/skunked 
• Infection – sour, funky, phenolic

Helpful Tips for Trainees

• Use specific, sensory-based language rather than vague terms like “nice” or “good.”
• Include intensity descriptors (see below)
• Reference style expectations from the BJCP guidelines to assess accuracy.
• Avoid overusing the same descriptors—variety shows depth of evaluation.
• Practice with commercial examples and calibrate with experienced judges.

Intensity Descriptors for Sensory Evaluation

Use these to describe the level of each characteristic on the scoresheet:

Aroma / Flavour / Bitterness / Mouthfeel

• None
• Very Low
• Low
• Low-medium
• Moderate/Medium
• Medium-High
• High
• Very High
• Overpowering (use with caution—often a flaw)

These can be paired with specific descriptors, e.g., “moderate citrus hop aroma” or “low roasted malt flavour.”

Off-Flavours: Descriptions & Fixes

Off-Flavour	Sensory Description	Common Causes	Fixes / Prevention
Diacetyl	Buttery, butterscotch, slick mouthfeel	Incomplete fermentation, low fermentation temp, bacterial infection	Ensure full fermentation, raise temp for diacetyl rest, use healthy yeast
DMS	Cooked corn, vegetal	Inadequate boil, covered kettle, bacterial contamination	Vigorous boil with lid off, rapid chilling, good sanitation
Acetaldehyde	Green apple, latex, grassy	Premature racking, oxidation, bacterial spoilage	Allow full fermentation, avoid oxygen exposure, proper sanitation
Oxidation	Stale, cardboard, sherry-like	Oxygen exposure during packaging or ageing	Minimize oxygen post-fermentation, use oxygen-scavenging caps
Astringency	Dry, puckering, tannic (like grape skins)	Over-sparging, high pH, excessive hopping	Control sparge temp/pH, avoid over-crushing, moderate hop use
Phenolic (Clove/Band-Aid)	Spicy (OK in some styles), medicinal, plastic-like	Wild yeast or bacteria, chlorine in water	Use filtered water, sanitize thoroughly, control fermentation environment
Sourness (Unintended)	Tart, vinegar, lactic, acetic	Infection by lactobacillus, pediococcus, acetobacter	Sanitize rigorously, avoid oxygen, control fermentation temps
Alcoholic (Hot)	Solvent-like, warming, spicy	High fermentation temp, under-pitching, high gravity wort	Pitch enough yeast, ferment at proper temp, oxygenate wort properly
Light-struck	Skunky	Exposure to light (especially in green/clear bottles)	Use brown bottles, store in dark places

Click this link to open and save a shorter, handout version of this information.

I hope you enjoy this information. Please leave a comment or tell me if there’s anything you’d like to see added.