Product Description
Sensory training kit used to train professional beer tasters to recognize and scale the intensity of ten different cider flavour notes.
Use this set of certified cider flavour standards to deliver up to two hours of taster training for ten people, or as a personal flavour training kit, allowing you to train yourself to recognize each of the ten flavour notes over a longer period of time.
The kit includes four positive beer flavours, five off-flavours and one taint.
The AROXA™ Uno Cider Flavour Standards kit comes complete with a presentation box and informative flavour cards for each standard.
AROXA™ certified cider flavour standards are: food grade | free from sensory impurities | extensively tested | safe to smell and taste. Unsure whether this kit is right for you? Don’t forget about our 100% satisfaction guarantee.
The importance and origins of each flavour are:
Flavour: ACETIC Chemical name: ACETIC ACID
“Acetic, like vinegar”
IMPORTANCE: Acetic acid is present in all ciders and is a major component of ‘volatile acidity’. Concentrations of acetic acid can be elevated in some ciders through use of damaged or rotten fruit and low sulphite additions. At high concentrations acetic acid is an off-flavour which can be indicative of poor factory hygiene.
ORIGINS: Acetic acid is a natural component of apple juice and is produced by yeast during fermentation. Abnormal fermentation, contamination with bacteria or wild yeasts, and excessive exposure to oxygen can all lead to excessive production of acetic acid in cider.
Flavour: DIACETYL Chemical name: 2,3-BUTANEDIONE
“Diacetyl, like butter, butter popcorn, or warm milk”
IMPORTANCE: Diacetyl is a desirable flavour in some ciders, and an off-flavour in others. In traditional ciders it arises from secondary fermentation with malo-lactic bacteria. Such ciders have higher levels of 2,3-butanedione compared with those produced more rapidly, without a malo-lactic fermentation.
ORIGINS: Produced in cider from a precursor formed by yeast during fermentation. Diacetyl can also be formed by contaminant lactic acid bacteria including Lactobacillus and Pediococcus.
Flavour: SOUR Chemical name: CITRIC ACID
“Sour, like lemon juice, acidic”
IMPORTANCE: Sour flavour notes is one of five basic tastes found in cider and a major differentiator of styles and products. The material is odourless and can only be detected by tasting.
ORIGINS: Acidity in cider is derived from both fruit acids and metabolism of yeast and lactic acid bacteria during processing. It can be divided into non-volatile and volatile acidity. Citric acid represents the non-volatile fraction.
Flavour: CHLOROPHENOL Chemical name: 2,6-DICHLOROPHENOL
“Chlorophenol, like antiseptic, disinfectant or mouthwash”
IMPORTANCE: Chlorophenols cause taints in ciders. They are associated with a high degree of consumer rejection, even at low levels. They are often described by consumers as ‘chemical’, ‘antiseptic’ or ‘contaminated’.
ORIGINS: Chlorophenols are formed by admixture of incompatible cleaning agents or by contact of cider with chlorinated water. Chlorophenolic taints occasionally arise through contamination of processing aids or packaging materials.
Flavour: ETHYL HEXANOATE Chemical name: ETHYL HEXANOATE
“Ethyl hexanoate, like artificial apple, or aniseed”
IMPORTANCE: Ethyl hexanoate is an ester which is present in all ciders and a contributor to the complexity of apple flavour character. Concentrations of ethyl hexanoate vary from cider to cider.
ORIGINS: Ethyl hexanoate is produced by yeast during fermentation. The amount formed depends on juice composition, yeast strain and fermentation conditions. Some wild yeasts produce high levels of ethyl hexanoate.
Flavour: BAND AID Chemical name: 4-ETHYL PHENOL
“Phenolic-4-EP, like blue cheese or band aid”
IMPORTANCE: Since conventional brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces) does not produce 4-ethyl phenol, its presence in most beers indicates microbiological contamination.
ORIGINS: 4-Ethyl phenol is produced by contaminant Brettanomyces (Dekkera) yeasts and, occasionally by lactic acid bacteria, during beer production. Beers which are low in sulphur dioxide are particularly sensitive to growth of such microorganisms. Produced by Brettanomyces yeasts during or after fermentation. In most beers, Brettanomyces is a contaminant. 4-Ethyl phenol is an off-flavour in such beers. Some beers styles rely on flavours produced by Brettanomyces for their distinctive character.
Flavour: SMOKY Chemical name: GUAIACOL
“Smoky, like smoked fish or cheese”
IMPORTANCE: Low levels of guaiacol in cider contribute to wood-aged complexity. Higher levels of guaiacol impart an undesirable smoky / disinfectant-like note to affected cider and the juice from which it is made. The flavour of guaiacol tends toward a more medicinal note when bromophenols, formed by the same contaminant bacteria, are also present.
ORIGINS: Low levels of guaiacol can be derived from oak ageing. Higher levels can be caused by growth of Alicyclobacillus prior to fermentation. This spore-forming organism converts vanillin in the juice into guaiacol.
Flavour: H2S Chemical name: HYDROGEN SULPHIDE
“H2S, like boiled eggs or rotten eggs”
IMPORTANCE: Hydrogen sulphide is present in all ciders. Concentrations of H2S vary considerably from one cider to another. H2S is an off-flavour at high concentrations but contributes positively to cider flavour complexity when present in low amounts. Supplementation of juice with ammonium salts prior to fermentation can help minimize formation of H2S. Copper treatment of finished cider can eliminate any H2S formed.
ORIGINS: Hydrogen sulphide is a normal fermentation product of yeast – excessive levels of H2S are caused by non-optimal concentrations of amino acids in juice. Hydrogen sulphide can be also be introduced through use of insufficiently-purified carbon dioxide for carbonation and by microbiological spoilage of cider.
