'I like telling people I'm a beer taster for Sharp's!'

October 29, 2007: The search is on for new beer tasters after the first volunteers have graduated from Sharp's Brewery's taster training with flying colours. After a Cornwall-wide appeal, a select team was put through its paces to win regular tasting sessions at Sharp's.

Following the success of the first tasters, trained in-house at Sharp's Brewery, head brewer Stuart Howe is keen to attract more discerning drinkers, and in particular women, who are under-represented in the team.

Not only is this a dream job for beer lovers but the team are paid a beer allowance plus some brewery merchandising.

Stuart said: "It's a good job they're Doom Bar fans as it's a lot of beer to get through on their own. I'm sure they share it with friends!"

Leading the four-week training course, Stuart Howe is tough on new recruits. He said: "There are a number of tests to pass to qualify. They are asked to tell the difference between two beers and if they can't, then they don't continue. We also found that smokers were unable to pass the screening tests."

"Only a very small amount of people can detect all the important beer aromas and flavours. The ability to detect aroma is more important than ability to taste. The three main qualities we are looking for are the ability to detect and identify important flavours, tastes and smells, the ability to learn about beer flavours and the ability to articulate what they perceive".

Volunteers go through a rigorous training process to get their taste buds up to the brewery's high standards. Sharp's give great responsibility to their taste team as Doom Bar is adjusted according to comments from the panel.

To graduate as Sharp's tasters, trainees must pass exams on the comprehensive training course taught by head brewer Stuart Howe, who has a degree in brewing.

One connoisseur, Rod Kent, from Wadebridge, said the job was every drinker's dream: "There's quite a bit of kudos attached to this job — I like telling people I'm a beer taster for Sharp's.

"We conduct a number of taste and smell tests and make comments on the quality of the beer. The training and tasting is quite intense. Sometimes the differences in the beer samples are very subtle".

Despite getting paid every Friday with more beer than he can drink, Rod says he doesn't tire of drinking Doom Bar: "I always make a point of ordering a pint of it in fact.

"I imagined the job to be a group of guys sitting around drinking beer but we don't actually get to drink a large quantity of it. There is a lot of sipping and recording involved."

An advocate of the tasting scheme, Rod said: "The people I've told think it's to Sharp's credit that they have called the public in to ensure the quality of Doom Bar is maintained. What Stuart Howe doesn't know about beer isn't worth knowing."

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