Profession beer sommelier

Beer sommeliers understand and advise on styles, brewing and best pairing of beers with foods in locations such as restaurants, breweries and shops. They know all about their ingredients, the history of the beers, glassware and draught systems. They prepare beer tastings, consult companies and customers, evaluate beer products and write about this subject.

Personality Type

• Social / Enterprising
• Social / Realistic

Knowledge

• Variety of beers

  Variety of beers and their fermentation, ingredients and processes used during their production.

• Fermentation processes of beverages

  Fermentation processes related to the conversion of sugar to alcohol, gases and acids. 

• Beer downstream processing

  The process of beer post-fermentation, including maturation and filtration.

• Biotechnology

  The technology that uses, modifies or harnesses biological systems, organisms and cellular components to develop new technologies and products for specific uses.

• Brewhouse processes

  The processes and techniques through which raw materials are converted into fermentable substrate for beer manufacturing.

• Ingredients for beer production

  Basic ingredients of beer, which consist of water, a starch source such as malted barley, brewer's yeast to produce the fermentation and a flavouring such as hops.

Skills

• Advise on beer production

  Advise beer companies, small brewers and managers within the beer industry to improve the quality of the product or of the production process.

• Perform sensory evaluation

  Evaluate the quality of a given type of food or beverage based on its appearance, smell, taste, aroma, and others. Suggest possible improvements and comparisons with other products.

• Apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages

  Apply and follow national, international, and internal requirements quoted in standards, regulations and other specifications related with manufacturing of food and beverages.

• Describe the flavour of different beers

  Describe the taste and aroma, or flavour of different beers using the adequate lingo and relying on experience to classify beers.

• Pair beer with food

  Pairs beer with dishes in order to match the right tastes.

• Apply GMP

  Apply regulations regarding manufacture of food and food safety compliance. Employ food safety procedures based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).

• Apply extensive study of beer styles from around the world

  Study and analyse beer styles from different countries and consult companies and people in the industry. 

• Analyse trends in the food and beverage industries

  Investigate trends in foodstuffs related to consumers preferences. Examine key markets based on both product type and geography as well as technological improvements in the industry.

• Apply HACCP

  Apply regulations regarding manufacture of food and food safety compliance. Employ food safety procedures based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).

• Consult on beer presentation

  Consult on the presentation of beers, labelling, and the image of the beer according to the taste and the perception of the client.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB