Tasting beer with a cold or blocked nose and what you miss

Why a cold flattens flavour

Your tongue picks up only a handful of basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Almost everything else you call flavour, such as citrus, banana, caramel or coffee, is aroma detected in the nose.

Aroma reaches the nose two ways. You sniff it from the glass. It also rises from the back of the mouth when you swallow. A cold swells the lining of the nose and fills it with mucus, which blocks both routes. The tongue keeps working, so the beer is reduced to its basic tastes plus fizz and weight.

What survives

• Bitterness. Still clear. Often it is more prominent because nothing else competes with it.
• Sweetness and acidity. You can still tell a sweet stout from a sour Berliner weisse.
• Carbonation, body and alcohol warmth. These are felt rather than smelled, so they stay.
• Astringency. The dry, puckering grip of roast or polyphenols is a touch sensation, so it remains.

That is why a heavily hopped IPA with a cold tastes harsh and bitter. The fruit that balanced the bitterness has gone, but the bitterness has not. Our guide to mouthfeel and body explains the touch sensations in more detail.

What disappears

Hop aroma, yeast esters and phenols, malt character beyond plain sweetness, roast aroma and almost every fault. Diacetyl, DMS, oxidation and infection notes are aroma-led, so they slip past a blocked nose.

This matters more than it sounds if you brew. A homebrewer tasting a batch with a cold might pass a buttery or stale beer as fine, then wonder a week later why friends were polite rather than enthusiastic.

Try the pinched nose test

You do not need a cold to feel this. Pour a beer with a strong aroma, an IPA or a Belgian wheat beer works well. Pinch your nose firmly, take a sip, swallow and note what you get. Then let go while the beer is still in your mouth.

The rush of aroma when you release is retronasal smell arriving all at once. Most people are surprised by how little the beer tasted of before. It is the clearest demonstration there is that tasting is mainly smelling. It is also a good party trick for anyone who claims they can taste everything.

Brewers who are unwell should not judge

Professional sensory panels have a simple rule: if you have a cold, hay fever or a blocked nose, you sit the session out. The same applies to the days just after, when smell can take a while to come back fully. Some people find their smell changes for weeks after an infection.

For homebrewers the rule is the same. Do not make release decisions, such as whether a batch is ready to bottle or whether a fault has cleared, while your nose is blocked. Measure gravity, which needs no nose. Save the tasting for when you are well. If you keep tasting notes, write "cold" next to the date so you know to discount that entry later. Our guide to training your palate has more on keeping notes useful.

A note on hot climates and dry rooms

Smell also dulls in less dramatic ways. A dusty room, a long day under a ceiling fan or air conditioning that dries the nose all reduce sensitivity a little. Drinking water and taking a short break outdoors helps. If your notes seem flat on some days and sharp on others, look at how your nose felt that day before you blame the beer.

Getting your nose back to work

Once the cold clears, ease back in. Start with familiar smells from the kitchen: a cut lime, a clove, a cardamom pod, a spoon of honey, freshly ground coffee. If they all come through clearly, your nose is ready for beer again.

Then taste a beer you know well and compare it with your old notes. If the hop aroma seems weaker than you remember, give it another few days. Do not change a recipe because a batch tasted dull in the week after a cold. The beer may be fine and your nose may simply not be back yet.

If your sense of smell stays reduced for a long time after an illness, that is a question for a doctor rather than a tasting guide.

Common questions

Can I still taste bitterness with a cold?

Yes. Bitterness is detected on the tongue, so it survives a blocked nose and often seems stronger because the aromas that balance it are missing.

Why does beer taste flat when I have a cold?

Most flavour is aroma. A blocked nose stops aroma reaching the smell receptors from the glass and from the back of the mouth. Only basic tastes and mouthfeel are left.

Should I judge my homebrew while I have a cold?

No. Faults like diacetyl and oxidation are mainly aromas, so you may miss them. Check gravity instead and taste once your nose is clear.