| Acetaldehyde | green apple, cidery or fresh pumpkin | contamination from microorganisms |
| Acetic | aroma or flavor similar to vinegar | usually contamination from microorganisms like Acetobacteria |
| Acidic | sharp sour flavor or aroma | - |
| Alcoholic | warming or hot and spicy flavor that can be prickly in your mouth | high fermentation temperatures or excessive yeast in brewing |
| Astringent | drying, puckering , bitterness that is tannin like | - |
| Bacterial | moldy or musty | - |
| Bitter | that sensation on the back of the tongue | hops used in beer, malt used in beer, contamination from microorganisms, could be several different reasons that affect this component of flavor |
| Chill Haze | no affect on flavor but makes the beer appear hazy | proteins suspended in the beer |
| Clean | lacking in off and unpleasant flavors and aromas | - |
| Clove | herb like flavor of cloves | unwanted yeast |
| Cloying | too sweet and or heavy without any balancing bitter or acidic qualities | too much malt |
| Creamy | smooth mouth feel, soft and pleasant texture | good carbonation |
| Crisp | acidic in a good way that is not over powering | - |
| Dank | moldy or fungus like | - |
| Diacetyl | butter, butterscotch, toffee flavors | short fermentation, contamination from microorganisms |
| Dimethyl Sulfides (DMS) | cooked rancid vegetable flavor like broccoli or cabbage | contamination from microorganisms |
| Dry | finish that is sharp and not sweet | - |
| Earthy | aromas similar to grass and soil, think farm like | hops used in beer, usually related to hop aromas found in British beers |
| Estery | complex flavors ranging from fruity to spicy to flowery, these flavors are often linked to Belgian ales and wheat beers. | caused by certain yeasts,high fermentation temperatures, fruit added to beer |
| Flat | stale, papery, or cardboard like flavors | too much contact with air, high temperatures while the beer aged, old beer |
| Flowery | aroma like flowers | hops used in the beer |
| Fruity | aromas like apples, pears, citrus, strawberries etc. | caused by certain yeasts,high fermentation temperatures, fruit added to beer |
| Full-bodied | large and abundant flavors | malt used in beer |
| Grainy | raw and grain flavor or cereal like | malt used in beer |
| Grapefruit | just like grapefruit | hops used in beer |
| Grassy | the flavor of chlorophyll, just like fresh cut grass, can be musty | spoiled malt or hops, hops that were not dried correctly |
| Hazy | cloudy beer | protein or yeast floating in suspension in the beer |
| Medicinal | having one or many of these qualities: electrical fire, medicinal, plastic, listerine, band-aid, smoky, | unwanted yeast or contamination from microorganisms |
| Metallic | aroma or flavor similar to licking a coin | exposure to iron or aluminum or high iron in the brewing water |
| Musty | mildew and stale aroma | - |
| Nutty | flavors and aromas similar to various types of nuts | - |
| Oily | slick sensation on the tongue that feels like a coat on the mouth | - |
| Oxidized | flat, rotten, stale, papery, or cardboard like flavors | too much contact with air or high aging temperatures, or old beer |
| Phenolic | having one or many of these qualities: electrical fire, medicinal, plastic, listerine, band-aid, smoky, | unwanted yeast or contamination from microorganisms |
| Powdery | chalky or gritty in mouth feel | - |
| Rose Like | smell or flavor of roses | from hops or as a product of some yeasts |
| Rotten | flat, rotten, stale, papery, or cardboard like flavors | too much contact with air or high aging temperatures, or old beer |
| Salty | salt flavor on the sides of the tongue. | use of too much salts during adjustment of the brewing water |
| Silky | smooth and soft texture on the palate | often as a result of adjuncts such as oatmeal |
| Skunky | skunk like flavor | exposure to sunlight |
| Solvent-like | aroma like paint thinner, lacquer or acetone usually felt along the back of the mouth | high fermentation temperatures, |
| Sour | acidic and/or vinegar like sensation on the sides of the tongue, can have several different characteristics, such as lemony, vinegar, or sharp | contamination from microorganisms, intentional additional of lactobacillus as in lambics |
| Stale | flat, rotten, stale, papery, or cardboard like flavors | too much contact with air or high aging temperatures, or old beer |
| Sting | sharp bite on the tongue | carbonation, highly hopped beer |
| Sulphur | aroma of rotten eggs | exposure to sunlight, contamination from microorganisms, random yeast infection, too much exposure to yeast |
| Sweet | sugary, noticed on the tip of the tongue | a product of the malt ingredients, various adjuncts that are not fully fermented |
| Tangy | sharp impression on the sides of the tongue, not as intense as tart | - |
| Tart | intense acidic taste | - |
| Thin | watery or having little body | - |
| Toast | malt characteristic usually associated with dark ales and stouts | - |
| Vegetal | flavors of cooked, canned or rotten vegetables such as cooked corn, cabbage or broccoli | poor quality malt ingredients, contamination from microorganisms, or high or low levels of yeast |
| Vinous | an aroma or flavor suggestive of wine. | - |
| Winy | similar to wine with fruity aroma or flavor | - |
| Yeasty | yeast like flavor, think bread dough | yeast still in suspension or beer sitting on sediment |