OTS p22-23 Tennents Nov08.qxp 05/11/2008 16:33 Page 22
business building · case study: TLC Programme
Testing for quality
Brian Black has a job that is made in heaven for lager lovers. His daily task is to sample Tennent’s Lager in his
role as leader of the Flavour Panel that tastes each batch produced at Glasgow’s Wellpark Brewery. OTS looks
at how his efforts help make Tennent’s Lager the much-loved beer it is today, and hears his advice for
licensees on ensuring every pint is perfect.
Monitoring quality is a hugely important task at
Tennent’s and it’s the job of the sampling team
to ensure every pint is of the required standard.
It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it – standards. The panel knows how flavours the brewery to check Tennent’s Lager is true
and Brian Black and four of the best tasters in work, understands flavour thresholds and to type – that is, maintaining the traditional
Tennent’s Wellpark brewery are the lucky ones appreciates what is expected from every pint product characteristics for which it is
chosen to sample the brand each day in of Tennent’s. renowned.
pursuit of Tennent’s brewing excellence. “As part of our quality checks, we smell and “This sampling is to check that our
The team assemble at 10.30am prompt taste the lager: it is very important to smell it fermentation is turning out Tennent’s Lager as
every morning at the brewery, where because the tongue can only pick up four it should be and to make sure the flavour is
Tennent’s Lager has been produced since tastes while the nose picks up hundreds of consistent,” says Brian. The panel has to rank
1885, for a tasting session which involves smells,” explains Brian. “It’s just like a wine eight characteristics of the lager in terms of
them checking the quality of the lager tasting although we don’t tend to spit the intensity, which enables Brian to calculate the
produced in the previous 24 hours. liquid out because there are taste buds at the ‘true to type’ score. This score must be in
The brewing process for Tennent’s Lager back of the tongue that are important. We excess of 80% for the brew to be approved. If
lasts almost three weeks and monitoring nose it first and then drink a mouthful. it is found to be the wrong flavour, the beer
quality is a major job, as Scotland’s number “We are checking that the beer is fit to go simply doesn’t go any further.
one beer brand accounts for more than 50% to the next stage, and that there isn’t anything When not leading the tasters, Brian can be
of all on-trade lager volume sold. It is the long that would make it taste unpleasant.” called upon to give his verdict on a sample of
experience and tasting skills of the team that This so-called ‘go/no go’ test is designed to Tennent’s Lager at any time, if somebody
ultimately decides if a brew is good enough to ensure the brew is fit to continue along the detects a problem at any stage in the brewing
carry the Tennent’s name. brewing process. If a batch fails the test, it process. “Some people seem to think that all I
An average day sees the panel taste a could mean that as many as 1,000 barrels of do is sit around drinking all day but that is
number of samples – from various stages of lager could be scrapped. certainly not the case,” he says with a smile.
the production process – to check that it Once a week, Brian holds a sampling with In fact, when not involved in tastings,
meets the stringent Tennent’s quality another panel of senior tasting experts from Brian’s role is senior microbiologist and he is
· 22 · ots · november 2008 · www.55north.com/ots_home.asp
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