Asia Brewers Network

Overcoming the loss of smell & taste from covid

Fermentis

What is the most important tool used by any brewer, distiller, vintner or chef? If you said “sense of smell” you’d be correct!

Our sense of smell is connected to every aspect of what we do. For brewers we are smelling and tasting the mash, the hops, fermentation and the final product looking for defects along the way.

Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, doctors discovered that many people infected with the virus had lost their sense of smell, even without showing any other symptoms. The percentage of those with the loss of their olfactory system varies but the fact is that this is a real problem
and can damage a person’s career.

Lets take a look at the issue.

Drawing of the Olfactory nerve

The olfactory nerves link directly with the nasal cavity, detecting aromas.

In the case of Covid-19, tissue inflammation leads to the obstruction of the nasal cavities and thus restricts access to the receptor cells (olfactory neurons) affecting the subjects ability to detect and identify smells.

This also happens during the common cold and certain allergic reactions, but with Covid-19 this is a symptom to which there is still no complete answers too.

This loss of smell seems to not be permanent. It appears to generally last 6-10 days but there has been reports of weeks and months before returning.

So as brewers what do we do?

It is possible to strengthen or help recovery through some simple exercises. Although disorders may not last long for some Covid sufferers, training should ease the recovery of smell and taste and may actually improve sensitivity to odors.

As brewers we should look to other professions especially tapping into specific skills of wine professionals as we can draw on there experiences to benefit us.

Now, you may think its completely ineffective to begin sensory testing while the nasal cavities are obstructed, but it is healthy to continue this process and begin building an olfactory mental image. The point being to simulate the ability to imagine smells (we have all at some point said “I can smell that picture”).

To make the most of this training it is important to choose a calm moment, preferably in the morning before any obstructions such as coffee, perfume, bacon etc. enter your close environment.

You should choose strong fragrances like essential oils as a tester to introduce physiological changes like rose, eucalyptus and separate citrus fruits such as lemon and lime.

Speaking with my good friend and nutritionist Graeme Stasyshyn who, after testing positive with no other symptoms but loss of smell, found “Straight wintergreen essential oil in the mouth gave zero indications of what should have been and overwhelming sensation. Peanut/almond butters tasted like oily Crisco, and hot peppers which normally give hiccups at no effect.”

Continuing, he noted “after a few days my ‘taste’ came back in the form of sensations, not flavors, with sensory perception on my tongue.” He continued testing himself daily with essential oils until he felt his senses had returned to 100%.

cicerone beer off flavour training kit

Off-flavour kits are a great way to re-train your senses

Repetitive daily sensory training is key

After regaining your olfactory sensitivity, a daily training exercise involving repeated exposures of scents can be set up. Training through repeated exposure can enable sufferers to relearn their sensitivity. The final step would be moving back to beer flavours with gradual exposure testing for standard beer defects such as diacetyl and oxidation for example.

In the end I would like to think the lesson we can learn from this is to not take for granted how important not just our sense of smell is, but appreciating how the olfactory system as a whole is a vital component of our colourful lifestyle; distinguishing sweet from sour, salty from bitter and generally understanding the relationship between your senses and how it relates to the beer making process.

Just think back to that first time smelling Sierra Nevada pale ale or the beautiful complexity of a Cantillion gueuze.

If you are one of those who has been affected, don’t overly worry – in due time your senses will return to normal, as will life and business. Stay positive and take the opportunity to re-train your senses, you never know, you may even emerge from the experience with a reinvigorated sensory awareness.

Article by:

James Waters

James Waters

James Waters is an award winning brewer and distiller who has been in the industry for 15 years. Originally from New Jersey, James currently resides in Hong Kong and still believes a session beer is 4% and under.

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