What the Nose Knows

Nobody can deny that the choice of title of this book is a delight. Its subtitle, The Science of Scent in Everyday Life, is almost as good and gives further flavour (or scent) to what lies within its pages.

I was encouraged to read this book by Gary Spedding, founder of Brewing & Distilling Analytical Services in USA, when I had the good fortune to meet him at GABF last year.

It was with some trepidation that I opened at the first page. A science book, recommended by a scientist was a daunting prospect. However, Gary had told me that the book was written in an easy to read, laid back style and he was not wrong.

What the Nose Knows is an entertaining and enlightening journey through the world of aroma. It is written in an engaging style and the author offers his keen observations on the science of smell in a witty, good-humoured way. It is a really enjoyable read.

So, if you want to find out how many smells there are, whether blind people have enhanced sense of smell, whether the human nose is as sensitive as a dog's and whether a cocaine addict's olfactory ability lasts longer than his septum, then this is the book for you.

The book's description of the author, Avery Gilbert, suggests he is a smell scientist who has helped design commercial scents for everything from perfume to cat litter. The book is a fine way for him to share his love of his work with a wider audience.

Finally, thanks to modern scientific advances this blog is the first to offer the latest scratch and sniff innovation. Just scratch your screen and you will get a wonderful whiff of beer blogger.