Is beer tasting purely subjective?

My experience; I have witnessed professional wine tasters give a thumbs up to a $10.00 wine over an $80.00 wine during a blind tasting. When it comes to beer/ale, most of us are professional enough to agree on a good quality beer/ale. The best beer/ale I've ever had is the "next one". And always remember; The best beer/ale is the one that you like and enjoy.

 

Here's to honesty!

 

Not surprising to be honest, I would also question to which degree there are even differences in taste in some of these segments. And hype is one of those things that isn't really much of an issue for me given that I don't have access to most of these beers. And when I get at stuff like that I'll try to do a blind test - as I will most likely do with Cantillon this month.

I also have no issues admitting that I like some stuff that gets quite a bit of flak (e.g. stuff from BrewDog or Brewfist).

 

what in the world does it mean for something to be "purely subjective"? either something is or isn't subjective. nothing that is subjecive relies on literally no objective facts, unless you are an idealist or a solipsist or something (neither of which anyone really is).

taste is a subjective experience based on a variety of objective facts, like most human experience. and let's not even get started about the words to describe the experience... i have my PDF of philosophical investigations at the ready.

 

It's so complicated...there are things we can measure or observe that are purely objective...but over 90% is subjective...subconscious even...

 

Lots of good points in this thread. It all made me think of a brew club competition we had recently. We do this every three months or so, and bring beers keyed to styles we decided upon ahead of time. People vote on their favourite beers, and the whole thing was set up blind. This last competition was a hodge-podge of different styles ... stouts, porters, IPAs, Scotch ale (I think), some Belgian strong ales. Guess which style do you think won in the blind tasting? Definitely wasn't the porter.

 

It absolutely is subjective. Everyone is at a different point in their beer drinking experience. For example, when I just got into beer, I hated IPA's. Now, they are one of my favorite styles. However, I can still not fully appreciate barleywines, yet more experienced drinkers can. Whoever rates a beer is doing it based on their preferences and experience, thus it is purely subjective. However, in general, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell a bad beer from a good beer. The true benefit of beer ratings is sensing the difference between a 99 point beer and a 100 (something I just cant do yet). That's when experience comes into play, which is both subjective and objective in nature.

 

Yes. Thread over.

 

Subjective to a certain degree but i've noticed that sometimes the setting or even the way i'm feeling on that particular day can contribute to my enjoyment.

 

Outside of being in a lab testing chemical composition it is definitely subjective. There are so many variables in every tasting.

 

What if what I see as the color blue you all see as red???

 

I've found that if I'm drinking a beer while I'm reading about beers in a different style, the one that I'm drinking will start to exhibit characteristics of the ones I'm reading about in a very slight way. Keep in mind that my intellect is very weak.

 

Absolutely.

 

It is subjective to a point. As in wine tasting, once you are used to the flavors of particular ingredients, such as the hop variety, you can start to discern the true flavors present in the beer.

 

To a degree, sure, but there are certain hops and malts and yeasts that are intended to produce certain flavor elements...

 

It should be, but it can be biased by ratings or other reviews, so it´s better to taste first and then read reviews and ratings.

 

I do not think it is entirely subjective, much like the appreciation of art. For example, although there is a lot of variation in taste/opinion when it comes to music/movies/beer/etc., there can still be fairly universal agreement that The Beatles/The Godfather/Parabola is better than Creed/Sharknado/Bud Light.

 

Definitely, one man's perfection is another man's disaster.

 

mostly subjective.