Can we talk about mouthfeel?

Mouthfeel is almost as important as taste and smell for me.

 

Looking for mouthfeel? Look no further, come on down to Cigar City Brewing!

Can't make it to FL? Well, check out Alesmith Brewing, in California.

 

This thread reminds me of BCBS mouthfeel, mmm

 

I've noticed lately that for me, carbonation is really important. Under or over carbed turns me off. There is that Goldilocks zone, I spose it's different for everybody. Mine, no matter the style, seems to be medium but I'd rather have it slightly higher than lower. I had a Chimay Blue and a Rochefort 8 side by side. The Chimay, I thought it was perfectly carbed, while the Rochefort 8 was too much for my tastes.

 

I think BA has the weighting of importance about right

Taste 40%
Smell 24%
Overall impression 20%
Feel 10%
Look 6%

 

Damn. You nailed it. I would not have considered it that way, but it makes perfect sense. Thanks for sharing!

 

Takes the right beer to realize this. I had a Funky Buddha Last Snow and was amazed at the flavor without the motor oil thickness. It was delightful. People tend to correlate super thick mouth feel with taste, which is not always the case.

 

I agree with most everything you said. You just said it better than I could. I dislike brown ales that seem watery (names withheld to protect the guilty).

 

Finding the perfect blend of CO2 for the gravity of the beer relative to style and nuance is mind-blowing when done right.

 

I've had so many great tasting beers recently that have been completely ruined by the mouthfeel. Nothing worse than an impy stout that washes down like a half flat cola.

 

My personal rubric is this:

Look 15%
Smell 20%
Taste 40%
Feel 25%

Overall Impression being simply left as the summation of my own weighted averages.

So, yes, to me, mouthfeel, behind taste, is the second most important aspect of the entire brew.

 

i think it's one of the big reasons why cloudy IPAs are such a hit. a fuller body adds another layer of complexity and makes the beer more juice-like, which some (including me) really like.

i also found this with lagunitas' doppel sticky - eventually realized that the mouthfeel was one of the main reasons why i liked that beer so much...made it so smooth, almost creamy, and really complemented the flavor profile so well.

 

I don't think mouthfeel is discussed enough, either. Everyone can find flavors and aromas they enjoy, but only something like mouthfeel, a word that never even enters the lexicon of most people, is what makes beer advocacy stand out in the appreciation of these beverages. A mouthfeel I really enjoy is one of the main things I seek now, in a beer I want to blow my mind. I usually look for a beer with a creamy, milkshake-like body. Troegs Java Head is probably has the best mouthfeel I've ever encountered. Flavor and aroma still take prominence for me, but mouthfeel is what seals the deal.

 

Far more important than appearance as far as I'm concerned.

It's also one of the things that makes beer such a unique beverage: you can drink a saison that is literally less dense than water or a stout that feels like heavy cream, a hefe that's bursting at the seams with carbonation or a barleywine that's just above flat.

 

i'm sure mouthfeel is important, I just haven't honed my skill to put into great descriptive words,what I feel in my mouth with each different beer style, but I keep trying.

 

I also don't understand why overall is included in the algorithm. You would think that Overall would be the result when everything else is plugged in and the result comes out. To me it is like saying 1+1+1+1=4 but the average is 2.6

 

Try mexican cake and let me know about mouthfeel

 

Mouthfeel is the great ignored key component of a great beer. So many beers have great hop profiles, or rich complexities, that are lost because the beer hits the palate with a thud instead of gently cascading across the tongue. It's my number one gripe with most homebrews I try.

 

Really bad mouthfeel... brings down the beers other qualities, it's absolutely important.