Starting to develop your palate

Matthew,

I'm with you in that I'm always learning something new when it comes to beer.

That being said, I've found trying a wide variety of each style to be helpful. The more you try, the more you begin to notice the similarities and differences, some obvious some subtle.

 

Welcome, Matthew-
you are definitely on the right track. Aroma is a huge factor in IPAs- so after a while, give your glass a swirl, and it'll release some more aromatics. Maybe even try to notice how it changes while you drink it.

Overall, though, take your time; it won't all come to you at once. Just keep on tasting and smelling as you go, and before long things will start to become more obvious.

Maybe even do a compare and contrast a few times with two or three IPAs (one that is known to be citrusy against one that is known to be more tropical, etc.). This should make the differences even more clear. Just make sure to cleanse your palate with water and unsalted crackers between tastings.

Good luck, and enjoy!

 

Practice practice practice. There are no shortcuts.

 

Try everything you can get your hands on. Sip and talk with your buddies in regards to what you're all tasting.

Practice makes perfect.

 

I'd recommend doing side by sides of these:
IPA- Ballast Point Sculpin (tropical) vs Sierra Nevada Torpedo (Pine/citrus)
DIPA-FW double jack (tropical/grapefruit) vs Sixpoint Resin(PINE/citrus/mainly pine tho)

Other than that as others have said just practice.

 

The more you drink, the more you will learn. There is no way of picking up on the nuances of a flavor profile, especially as complex as some beers get these days, without first having tried a million other tastes. Your tongue will remember the good ones and your mind will help you remember the bad ones.

 

I've been a registered member of this site for nine years and had been drinking craft to some degree even before that. I'm a homebrewer and I've worked in/managed beer bars for about five years now. I've hosted beer tastings both privately and professionally, judged homebrew competitions, put together tap lists and beer/food pairings, and have even taught .

Like dth4lf, I'm still always learning something new when it comes to beer.

Don't worry about those things so much. The more different beers you drink, the more you'll come to appreciate the differences. If you want to speed up the processes a bit, grab a couple bags of hop pellets from your local homebrew supply store (they run $2-$5/ounce) and try to differentiate the aromas you pick up from each of them. Read the BJCP style guidelines (http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.php) and get a copy of Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer (just under $10 on Amazon), one of the most useful entry/intermediate level general beer resources out there.

 

if you want to transition into a style that seems subtler to you, i really believe the best way is to ride your preferences. don't bother with a style unless you get some enjoyment from some instance of it.

for example, if you can't get into pilsners, try a supposedly "very hoppy pilsner." maybe you'll be into the hop character, and that will ease you into appreciating the malt subtleties (maybe not!).

don't like sours? well, do you like raspberries? like sour cherries? do you like bourbon barrel stouts? what about that strong new American oak vanilla/coconuty flavor you get in the bolder BBA stouts? you can find that in cascade sours often, and it's really complimented by lactic sourness (which maybe oak can transition you into appreciating).

see what i mean? definitely try something totally out of your comfort zone every so often, but don't bang your head against the wall with styles that aren't doing it for you. respect that beer drinking is about enjoyment, and find an in road with flavors you're already familiar with and like. use that as a bridge to everything else.

...is my opinion.

 

Try a lot of different styles and beers. Take notes about what you are tasting, smelling, feeling. Compare and contrast different beers, side by side, blind, etc. (depending on how clinical you want to be; you can also just try different things with no rhyme or reason to it). During or after tasting a beer, read others' reviews (not ratings; I mean the ones with words) and see if you are picking up any of the same characteristics. It takes time, but eventually your palate will become more sensitive and pick up more subtle profiles, to the point that when you smell a certain beer you'll usually have a pretty good, and accurate, idea what it will taste like too. Worst case scenario, it's a lot more fun that collecting stamps or knitting.

Most of all, enjoy the journey!

 

Lots of good advice here but this is my favorite so far. If you normally only have Piney IPAs then the first time you have a real citrus bomb it'll be so apparent. Once you can pick up those differences I think the rest will really come into focus.

 

Isolating the flavors you're trying to pick out usually helps. Head to the grocery store and pick out, smell, and taste a bunch of different fruits/vegetables/herbs.

Not only will that help you pick out the flavors in other foods/drinks, but with enough practice, will help you actually name the flavors; e.g. instead of "citrus", you can pick out grapefruit and tangerine.

Also, don't be afraid to explore liquors, spirits, wines, etc. Those will help you broaden your palate as well.

 

I totally second this. I know this is BEER Advocate, but wine and whiskey have helped me identify a much wider range of flavor profiles.

 

Read BA reviews before, during, and after drinking new things. They'll help you to do two things: put words to what you're tasting and focus your attention on certain notes that might otherwise have gone without notice.

 

This.
If you only "have an idea of what those flavors might theoretically taste like" then your mind and palette do not have the connections to be able to pull out those flavors out of beer. Just like a memory, you need to make the connections and form an association so you go beyond the theoretical and into the known. After you get done with the grocery store, go to a garden center and smell the flowers (floral) and the soil (earthy) and find some pine trees and really smell them. Go to different varieties and think about what you are smelling and how they are different. Make the connections. When you eat something new, slow down and really think about what you are smelling and tasting, eat more ethnic foods and expand your flavor vocabulary. After that go to a homebrew store and start homebrewing or at least smell the malts and hops and how they differ so you can understand how they effect beer.

The more smells and tastes you have consciously filled away in your personal library, the easier it is to notice and identify those aromas and flavors in beer.

 

Shhhhheeet. When I was 22 I thought new castle was da shit, so you're ahead of game. Just keep drinking different beers and different styles. Keep an open mind and keep trying different beers, but also don't lose sight of your favorites. It's not race and enjoy the ride.

 

I love threads like this.

I am about 2 more years into the craft game than you and can say my second and third years were way more educational that the first.

My first year was just a bunch of mind blowing experiences. In the first year or so it seemed every beer was a new experience. As more time goes by and your experience grows you'll start finding similarities and differences between the beers you are drinking. The IPA game is awesome right now and there are limitless options. Go trade for and experience as many beers as possible.

I suggest watching YouTube reviews AFTER you have drank you beer. Find comparisons you agree with. This was a strategy that helped me. I was a picky eater growing up, hearing all of these different fruit and herb descriptions inspired me to go out and try foods I'd never had before. Ironically, beer has allowed me to enjoy food I would not have tried before.

Be aware of everything you taste. Realize the progression of taste you experience in every food. Is it bitter or sweet to begin with? Does it transition into other flavors as you progress? Be open to trying new foods. As you try new things you will be able to pick out more detailed differences between flavors you taste.

Bottom line is to try new things. Allow yourself to enjoy the ride of new experiences. The more you do this, the more you will be able to find and define differences in the beers you drink.

Cheers and enjoy the journey. It takes time. Don't feel rushed. It's a learning experience. Don't try to "conquer" craft beer in 1 year. It's a lifetime hobby that will never get old. Enjoy the ride and experience it as you go along.

 

Funny, I love stouts, porters and brown ales and I am trying to find a taste for hoppier beers.

 

I developed my palate through my love of wine before I really started drinking beer, and continue to work on it along side the beer. Since I didn't start with beer, I don't know if it makes picking out the flavors and aromas in beer easier, but I suspect it does. I will tell you that the science/art of tasting is all about smell, as the average person can detect around 10,000 distinct scents, but our tongues only pick out salt, sweet, sour, tactile and umami (savory).

Focus on truly smelling the beer away from any other distractions (scents).
Make sure that the temperature of the beer is a bit warmer than the fridge (cold restricts the release of most volatiles our nose picks up on).
Consider investing in a tasting kit (ironically, these also focus more on scents, and associating identities with their scents).
Avoid attempting to ID flavors if you have already been drinking (inebriation dulls the senses, which is why professionals spit out what they taste).
All in all, have fun with it. Blind tastings are ultimately going to teach you more about your senses than anything you read, and it makes a great event for even casual parties.

Cheers!

 

Half the time, people on here are full of shit with their reviews. Everyone thinks they're a pro judge. Some of the nuances people claim pick up are hilarious to me. This is not to say there aren't a lot of characteristics you can pick up on, I just think some people love to hear themselves talk/type. If you're a fan of IPA's, you can start by looking at what types of hops a specific beer uses, and then look up what flavors those hops are known to give off. ( https://www.hopunion.com/hop-varieties/ is a good place) When evaluating a beer for the first time, always drink with a fresh palate, not after eating or drinking another beer. Close your eyes and see if you can pick up on any of the flavors these hops are known for. Eventually you can do the same with grains. Once you start doing that, and have had a lot of different beers from the same style, it will come easier. Brewing your own beer is a lot of fun as well and a great way to develop your palate by learning what it is that's giving off each flavor.