Sour Dilemma

Not sure about the palate, but oh the farts...my god the farts...

But really, I'd say get some neutral snacks and you'll be fine. Crackers and cheese, peanuts, pretzels, and you can recover. Mix in some water, too, so you don't die. Avoid anything acidic.

 

I think with anything if you over do it it'll start to run together at some point. I did an IPA tasting last night and it was brutal. Sours I think would be a little easier, but just my opinion.

Usually I try to keep something fairly neutral like crackers and water around so it doesn't alter the taste of whatever I'm drinking.

 

Salty snacks (pretzels, chips, popcorn, crackers) and water are a must for any big tasting, especially if you're focusing on one style.

Can also tell you from having done many sour heavy tastings, a nice hoppy IPA here and there to break things up does wonders. Stouts will throw your palate for a loop, IPAs help to just reset (in the case of sour tastings).

 

did a sour tasting a few weeks back and yeah, I can attest to how it messes up your GI tract for a day or two!

 

Salty snacks are pretty bad for palate cleansing. Use water crackers or the like.

 

Standard Palate cleansers for tastings are unsalted crackers, unsalted pretzels or unsalted bread and lots of water.

Anything else (including salted foods) is a Palate changer but not a Palate cleanser. Also time makes a difference so don't consume the beers too close together in time. Take a break between for chat, water, etc..

 

Just like in the post about beer tastings, you all need to know when to call it a day/night on the rare stuff so you can save it for another time to really taste it.

 

One word: Tums!

 

Hmmm, I haven't yet experienced the joys of an all sour tasting. Best of luck and enjoy.

 

Speaking from experience, this is more important than you might expect.

 

This is the best advice. By all means, drink all the sour beer you want, but if you have some really rare stuff you want to include in the tasting, then only include a couple of them, and taste them first. I know the temptation is to save them for last, but you want to taste them when your palate is fresh.

 

And when you're not drunk.

 

an all sour tasting sounds like a serious undertaking but well worth it. Id work my way from highest rated downward.

 

When the tasting is over, drink some red food coloring and eat a spoonful of baking soda.

 

what will that accomplish?

 

Only one way to find out.

I'll give you a hint: science fair.

 

Actually I'd avoid IPA's for any palate cleansing. Hoppy beers will further warp the palate. In fact when my groups do large bottle shares or tastings we go from dark (stouts) to light (IPA's) last. If multiple styles are present. And it sound simplistic, but staying hydrated and drinking water in between samples tends to keep my palate tuned properly.