How has your palate changed?

I have always loved the IPAS and DIPAS. Now, for me, Coffee. Never drank it, and never will, but when I find a good stout with a intense coffee flavor, I love it! Big Bad Baptist being a great example.

 

I used to classify myself as a pale ale fan-nothing more bitter. Now IPAs are my goto purchase.

 

I'll drink any style now, it's been 5 years and ~3000 reviewed beers. In the beginning, IPAs felt way too bitter but I tried to enjoy them. Belgian styles seemed weird with their fruity/estery flavors. But it has really all come full circle in palate appreciation. I understand and love every single style, and I can enjoy a Munich Helles or Kolsch as much as a DIPA/Quad/imperial stout. It's all about mindset in the style I am drinking. The level of bitterness or sweetness in a beer is rarely overwhelming to my palate now. Many people seem to say stuff like Creme Brulee is way too sweet, but I can't really see it personally. It is an imperial cream stout, and that's what should be expected; but it's never been cloying for me.

 

My palate is pickier these days. I like fruity, hoppy, malty ipas, sweet and strong stouts and barleywines.

 

Since turning 21 (3 years ago) my palate has changed quite a bit. I could not stand beer. just the mouthfeel of it was off putting.

But now i love everything about it. Especially hop-bombs.

My palate has yet to acquire a taste for lambics though. To me they all smell like prosciutto and its really hard for me to take more than 1 sip. There are some weisses out their that im growing to like. Such as night shifts and jacks abby.

 

I am going on a year now being a connoisseur of craft beer so I am pretty much a newbie over all. I was able to dive in and enjoy the deep end of hops and DIPA really quickly. In my journey now I am finding my pallet is able to dissect beers a bit better, especially on return trips to beers I have had before. However while I was able to enjoy bitter Ipas really quickly I am struggling with taking on the depths of sours. I think with time and exposure to the style I will learn to enjoy them the same as I do stouts, ipa-diap, barleywines, and wee heavys.

 

I liked crap at one point and now I enjoy IPA's, big stouts and love a good pil, typical I suppose.

 

Base stouts are undrinkable now, all I can muster is the barrel-aged variant. Help me, send me a phone number to call. Send me your Goose Island please. Please.

 

Icehouse<bud light< Shock top< eye of the hawk< kentucky bourbon barrel ale< dragon's milk< stone ruination< parabola< bourbon county; then it really just went crazy from there, trying everything I could get my hand on and getting into sours, which was definitely not something came off the bat to me, but now I love them, but BA stouts are still my go to.

And the best one of them all was DBH fresh!

 

Yea like, ten fidy and hunaphu are just awful.

 

From a start as a malthead with lagers, stouts, and porters, I've branched out to embrace beers based on yeast - Belgian styles, sours, hefeweizens, and the like. I've also found that a lot of German styles are right in line with my tastes.

Ten years in, and hop-forward beers remain firmly outside my wheelhouse, though. Not for lack of trying, just because they are literally single-note walls that I can taste nothing else past. Heck, Founder's Porter causes that response for me, much less any style with "pale" anywhere in the name. Seeing everyone else into craft beer talk up hoppy beers is like being the only lefty in a sea of right-handed people.

 

I am 100% with you. It all started with when I was a in high school and I drank shitty beer like keystone light, coors light, bud light, and miller light. Sometimes even Natty. So when we'd go out we would order a few different types of beers and always stayed with the wheat beers and any with a light color. When the craft brewery's hit the scene I began to start liking things such as Belgian Trappist beer, stouts, IPA (which I used to not like), seasonal beers etc. I think your palate will always be changing just like it does with food. The great thing is there's so many to try.
Cheers,
Nico

 

At every bar, I hope for a Ten Fidy if anything, its very good, but I barely drink anyway. I don't like drinking out of a can either. I like Hunahpu mouth feel but that's as far as it goes-- by now, that beer is a craze and it's for those who haven't had it. I don't reminisce when I drink it.

 

Full circle. I grew up with milds and bitters which in my part of the woods were beautiful examples.Then other styles started coming in, beers got stronger and stronger, all of which I enjoyed and embraced.Yet despite all their extra strength and flavours the overall enjoyment of the drinking experience was no better.I now seek out beers like those I drank 50 years ago which I can drink for several hours at a time without undue effects apart from my waistline.And loving every minute.

 

I've found that my palate can now differentiate more complexities for certain types of beers (imperial stouts, belgians). Still hates IPAs though... some things never change haha.

 

Gosh, nearly every day. We can definitely better pick up on subtle nuances of flavor or aroma without necessarily looking for them outright. Aside from that, our palates have just become more open minded as far as stylistic preference.

 

I feel like as my palate has developed it's become easier and easier for me to detect a skunky, unappealing "funk" in lower-quality beers (especially those with adjunct grains) and even some lagers from otherwise pretty well-regarded craft breweries. This has definitely led me to gravitate toward more potent beers and especially more IPAs.

Does anyone know what produces that "funk" I'm talking about? I would say it's adjunct grains but I feel like I can pick it up in non-AALs, too. Maybe it's the lager yeast.

 

You're right about the nuances of flavor. Just a year ago I never thought I'd be describing a drink as having a "biscuity" flavor -- and then actually finding that flavor appealing!