How has your palate changed?

The biggest change is how I seek out structure and complexity now irrespect of style or ABV.

 

I think that once I was able to appreciate sours, it opened me up to all forms of beer. Even styles that I won't return to I can at least appreciate. I think I am now with beer the way I am with food.

*oneness*

 

Sours may have helped me this way, too, I think. Downing a pint of Berliner weisse (with no syrup) helped me appreciate the subtle notes beyond the sour ... and the Flemish red showed me not all sours are *just* sour.

I've certainly reached the point where I'll drink anything anytime -- even if I'm not in the mood for that particular anything. That's a huge change for me. Some of it is unexplainable ... a year ago Belgian strong darks tasted overly raisiny and licorice-like too me; now they taste like candy. Why? I have no idea. My palette changed on its own, possibly from just trying so many different styles of beer.

 

Yeah, for me, the sour was the only ale that turned me off, because when I first tried one (Petrus), I thought it had gone bad - tasting like cider vinegar and all. And Aphrodite was my next try, and I was told I would like it even though I said I didn't want anything sour (*poor advice, eh?*).

But when I randomly had Vlad the Inhaler, a locally brewed take on a Polish grodziskie, it was tart and refreshing. Since then, I've gone back to Petrus and tried some other sours - liked 'em all - still not my thing, mind you, but I can certainly appreciate them.

I have subsequently found myself able to enjoy beers even knowing, as I drink them, that I have no desire to have another.

 

I use to hate, and openly bitch about all the IPA's, but since they're everywhere, I drank them. I've grown to appreciate them now. I still avoid ordering them if I can though.

 

I used to hate DIPA's because I thought they tasted so boozy and sweet (not to mention bitter as hell), in particular DFH 90 Minute, now I love the style and drink them regularly.

I also though stouts were too roasty early on. I bought an SN Stout a few months after getting into craft and thought it was so rich and roasty that I could only finish half. Now it's a regular purchase and is a favorite.

 

I think I've learned to be more open minded and look at the context of a beer whether it be cultural or historical. I've gotten a better understanding of why different variants exist and seek to fill in the why surrounding a given style or brewery.

 

I thought I was the coolest new world beer bro in town. Then I saw the light with English Barleywines, Sam Smith Imp Stout, Old Ales in general, etc. History is alright too.

Firestone DBA is perhaps my favorite beer right now. First time I tried it: "meh."

 

I went from adjunct lagers to Newcastle and Sam Adams to APAs and experimental flavors. Now I enjoy subtle brews and am trying more to drink as local as I can because I see now that I have been, that there is more freshness being so close.

 

Well I think the biggest (and first) change was the adjustment to bitterness. I remember having Arrogant Bastard and Stone IPA and just thinking they were ridiculous, but bitterness just doesn't bother me anymore. I've also noticed I can't taste pine as much as I used to. It comes off more citrusy to me now. There are also a few hops that taste really dank/oniony to me. Mosaic and Citra come to mind. I know Summit and Chinook are normal for those kinda flavors.

 

I've become a hophead.

 

My evolution seems pretty typical. I got into stronger and stronger styles. High ABV and barrel aged and supper hoppy. It got to the point where now I just want something drinkable to relax with after work. Now I mostly want lagers. I'll take a czech pilsner over BCBS any day of the week. I drank a bunch of cans of Old Style last weekend at an outdoor party and it was perfect. Not to say that I'm not loving this grapefruit sculpin right now.

 

In the beggining I hated that specific taste of IPAs. Now "are there other beers than IPAs?!"

 

My palate has become older with age.

 

A couple of Texas-made goses (geese?) and the Flemish red Monk's Cafe helped keep me interested in sour beers. And Prairie Ale's different takes on the saison have made me a bit more of a fan.

Like you, I don't love them, but they have their place. Sour beers for me are like those rip-off windshield films on cars on the NASCAR circuit. A good sour seems to leave me with a squeaky clean palate.

 

1. In high school I drank whisky straight because I hated beer (adjunct lagers).

2. I had Maudite and began loving Belgian strongs especially Trappists.

3. Next I slowly got into stouts and IPAs.

4. Immediately loved raunchbier, Flanders and Lambic.

5. Now I am mostly into low abv German lagers and British ales.

 

I find my craft beer palate has regressed to styles of the late 90's -- a good balance of malt and hops (for a pale ale) if not an outright malt dominant style-- with a 4 to 7 % abv range. Around 2005-2010 I ventured into Imperial Stouts, IPA's and Double IPAs and Belgian styles. I thought I liked really hoppy, boozy beers up until around 2011 something about the way the popular hops of that time hit my tongue. All of a sudden IPAs and other hop-crazed styles were coming off harsh, piney and tasting of dill. I started to drift back to balance. I also wanted sessionability and less sipping. I reach for Kolsch, Altbier, Schwarzbier, Hefeweizen, English Pale Ale (or English leaning APAs), American ambers, some stouts and porters, Vienna lagers, Irish Reds, American Pale Lager (all malt, around 20 ish IBU), browns and ESBs. I can appreciate some of the higher gravity and hoppier styles now and then, but even the ones with pleasant varieties of hops grate on the palate after a while.

 

I used to only drink stouts and porters... Now it's barrel aged saisons and farmhouse beers...

 

Have you tried Sunday Morning Stout?

 

I used to be a border line hop head when I first got into craft...now, if anything I'm a malt head. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy a very hoppy brew, but prefer more often then not a malt forward offering... Especially if its dark!