Wet horse blankets

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by torr99, Aug 15, 2015.

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  1. torr99

    torr99 Initiate (0) Apr 15, 2015 Nevada

    Lol can someone please explain to me what that beer descriptor is. Cracks me up every time I see it. Who has ever tasted or smelled a wet horse blanket lol??
     
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  2. DaverCS

    DaverCS Savant (1,212) Dec 9, 2014 Arizona

    The reason for the odd descriptors is because the flavor itself is hard to describe. Personally, I have never licked or tasted a wet horse blanket (Luckily), but I can identify the barnyard funk in a beer.
     
  3. THANAT0PSIS

    THANAT0PSIS Pooh-Bah (2,275) Aug 3, 2010 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    Lots of people in rural communities (particularly in my area, the Midwest) know what a horse blanket smells like. It's an extremely barnyardy funk that smells and tastes quite similar to the sweat of barnyard animals. It exists somewhere in the nexus between overripe bleu cheese, worn leather, moldy basements, gym socks, and wet hay. As unappetizing as it probably sounds, that's one of my favorite flavors in beer (though it needs to be in balance with pleasant acidity, bright fruit, spicy phenols, and dryness, otherwise it actually is unappetizing; beer's all about a certain degree of balance).
     
  4. lester619

    lester619 Initiate (0) Apr 17, 2009 Wisconsin

    Many of them make me chuckle and horse blanket is among the best. Another personal favorite is barnyard. I guess cow crap is too crude. I don't want to come off as ignorantly bashing something I know nothing about, but I've never got my head around how this sounds appealing to anyone.
     
    #4 lester619, Aug 15, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2015
  5. torr99

    torr99 Initiate (0) Apr 15, 2015 Nevada

    Do wet horse blanket is similar to barnyard funk?
     
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  6. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,635) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    So you have never been around a horse barn. I knew the aroma from my childhood, as my Grandfather had a team of Belgian draft horses.
     
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  7. torr99

    torr99 Initiate (0) Apr 15, 2015 Nevada

    I get the barnyard funk in some of the Belgian beers, but the horse blankets always confused me
     
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  8. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I think a portion of that descriptor sentence is always (or should be) understood when you read, "it tastes like what a wet horse blanket smells like." If you hang around horses or around a barnyard enough, you'll notice what those smells are, and they are exactly what those descriptors say.
     
  9. THANAT0PSIS

    THANAT0PSIS Pooh-Bah (2,275) Aug 3, 2010 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd say it's like a more intense barnyard funk, but it is also a very specific aroma/flavor.
     
  10. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    Maybe wet dog smell would be more framiliar, or a barn with horses in it. It just smells bad, but in some cases the stuff tastes like it smells which I don't.... Like. Yuck. Like most things if you can't get it past your nose you can't enjoy eating or drinking it.
     
  11. scbeerman

    scbeerman Initiate (0) Feb 16, 2015 South Carolina

    Going out on a limb here since I haven't done much research on the subject, but isn't it likely that similar bacteria/yeasts would be present in both the breakdown of horse sweat and fermentation using wild yeasts/Brett strains?
     
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  12. readyski

    readyski Pooh-Bah (1,557) Jun 4, 2005 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    growing up in CO, I love the barnyard smell, having lived amongst the feedlots :rolling_eyes:
     
  13. lester619

    lester619 Initiate (0) Apr 17, 2009 Wisconsin

    I get
    I understand that part of it. Limburger and other cheeses are intentionally dipped in a solution of this bacteria though. That's the part I can't get my head around. I have a neighbor, a sweet old guy that loves the stuff. It genuinely smells like human feces. I just don't get how someone puts that in their mouth. I guess that's really my only point.
     
    #13 lester619, Aug 15, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2015
  14. MicTar

    MicTar Initiate (0) Jul 20, 2015 Texas

    My step-grandfather raised Thoroughbreds and the smell of horse barn (hay, horse, dust) makes a unique smell/taste that I have associated with a few beers (wheats mostly). But I have never associated the sweaty smell of a horse blanket with any beer, yet.
     
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  15. Bear1964

    Bear1964 Savant (1,171) Dec 12, 2012 Nebraska

    Somebody HAD to explain it again...so thanks...hahaha...I had a beer with an oily mouthfeel and the aftertaste tasted like Bologna ...and I do mean tasted like Bologna......KCCO Black Lager...aroma was fine.
     
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  16. WellRested518

    WellRested518 Initiate (0) Mar 7, 2014 New York

    Because saying that something smells like cow shit would put it in a very negative light. :wink:
     
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  17. Ri0

    Ri0 Initiate (0) Jul 1, 2012 Wisconsin

    Would you prefer hamster cage?
     
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  18. gatheredwaters

    gatheredwaters Pooh-Bah (1,807) May 1, 2014 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    Cedar blanket.
     
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  19. tasterschoice62

    tasterschoice62 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,949) May 14, 2014 Rhode Island
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    This is hard to explain. Where I live I have a horse farm directly behind me so!I'm used to all of those aromas. And honestly it doesn't offend me- I kind of like if. But I like aromas in general. I can smell asparagus in my pee immediately after eating it. I ride my motor cycle and one of the most enjoyable things to me when I do is the smells- of trees, of grass and hay and of flowers etc....I enjoy aromas. Even that some find offensive. Weird I know but that's my take...
     
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  20. darkenbar

    darkenbar Initiate (0) Jan 15, 2006 New York

    The smell of a wet horse blanket is unique, especially when there's steam coming off the horse. Usually I'd just say. "damn that's funky" to describe a beer.
     
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