Wet horse blankets

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.

 

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).

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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?

 

growing up in CO, I love the barnyard smell, having lived amongst the feedlots

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

Would you prefer hamster cage?

 

Cedar blanket.

 

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...

 

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.