Newbie here so hoping this is the right place to ask. Over the last several weeks as I try new varieties, I've noticed that their flavor seems to be a bit dulled and lacking. I'll read about the complexities of a specific beer and then be left with something flat and no finish or after-taste. This is the case for beers I have had before as well so I know that something is up. My first theory was that my refrigerator was getting the bottles too cold so I turned down the temperature and even let the bottles sit for a few minutes after I took them out. This didn't seem to help. For some background, I pour the beer into a regular pint glass, with no tilting of the glass to allow for a good head. I won't give specifics on the beer names as it happens across the board. Do you have other suggestions or am I making up a problem that's not there? Any help is appreciated.
Are you paying close attention to bottle dates? Some of your descriptions sound a lot like what happens when the beers are too old and have passed their prime. Generally a good rule of thumb is fresher is better and even beers in refrigerators have flavor fade, just more slowly. If you do think it may be fading with age, you might consider adopting the habit of never buying an undated beer, and always being sure you buy most of your beer no more than 2 months past the bottled on date, or no closer to the best by date than a month or two. A second idea to explore, is that if you are drinking lots of IPAs or other heavily hopped beers you may actually be dulling the ability of your taste buds to pick up the flavors, even of other IPAs. Taking a week off from beers with lots of bitterness and trying something again can give you a pretty good indication of whether that is what might be happening.
This may seem like a stupid question, but have you recently had a bad cold or sinus infection? I only ask because what you are describing is exactly what happens when I get one. Sometimes I don't start correctly tasting beer until weeks later, even if food does.
Could you please provide more details on which beers you are referring to here? For example, are these hoppy beers? Cheers!
Thanks. I generally drink them within a couple of weeks and haven't noticed one way or the other with the bottled on date but will keep an eye out. I do tend to drink a lot of IPAs but don't think it's been enough to dull the taste buds. Thanks for the reply.
Hmm it's a good theory. I have had some sinus issues but nothing major where it's affected any other flavors I've noticed. Thanks.
Yes, if you buy the beer fresh, a couple of weeks should not matter. However, even, in the case of the IPA, even one IPA can have a carry over effect on a second beer and even one IPA a night over a few nights can have a carry over effect the following night. Lots of folks don't realize this. It's actually somewhat similar to doing a lot of heavy exercise several days in a row.
I had my first Victory Summer Love (draft pint) a week ago. That beer tasted very good to me; it is a Blonde Ale so not a very complex beer style. I am not specifically familiar with that exact beer but IPAs can 'fall off a cliff' after a relatively short period of time. For example I drank my last bottle (of a 6-pack) of Otter Creek Backseat Berner IPA a few days ago. This 6-pack was bottled 02/20/17 so that last bottle was 2 months old. Even thought I stored that beer continuously cold since I purchased it three weeks ago there was a significant difference in the flavor profile of that first bottle I drank (three weeks ago) and this last bottle. Generally speaking higher gravity (higher ABV) Belgian Ales hold up well with age but this particular beer is pretty hoppy so with age the flavor profile will notably change. It has been a while since I have had this beer; I thought it had a nice flavor profile. For my palate I would not characterize this beer as being very complex; more of an easy drinking beer for me. Cheers!
This is very helpful. It seems like it could be a mix of me waiting too long and expecting too much of different varieties.
