Well, I think the obvious answer is "yes", but that applies to any food or beverage. I hadn't had chili in six months and made some last week. Heh, this is good! However, I don't look or create breaks from drinking beer. I only drink beer three times a week (Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday). I do have some natural breaks as I tend to drink many different styles. So, I'm may not have a hoppy beer for 2-3 weeks. An ESB may be every couple of months. So, that kind of recreates the magic. Now, I have taken a break of 40 years from drinking Mickey Bigmouth, but not sure the magic would come back if I drank another one.
Fascinating. There are a lot of things going on here, and it's a topic that me and a friend visit often. I don't know the physiology like some do, but I'm convinced it's a mix of the physical and the psychological. On the sensory side I feel that the palate gets injured by repetition. But then beer is an organically changing thing so what tasted fantastic ten years ago is probably not the same thing you're drinking today. I remember an experience years ago on the road in Washington State. After work I found a brewery that I'd been looking for. After taking my first sip (of whatever) I was in a mini ecstasy. Come on, cocaine doesn't even work that fast. It was the whole mise- en- scene, as the film critics say. A last note: I take Tuesday off, clean and sober. Wednesday's then feel like a holiday. One last last note: nothing will ever taste the way it once did. That's life.
That’s a good rhythm you’ve got going — three days a week keeps the palate active without burnout. I like that idea of “natural breaks” by style rotation, too; it’s the same way chefs reset their senses by changing ingredients instead of fasting.
That’s beautifully put, Rich. I really connect with that thought about both the physical and psychological sides of it. The palate absolutely adapts, but memory plays a bigger role than people realize — half the flavor lives in the moment, the surroundings, the music, the company. I like your line about nothing ever tasting the same again. It’s true, but maybe that’s the gift. Every beer becomes a snapshot in time — can’t recreate it, only revisit the feeling. That’s the kind of perspective that keeps the love for this whole thing alive.
N.B. Not sure where you live in SEPA, but in my corner of Montco Celebration is out up the yin-yang. Saw what looked like 10 cases in my local Giant today alone.
Yes, it is. But the magic is gone, never to return. (Just like those little 7-ounce bottles we they used to chuck out the car window... )
Those of you who take a break by witching to Na beers, do you find that is an effective reset or more of a Coke/Diet Coke situation?
Don't want to contradict in any way a post with which I find agreement and insight, but would like to share a fun fact that your "mise en scene" point brought to mind. I make liquid cannabis concentrate with Everclear, and when I take some in my mouth and under my tongue I can feel an instantaneous rush, and it has zero to do with mise en scene or psychosomatic response, it is completely a physical reaction. I read the explanation for this, but my old man brain has forgotten it
From my craft beer drinking experiences, a few of my personal findings: - the first beer after a break generally is the most enjoyable from a sensory standpoint. With the caviat that its not a crappy beer first followed up by a crappy beer. - Having that first beer while your hungry (pre-dinner), is always better than beer on a full stomach post-meal. I think due to hunger, it puts my sensory (aroma, taste etc) into overdrive. - If I have 2 beers of the same, the 2nd beer rarely/never is as good as the first - Having same beer, day after day on repeat even if its a beer I've rated very highly, definietly is not as enjoyable as mixing up styles, brewers etc. I've posted that I generally have a different beer each day and rarely repeat. - The longer the break I have from having the same, great beer, the more enjoyable it is vs. revisiting it frequently. That's why I've posted for some beers, I'm perfectly fine with only an annual release vs. being brewed all the time. This is of course to guarantee freshness, but also once a year on repeat seems to do a nice reset to best enjoy that beer. - Hop fatigue is definitely a thing (particualrly with NEIPA style) if I drink them every single day for several days. Give me a different great beer every day (assuming only 1 beer per day consumed as the norm), and don't repeat for 4-6 months minimum and that is probably the best situation for me.
In the February that I only had NA beers, I had 15 or so, which was fewer beers than usual, so I eliminated alcohol and reduced hops. I guess the question is how much of a total break from beer is the break from alcohol, and how much is the break from hops. Alcohol has a taste and inebriation impact, while hops are only a taste impact. A break from 'beer' would mean no NA beer either.
Really enjoyed reading your notes — that’s a thoughtful breakdown of sensory reset and pacing. I agree, the first beer after a break or even a shift in style can hit completely differently. Hop fatigue is real, and so is that “hunger effect” you mentioned. Great post.
Wow. Word-for-word this exactly sums up my experiences. Waiting on annual releases also enhances the expectations, helps space things out.
OK, admittedly I was being cute about cocaine: it does work that fast. And a shot of bourbon/whiskey will give an immediate jolt, but that's mostly physical. This is a complex subject. I don't have the eloquence nor the knowledge as some of the preceding posters, mostly going on gut experience. A reset will have a positive effect, but more akin to going on a diet and then how good the food tastes after you break your fast. Side note: in the old days, common wisdom and practice for curing weed fatigue was an acid trip. Strong reset. We're dealing with multiple parameters here: beer in general, and we as humans are consistently evolving (read: degrading). Our senses get attenuated as we age (anyone seen my glasses?) and our memories, including sense memories, wouldn't hold up in a court of law. Where are the snows of yesteryear indeed? I can still recall the taste of that slice of pizza from 1971. And yet have never been able to replicate it, no matter how many times I try. A bit like a lost love.
Well, as an OG hippy since the 60's I don't remember that bit about taking acid to reset weed tolerance, but I certainly remember the truth that the only way to reset acid tolerance was not to take it for four or five days. Not that it has anything but a faint tangential link to the subject. I don't think your explanation is adequate to explain Lupulin Threshold Shift, but I don't have better. I have nothing but quite a lot of anecdotal evidence about taking breaks from beer. .
I agree with you. But now that I think about it, I have not taken a "break" in a few years. When I have, I noticed I picked up so much more of the nuanced aspects of beers that I have enjoyed for years. I ned to just sit out a month or more but, each season has its own reasons for me to keep "putting it off."
For me originally it was only to prove to myself that I could take a break for a month. Now that I only drink one beer a month for health reasons (going on 7 years) I find I appreciate every one of them with a clear palate I pretty much never had, even after the yearly one month breaks. I have alcohol tolerance I hadn't enjoyed since I was a teenager.
Nice thread. My answer is a simple yes. The way my life rolls, I have events that curb me from alcohol and breaks from it are 1/2 expected and natural. At least I've grown to accept them. A reset does occur after even a short break. Sometimes an old familiar beer just all of a sudden seems to be better than before or rather more enjoyable. Particularly Lagers. BTW thanks @Giovannilucano for your insight. I find sometimes for me that hot peppers can reset the entire theater of my tasting and aroma senses. A couple of days ago I put some honey habanero hot sauce on some chow and the beer I had after that was not new yet I found it to be more thorough with ardent flavors that are even more inviting. I'll try the coffee bean reset.
Prolly because NEIPAs are fucking terrible, truthfully. You should just stop drinking them altogether. On a serious note, though, my tolerance for them is about one per session. If I try to drink more, I start getting this unpleasant bitterness that I can only describe as biting into an aspirin. It certainly differs from beer to beer, but I've never had this experience with any other style and because of it I could take or leave the entire style, to be completely honest.
Appreciate that, Les — really glad my post resonated with you! I like that pepper trick you mentioned; that sensory jolt totally makes sense. Since we’re talking resets, here’s one from my family’s taste: Take a good olive oil, toss in a few fresh peperoncini (the little red Calabrian ones), whole garlic cloves, and some basil leaves — let it sit for a couple of weeks. I call it olio santo — “holy oil.” A few drops of that and your palate wakes up like it’s heard the gospel.
