Yes, I take time off, and it helps. About 2 years ago I stopped drinking during the work week and began drinking only on the weekend ... "weekend" here meaning Friday-Saturday-Sunday. The four days away from alcohol each week serve as a good palate resetter, and I'd even say those four off days often do about the same job as 2 weeks or even a full month in my experience. With that said, I still run into occasional moments of palate fatigue, and when I do, I switch up what I'm drinking. If that doesn't help, I stop drinking for at least a week. I figure if I'm not enjoying alcohol, then I'd rather stop drinking and use that time to rest the palate, liver, kidneys ... everything. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I don't hesitate now to put away the hooch. Very interesting indeed. I want to try that. Thanks for posting!
That’s a great mindset, Premo. Knowing when to set the glass down — that’s the real mark of someone who understands the ritual, not just the buzz. I think most of us who’ve been around the scene for years can relate; we love the culture, the craftsmanship, but it’s that kind of awareness that keeps the joy in it. Classy move, my friend.
I rarely drink NEIPAs anymore except for bottle shares maybe once every couple of weeks. I enjoy a good one quite a lot to be honest. As far as aspirin bitterness, try a fresh Bigfoot or Arrogant Bastard. Those old school west coast high IBU strong ales/American Barleywines really put out aspirin like bitterness (at least to my taste buds). It’s taken over a decade of repeated torture, but I now actually like those 2 beers quite alot (having only once or twice a year or so).
She don't like She don't like She don't like.............ROGAINE!! Hot peppers, YES!! Aspirin, the baby orange flavored kind sure, the real kind, not so much. Coffee..."The Bassmaster General has determined that coffee is good for your health!" Waitaminnit......what were we discussing again?...... On a (far) side note, I've always started each tasting/drinking session by going from lightest to darkest, lowest to highest alcoholic content & etc. Even with cleansing the palate with water, crackers, etc., I'll always look askance at somebodys' reviews when they have a few barrel-aged, high-alcohol imperial stouts & barleywines and then all of a sudden start rating lagers and pilsners minutes later. C'mon, once you've had a few big boys, can you REALLY do justice to a lager, pilsner, kolsch, esb, mild, etc.??
I drink so infrequently that I get a reset between beers. In addition, I've found that a good NA IPA (e.g. SN Trail Pass) is an adequate hop fix. I don't drink sugared soft drinks. Nothing against sugar, but regular Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, etc. just don't sit right on my palate for some reason. Same goes for Budweiser.
I definitely agree on the similarity of the perceived bitterness in those two beers. To me it's classic "C-hop" bitterness, especially when they are used as traditional bittering charges, i.e. boiled to liberate alpha acids. Everyone's descriptions are different, however, so I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but the aspirin character that I'm talking about is not hop, but yeast, derived. If I had to shoehorn it into a commonly used term, I'd say it was "yeast bite". Just too much yeast in suspension. I've never done a proper comparison, but I'd venture that the closer to packaging you have the beer, the less of a chance that there is that this character appears. It's just a theory, though.
I can’t make myself drink weak lagers, etc. So I can’t answer this. I do switch between IPAs and stouts, which has some effect.
It may not be like a hot sauce, but it adds flavor and depth when cooking without having that heat from the pepper sizzling your eyeballs lol Glad you liked that, Les! You’ll have fun with it — it’s not quite “hot sauce” territory flavor-wise, but it does bring that same wake-up punch. You can drizzle it over fresh bread or salads, or use it when cooking meat, chicken, or fish — it layers in flavor without the fiery pepper chaos (and spares you from the “touch-your-eye-and-see-the-stars” disaster ). If you stick with the Italian spirit, Calabrian or Basilicata peppers (the peperoni di Senise) are classics — but honestly, any dried chili will work. The key is that they’re dried; fresh ones hold too much moisture and won’t infuse the oil properly. Let it steep and you’ll get that mellow, fragrant heat that just hums through the dish.
That’s actually a really sharp observation, Bambiere — I think you’re right on the money there. I remember that “yeast bite” discussion from sensory training too, and yeah, autolysis can absolutely create that aspirin-like edge when yeast’s been sitting too long in suspension or the beer hasn’t cleared properly. What you said about packaging proximity makes perfect sense — the fresher and cleaner the pull, the less chance of those compounds leaching into the beer. It’s one of those subtleties that’s easy to miss if you’re only thinking hops and alpha acids. I’m glad you brought it up — it’s a great reminder that bitterness isn’t always born from hops alone.
