So, Food & Wine posted an article about training your taste buds with 4 exercises to help develop a sense for the basic flavor components of beer: hops and malts http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/beer-tasting-workout Probably something more useful to people who are new to the craft beer world, but it's also always interesting to see something new that gets you thinking about beer flavors. As far as I'm concerned, this "workout" still isn't a substitute for the best way to learn about beer flavors--by TRYING BEER. But it's still interesting. Thoughts?
This, and keeping a beer tasting notebook. This, at least for me, encourages active attention payed to the characteristics of a given brew, and over time generates an individualized reference tool. One can start noticing, "Hey there's that grassy hop taste again!" etc., and be able to track what other brews have exemplified a given ASTM trait.
A notebook is a must. Read lots of reviews too. Everyone has a style of their own and if someone puts something in a way that clicks for you, then you will always remember. How many people could say I smell "horse blanket" before they read it in someone else's review first?
Well... it's Food & Wine, so there is a bit of Cali-centrism going on I believe. Also, I didn't think Blind Pig was *that* bitter. Better get some more reps in... EDIT: Nevermind. I didn't know what Gritty McDuff was until I Googled it. Good point.
I love drinking straight grapefruit juice. It's actually my favorite non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated beverage. How high is my bitterness tolerance?
