Good beer transitions, mid session.

The other day I had a Belgian Double IPA and went to another good beer which I have drank before , a oatmeal stout and it was so sweet and did not mix well on my palate. After one sip it was a train wreck. Poured the stout out it was so foul. Now another one with a positive is starting with a sour and go to a big juice bahm of an IPA.

 

My transition strategy is always 'do something different '. Just be sure to have some water first. Especially with IPAs - they will tend to distort the next one, so just have a porter or Oktoberfest or Gose in between. Then you'll get a better read on it.

Your palate will naturally acclimate and be desensitized to certain stimuli, so it's best to keep it guessing .

 

Any beer, then a shot of some crown to clear my taste buds, and another random beer. Then a shot, and the spiral continues. Then my wife gets really mad at me and I can't figure out why....

 

I usually start with a moderate abv. 6-7% and after a few ill jump to a big beer 10% then ill drop to low 4-5% thats how i do it. by abv. No matter the style. But if i have a beer that fucks me up and is very cloying. Ill drink water in between.

 

Tonite at sushi restaurant (BYOB) start out with Head Hunter with edamame, flow into veggie fried rice/pork pot stickers with Colette and my dessert beer was Lil' Devil. Took some time sitting in front of the fridge to work that out . Saison to Belgian pale is a no brainer.

 

My lastest thing is ordering two pints of different beers and taking alternate swigs. To be honest it doesn't work but maybe I haven't found the perfect combination.

 

Anything leads well into Trumer or Pilsner Urquell.

 

If I drink anything before a Belgian Quad, it tends to mute out all of the nice spices I pick up if I were to drink a Quad on its own without anything in front of it.

 

I tend to drink lighter and less flavorful beers first and make my way up to ipa or stout. I will say never drink myrcenary following anything with citra hops. It will taste like tomato stew. Ewww.

 

Last night it was a milk stout and a sour. Absolutely bloody awful combination. Not recommended.

 

Carton just recently released a beer called To Wong Brew, Thanks for Everything! Julie Brewmar. They're calling it a "sour smoked milk porter". I'm actually a little nervous to give it a whirl haha.

But as for beer transitions--water, a light bland-ish snack or some time are what do the trick for me.

 

When a few friends of mine and I get together to do some tasting we usually alternate between IPAs and sours. The contrast is very dramatic and seems to heighten the effects on the taste buds. Of course glasses of water are kept on hand to cleanse the palate between rounds but it is a fun experience we all enjoy and it leads to the appreciation of good beer.

 

Drink any AAL lite beer, then switch to water - no transition at all. Amazing!

 

Yeah- the water is a very good idea. There are actually two things to be concerned with when switching beers; one is that acclimation I mentioned earlier, but the other is crossover flavors/interactions.The water will definitely help with those.

 

Obviously she is upset that you are using her shot glass!

 

My general preference is to start with lighter/brighter styles and work to the dark heavy stuff later. If I do drink some heavy beers, I find the acidity in a Berliner, wild ale, etc to help break things up.