Palate expansion....or blunting.....?

“…my palate is really sensitive to maltiness.....anyone care to extrapolate?”

The human palate is a combination of sensory inputs which are processed by the brain. I personally do not think that the aspect of “processed by the brain” can be emphasized enough.

It seems to be ‘popular for folks to concentrate their attention and discussion of the sensory aspects:

· How to ‘train’ your olfactory senses to be more perceptive to various aromas

· How to learn more about mouthfeel to better describe this quality of the beer as part of beer appreciation

· Etc.

Permit me to get back to what I think is the ‘long pole in the tent’ of brain processing. The ability of the brain to process all of the disparate sensory inputs will improve with time and experience. You can also make strides here through conscientious education:

· Read books about beer appreciation (e.g., Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher)

· Study for the BJCP and pass the test

· Attend beer tasting seminars

· Etc.

With a modicum of effort each individual’s palate will improve with practice and education. As the palate ‘evolves’ with experience a given individual may see that their ‘tastes change’ in terms of appreciating aspects of beer that in the past was not a center piece of their beer appreciation in the past.

To quote an old car commercial: “Life is a journey, enjoy the ride!”

Cheers!

 

In many ways, at least for a country that suffered through the ridiculous prohibition era, where tastes then went on to get furthur annihilated by the depression and also big box one beer for everything consolidation, beers palate has expanded greatly in the twenty-ish years I've been around good beer. We got somewhat weird imitations courtesy Sam Adams of things that are now being done as authentically as the new world dynamics and enthusiasms allow for.
My own palate has expanded greatly in that time, and it's something of a natural progression of age in that there's no chance in hell I'd settle for boxed food like how I would when I first started in on good beer, mixed with a desire to keep on learning. Too. In that time, it has also become my job to know and that part has been the most humbling part of the ride.
Mental fitness is key.

 

“…was seeing how OTHERS palates have either shrunk or broadened…”

I suspect that I am pretty much an ‘outlier’ as far as BAs go.

When I first ‘discovered’ craft beer several decades ago I appreciated and enjoyed a diversity of beer styles. I liked Stoudt’s Gold Lager (a Helles) and I liked Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (a hoppy beer). In 2016 I enjoy beers like Helles (I had a draft pint of Sly Fox Helles Golden Lager at the Sly Fox brewpub last evening) and I still enjoy drinking hoppy beers. I would suggest that I am ‘better’ at appreciating the nuances of those beer styles (and others) so maybe in that context my palate has “broadened”?

I have seen several BAs opine that as people first start drinking craft beer and mostly drinking hoppy beers (e.g., IPAs, DIPAs, etc.) that as they ‘mature’ they will learn to appreciate more subtle styles like Kolsch, Helles, etc. I suspect that this will indeed be true for some BAs. That would genuinely be an example of a “broadened” palate. Maybe in this thread we will see some BAs discussing this aspect (or something similar)?

Cheers!

 

As some have already stated, experience can be expected lead to development and appreciation of greater complexity.

Blunting should only happen if you insist on beating up your taste buds regularly, often and with great impact through ceaseless consumption of only highly hopped beers. That creates something that has been called Lupulin Threshold Shift (LTS), a term first used apparently by the owner/head brewer at Russian River to describe what happens to the palate if you keep beating the senses of taste and smell down with bitterness, etc.

 

I know my palate has changed in two notable ways so far.

1.) Mouth feel is much more of a key character for a good stout. It's no longer just about the taste or appearance for me.
2.) I actually enjoy IPAs now. No, not all of them, but I have found not all hops are bad. Maybe I just appreciate what they have to offer in aroma and taste more.

 

I think I have become desensitized to some things like pine flavor from hops. At some point it became spice. As I drank more IPA's I found that bitterness does delight me but only when it's not too blunt. I like malt. I think that when the malt is missing from the mouthfeel I feel cheated. Mouthfeel can be a huge influence on the overall drink. It frames the character of the beer like cavedave said .

As far as appreciating the lager, or subtle styles likes the kolsch, I did find them after the IPA's and all the hoopla. The lagers describe to the palate a character that people associate with longevity in way. The flavors are so broad that you cannot say any other style brings flavors very different except for the saison which is fruity like citrus, belgians who do hoppy and very citrusy fruity beer and american hopped IPA's right? From malt character alone in the lager you go from golden sunhine and a sweet breeze to dark fruits like figs festive malts like bocks and then to culminate with chocloate and roastier flavors! It's the clean character of the drink in the lager that makes it so easy to the palate to realize subtleties. For some reason too much citrus in the lager just seems like a novelty. I might drink it once . The stuff that's breaddy and herbal though can have a great range.

 

I CONSTANTLY buy new styles every single time i go for a beer run. I can drink 2-3 stouts in a row and a quality beer will change as you have 2 or 3. That being said im npt refering to years of palate change because ive been drinking everything for three years and i do get burnt out on a style but how i keep it interesting is i like to drink a stout, then switch to a pils and ill obviously, see the mouthfeel and taste change drastically but going from something so heavy and roasty to light with a touch of hops, it keeps me on my toes you can say but also what is fun is to take a style you arent burnt out on, and drink several in a session and see how the flavors develope once you are used to it or catching the inevitable buzz.


I kinda got off topic. ^^Thats how i personally keep from what you are calling sensitivity to characteristics in a beer. If you are sensitive, drink in contrasting styles or drink a few to see how it changes as you have several. But i do know what you mean i am a little too harsh on Gose because that sourness is so cloying i cant taste anything after one.

Cheers.

 

This is how I'm trending lately...

Turn ons: Citrus, Pine, Coffee, Vanilla, Chocolate, Roasted Malts

Turn offs: Licorice, Raisin, Tea, Mint, Sweet Malts, Dark Fruits

 

Try other things, maybe: Bourbon, Wine, Rum, Port......... Just saying. I'm still enjoying beers over the years.

Cheers!

 

Are you me? I feel like you nailed even the order. The only one I would add to 'turn offs' is chilies.

 

Damn, how could I forget chilies! So yes, apparently we are the same person...except my dogs look like this.

 

Ha, other than the type, we even have the same number of dogs:


.... sorry, don't mean to jack the thread. Back on topic.

 

Palates change daily but having a more sensitive reaction to malt over time makes sense. Navigating through all of the primary notes of a beverage to get to the secondary notes is easier after a lot of experience.

 

When I first was introduced to craft beer I drank IPA. Early on I tried a BA stout and was disgusted. As my journey of beer progressed I found my way into Belgium beers. Which is still one of my favorite styles. Eventually I earned a taste for stouts and now reach for a BA stout over any other style. I'm not sure how this happened but a style I originally was turned off by is now my go to Brew. Taste truly does change.

 

I started a similar thread a while back, and I appreciate the topic. I like that for me, my interest in beer varieties has expanded, but my tolerance for beer has...let's say narrowed. For example, when I first started drinking craft, I told a friend to grab me a couple sixers at the store (I was only 19) and she returned with SNPA and Anchor Steam. At the time, SNPA tasted like ass and I could barely finish the pack; it turned me off to hoppy beers for a long time. Anchor Steam, on the other hand, was a delicious, full-flavored revelation that got me further into craft beers and put me in the direction I'm in today. For a long time, I almost only liked malt-heavy beers.

12 years later, I still don't like SNPA much, but I've grown a taste for hoppier beers - some of them are among my regular favorites. It was just a matter of refining my palate and figuring out what I like. But on the flipside, I've really spoiled myself for milder beers. Beers that were once my favorites like Anchor Steam, #9, or Boston Lager no longer cut it. I almost never bother with pilsners, session beers, or anything that seems like it might not be flavorful enough. I try to tone it down from time to time and take a break from the double/imperial side of things and try to enjoy a good lager or saison, but as often as not, I find myself disappointed.

So TL;DR, I've grown a more open, but also more discriminating palate.

 

I entered the realm of craft beer from being a Guinness drinker via a nut brown ale and a porter, and shortly thereafter found various stouts, wee heavies, and various lagers (glorious, glorious lagers). From there, I found the darker Belgian styles, and branched out into lighter, wheatier styles like wits and hefes. Most recently, I've discovered various sour styles from gose and Berliner through biere de garde to gueuze and Flanders red / oud bruin, all of which I enjoy as long as they're not overly hopped. I've never "moved on" from any particular beer style - if I've liked a style before, I still like it. Specific beers may rise and fall in my personal rankings, but style enjoyment remains constant, and I wouldn't try to rank any styles as far as preference goes. All of them I drink have something about them I love, from delicate subtle complexity to over-the-top flavor explosions.

I have discovered, at every point during my beer journey after the craft hook was set, that hoppy beer is an absolute no-go for me. It was true way back when I discovered wee heavies, and it's still true today, about 12 years later. I've since learned that I'm in the supertaster boat, and as such, I will probably never enjoy beer where heavy hop presence is intended to be the centerpiece, as I literally do not have the ability to do so - my tongue registers hop-forwardness as a single note of an exceptionally disgusting taste, no matter what the flavor is supposed to be. That also extends to hop aroma, which likewise forms a single note of terrible scent. Two Hearted, SNPA, Arctic Panzer Wolf, Celebration, and 80 Acre are all pretty much indistinguishable for me. Needless to say, this pretty much ruins a lot of the social and sharing aspects of the craft beer deal for me - especially after the 422nd person who insists that they know exactly the right 50,000 IBU IPA that will somehow overcome my genetics and turn me into an IPA fan, or the 853rd person who scoffs at the idea that a kellerbier can be tasty.