Sour Dilemma

Me and some buddies are about to do this as well. My plan was to get some really nice bread from a quality bakery and munch on that between tastings, I've read that'll do the trick

 

As mentioned above, and pseudo-debated, I'm strongly in the camp of throwing an IPA or two in the mix. Does a great job of shaking/waking your palate up, and taste phenomenal after a string of sours. Seriously! An IPA does nothing to cleanse the palate--that's what mouth watering sours are for! (FWIW, sours are great to throw between any style change in a tasting--it's the universal reset beer!)

Second what others have said on restraining from popping open rarities towards the end of the tasting--and lock your cellar door to avoid temptation. Restraint can be tough!

 

Sours give me heartburn like a *************.

 

doing a tasting of all similar styles will always lead to blend and you won't really be able to discern the difference. french bread and unsalted crackers for pallet cleansing are standard for amateur tastings for all of us BA's and official per the BJCP = I would try each sour at different sessions and score them then compare notes later to see what you think with them stacked against each other

my $0.02 worth

 

I wouldn't do a tasting with all similar styles at all.....I guess it depends on amount of beers being drank. 1 shit would start to taste alike and 2 you prob will be too drunk to truly enjoy the beer. I could be wrong .

 

My 2 cents... keep IPa's nearby ..otherwise the sours run together...I'm sure the other suggestions help as well...bread to cleanse as well as H2O...but an IPA between each sour sort of resets and , helps you appreciate the sour all that much more.

 

Sounds amazing but I'd bring along some Tums. All that acidity is going to rot someone's gut. Be sure to post what you tried and what we should look for. I've only dipped my little toe into sours.

 

We've found that during sour shares, a milder stout like Guinness works really well to cleanse the palate. Combined with water crackers (as mentioned several times), it can really help deep into the bottle count.

 

I don't know how many total beers you are having but yes, your palate will get fatigued.

 

I intend no disrespect to anyone, but I have no idea why there is a recommendation to have salty snacks and an occasional IPA. Please listen to the BAs suggesting UNsalted snacks (crackers) and water. IPAs cause palate fatigue, in some cases as quickly as on the second beer, and salt is a dominant and powerful flavor that your tongue will not be relieved of for close to an hour.
I have hosted countless tastings, both of beer and wine, and taught classes on these products for years, and you will get the most mileage out of your taste buds if you go slow and respect the flavor profiles, particularly by placing floral, lightly fruited beers first, then progressing to heavier, richer beers that coat your mouth after. There is a host of good info out there that can be googled as well.

 

I'll make sure to film it, probably will look like turning into a zombie.