Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Don't tell me what to taste!

I appreciate that brewers work very hard to bring out certain flavors in their beer.  I'm not discounting that.  However, when I'm told that I should taste hints of honey and clove with an orange peel finish, or oak infused black current with a peppery back note, I get a bit annoyed.  What if I don't taste those things?  Maybe I'm drinking the brew at a temperature a few degrees off of what was intended.  Maybe I'm eating something that masks those flavors.  Maybe I have a cold.  There are any number of reasons that I may not distinguish the flavors that I'm being told I should taste.  Now I feel like I'm missing something because my palate is not mature enough to taste what the brewer intended.  Am I not "good enough" for this beer.  What's wrong with me?  Nothing!  If I taste those things, great.  If not, that's fine as well.  I can enjoy my beverage without being told what to taste and how to taste it.  If I needed a road map to enjoy my beer I would have switched to wine long ago!

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