Anyone else have this experience?

Sometimes I'll open a bottle of a beer that I consider a proven favorite, and it doesn't do it for me at all. Though it could be nothing more than getting a bad bottle, I think there's more to it. I think my mood/frame of mind has a profound effect on the taste of the beer, or my perception of it. It's not always that it tastes bad, but sometimes a given brew will taste totally different to me than I remember it.

I've had the same experience with single malts scotches.

Anyone else share this experience? Ever open a bottle of fine ale and think it tastes bad, even though one from the same sixer tasted great the night before? What's the deal?

Just wondrin' aloud (as Jethro Tull would say)

Your mood can do it. So can what you ate previous to the bottle. Ever taken a slug of beer jsut after you brushed your teeth? Even a change in weather can affect your perception of flavors.

There are lots of contributing factors to taste.

yes, this happens to me from time to time. My latest batch of IPA is a good example. The first two bottles I drank seemed 'off' to me. I actually believe that this came from the fact that it tasted so different than the previous batch. Since it didn't match the flavor of the previous (which was what I was expecting), my brain told me something was wrong with it.

Lately, it's been tasting just fine.

There are a few commercial beers that have this same effect for me. Specifically, I'm thinking about Red Hook's ESB. If I'm not in the right frame of mind, that beer tastes terrible to me. But, in the right frame of mind, I'll down several of them.

-walker

I definatly have had this happen. I love this amber ale at the rock bottom, but for some reason last week it just didnt do it for me. Last night I ordered one with my dinner and I think it was the best beer I ever had. I cant blame the food because I had the same meal both nights, must not have been in the mood for it.

I had an ice cold glass of Warsteiner Pilsner with some hummus and a toasted pita the other night, and it was among the best things I've ever tasted.

Warsteiner has never tasted that good to me before. I guess it works in both directions...

Certainly, cold wheats in the winter, massive, warm stouts in the summer

Sometimes, I'll just do samples from all of the active kegs, until I find one that's right for the moment.

Happens all the time...

Also remember, the brews are constantly aging. You have one at week 2 and its will probably taste different at month 2.

Yup that has happened to me- and long before I ever became a homebrewer. There were time in the tavern when the brews just weren't going down well, and other times when they were slidin like crazy. Sometimes you're feeling a bit mellow or just plain tired or perhaps not feeling as well as you thought.

That is why judging is so varied, people's tastes vary, moods vary, expectations vary.