gr8shandini
Well-Known Member
A while back, I did a last minute entry to a homebrew competition. Total turn around time was 6 days (5 days in primary, overnight cold crash, force carbed and bottled from keg) with another week in the bottle before the tasting. Before you jump all over me, I know that's an ultra-short time, but when I tasted it on day 5, I thought I could get away with it. I tried it again on the day of the competition from an extra bottle I kept to make sure I was tasting the same thing as the judges. Still seemed OK, but not award winning.
However, when I finally got my score sheets back, both judges scored it identically (25 pts) and had nearly identical comments. "Buttery aroma," "slight slickness in mouthfeel," "buttery finish." Now I know that all I need to do to fix this is let it ferment a little longer, but I'm more disturbed by my inability to detect the diacetyl. I got a little of the slickness they mentioned, but didn't taste or smell butter at all. Is it possible that I'm "taste blind" when it comes to diacetyl? I've tasted it before in beers that were really out of control, but obviously, my detection level is far higher than the judges'. Any thoughts?
However, when I finally got my score sheets back, both judges scored it identically (25 pts) and had nearly identical comments. "Buttery aroma," "slight slickness in mouthfeel," "buttery finish." Now I know that all I need to do to fix this is let it ferment a little longer, but I'm more disturbed by my inability to detect the diacetyl. I got a little of the slickness they mentioned, but didn't taste or smell butter at all. Is it possible that I'm "taste blind" when it comes to diacetyl? I've tasted it before in beers that were really out of control, but obviously, my detection level is far higher than the judges'. Any thoughts?