BJCP Judges - Did you have to "learn" how to differentiate the flavors / aromas?

When sampling my beers I'll get what I think is one flavor but then when I read some more I see that it could actually be something else. Like I may think I'm getting citrus notes from my hops but then read about astringency and not sure I can differentiate the two. Citrus - slightly sour and puckery. Astringency - slightly sour and puckery.

Are my taste buds just not as refined or are these differences something you learn with time and practice?

I am still learning. One thing that is helpful is to look at the "Commercial Calibration" section of Zymurgy. Try to find a beer the 'experts' are judging and see what you come up with.

Learn. If you read in a book that diacetyl tastes like butter and that it smells like a movie theater lobby you would probably be able to identify diacetyl in a beer in a certain concentration range. That's because you have tasted and smelled it before. In movie theater popcorn. You might not recognize it at very low levels where it has a more caramel -like impression and is often sensed as a slick sensation on the tongue. To learn about that you would have to have it pointed out to you by a more experienced judge. But be carefull. I have had guys yell about the diacetyl level in a beer only to find that it reeked of acetaldehyde.

So the best thing you can do in this regard is drink beer (no bad news there) with experienced beer drinkers. Taking a BJCP study course is a great way to do this especially if there is an advanced one available (i.e. guys shooting for the Master level). This can be especially effective if the people giving the course have access to chemicals like diacetyl and acetaldehyde or if they are willing to invest in the FlavorAktiv teaching kits which contain doses of the various things that can be dosed into Budweiser or some similar neutral beer.

astringency is really a mouth drying feeling, so if you are getting that sensation then it's that flavor. It's also possible it's a blend of both. You should take a bjcp class. It doesn't mean you have to take a class you can just do it for your own education. For one part of the class they will take a flavorless commercial beer (throat clears) and add off flavors to it. That would probably help a lot.

I agree with AJ, You are basically born with your palette, but you can learn to identify individual flavors and know what to call them. It’s not so much a matter of perception, but of vocabulary, and experience.

Great info guys, thanks. I'm trying to figure out what to look for just so I can make better beer... guess I'll just keep 'studying'.

Yeah keep studying and giving your beers to judges. Funny thing is a lot of judges tell me "Oh I don't really have a good pallet" when I tell them I don't feel like I have one. It takes some time to develop.

Keep in mind also for common off flavors/aromas in beers (such as diacetyl and acetaldehyde which were mentioned here), that some people are more sensititve to these than others.

This also just goes for other flavors also everybody's different.

Astringency is a sensation while citrus is a flavor.