Any taste/tastebuds experts there?

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I have a bitter I made. I was too heavy handed with biscuit malt and chocolate malt. I'm actually quite enjoying it even though I missed my target taste by quite a long way.

Now, due to the excess of biscuit and chocolate, I am getting a strong biscuit taste around the edges of my tongue, a little at the tip, but nothing whatsoever in the centre. I was wondering which flavours are detected in the middle of the tongue. It seems to me that it could be the lack of base malt that I am not tasting, as it is a low ABV, about 3.6%

For my next brew I will be cutting down on the roasted malts to make it more balanced, but I'm hoping to fill in that blank spot, which, as there is no taste there, it comes across as watery in that spot.

I have deliberately not posted the recipe because I know that some of you will post critiques of it based on knowledge of customary ingredients and not knowledge of the taste mechanism (If that makes sense)

So, in summary. Which ingredients particularly impact the centre of the tongue?

Any hints, tips or general ridicule for my stupid question are gratefully accepted.

 

[nibiyabi]

The middle of the tongue does not have a high concentration of taste buds when compared to the outer edges, if my memory serves me correctly. The tip of the tongue tastes sweet, the sides near the front taste salty, further back on the sides taste sour, and the back middle tastes bitter. Not sure where umami (savory) comes into play. . . . Center maybe?

 

[david_42]

The whole idea of regions of taste buds was shot down a couple years ago. The tongue is a mosaic of buds for all five flavors. Plus, most of what we think of as flavor is really smell.

What does occur is different taste buds densities across the tongue, but this varies with no real pattern except age.

(I find it interesting that with all of the hype surrounding monosodium glutamate, that we have receptors dedicated to this single chemical. Unlike salt, sweet, bitter and sour which respond to dozens or even thousands of chemicals.)

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

The whole idea of regions of taste buds was shot down a couple years ago. The tongue is a mosaic of buds for all five flavors. Plus, most of what we think of as flavor is really smell.

What does occur is different taste buds densities across the tongue, but this varies with no real pattern except age.

That would make sense regarding what I'm getting. I even scraped my tongue before the OP!

Keeping in mind what you are saying there, I am taking a taste right now, and I must say that sounds right.