I've been reading a lot of books on my new hobby. My ultimate goal is to create my own recipes - kits are fun, clones are cool, and trying other people's recipes can be interesting. But ultimately, I'm doing this because I want a creative outlet (and because it happens to parallel a strong love of beer, well, that's pretty awesome).
The more I read, the more I realize that I (a grown-ass man with countless years of beer consumption) have little to no palate when it comes to flavors. I keep hearing about citrus, pineapple, pine, spice, oak, etc. The other day, I was enjoying a New Belgium Ranger IPA and I tried really hard. Some citrus notes, but mostly a hop aroma is what I get. My wife has a big nose (doesn't read this website) and couldn't do any better.
I love IPAs and have already started putting together a couple of recipes, but I honestly don't know how certain grains will affect flavor. I can figure out color, ABV, and IBU ranges I like, but what about flavor? I'm a hop head, so maybe flavor isn't as important with this style as it would be with, say, a stout or hefeweizen.
My original thought was to start a tasting thread - Someone names a beer, we all try it, and have a good debate about the flavors and what produced it.
I just realized I have no specific question.
The more I read, the more I realize that I (a grown-ass man with countless years of beer consumption) have little to no palate when it comes to flavors. I keep hearing about citrus, pineapple, pine, spice, oak, etc. The other day, I was enjoying a New Belgium Ranger IPA and I tried really hard. Some citrus notes, but mostly a hop aroma is what I get. My wife has a big nose (doesn't read this website) and couldn't do any better.
I love IPAs and have already started putting together a couple of recipes, but I honestly don't know how certain grains will affect flavor. I can figure out color, ABV, and IBU ranges I like, but what about flavor? I'm a hop head, so maybe flavor isn't as important with this style as it would be with, say, a stout or hefeweizen.
My original thought was to start a tasting thread - Someone names a beer, we all try it, and have a good debate about the flavors and what produced it.
I just realized I have no specific question.