Tasting Your Beer Prior To Kegging

[Gustatorian]

Before I transfer my beer to kegs, I always taste a little of the beer that I've poured into my hydrometer. With most beers I brew (IPAs), I always notice a slight yeasty note, a more pungent bitterness than found in the final beer. My question though is, has anyone found any common characteristics (flavor or aroma) that you've noticed in your beer prior to kegging that clues you in that the beer will be a really tasty beer once carbonated? I haven't noticed anything in particular but still wanted to get the communities thoughts...

 

[m00ps]

I taste every single hydro sample and every yeast starter I make. It definitely gives an indication of the characteristics of the final beer. Bitterness, yeasty off flavors, and alcohol hotness will be much more apparent at non-carbed room temp so you have to keep that in mind.

In general, if the hydro sample is relatively good tasting, I know the final beer will turn out well. But any weird tangy off flavors its kinda a crap shoot on whether itll condition out or not

 

[kombat]

I know some people rave about how delicious their hydro samples are, but to be honest, I don't really care for the flavour of warm, flat beer or wort. That said, I of course do still taste my samples, but I'm more looking for flaws than pleasant attributes. Of course you get a sense of the bitterness, and the mouthfeel, but I'm really just checking to make sure I don't get a mouthful of banana, corn, butter, or green apple. If those aren't there, then I'm pleased as punch and anxious to get it chilled and carbed so I can see what it REALLY tastes like.

 

[Gustatorian]

What about aroma though? I assume the uncarbed beer doesn't really pack too much aroma. I never notice anything pungent on the nose prior to kegging.

 

[kombat]

That's been my experience as well. It's often a little frightening when I've dry-hopped a beer like crazy, and still can't detect much aroma in my sample when it's on its way into the keg. Nevertheless, the finished beer is always bursting with aroma. My totally un-scientific explanation for this is that in the finished beer, the CO2 bubbles "carry" the hop aroma up out of the beer and into your nostrils. The flat beer lacks those bubbles, and thus the hop oils/aroma are still relatively "trapped" in the beer, giving the beer the perception of low hop aroma.

 

[btn]

I taste warm, then put the tasting glass in the fridge and taste it again a couple hours later whenever I pull a sample to see how much different it tastes at "drinking temp". That also gives me a chance to see how much sediment settles out of it.

As far as any predictors of if it will be good...if it is one of my regular brews I will
have a good idea of what it should taste like and compare my prior tasting notes of the samples. If a beer that I like before kegging tastes off in the keg, I'll tweak the psi settings to see if I can tune it in better.

 

[ViciousFishes]

I taste every single hydro sample and every yeast starter I make. It definitely gives an indication of the characteristics of the final beer.

You taste your yeast starters? I don't think I'd know how to evaluate a starter. Can you describe more what that's like and what are you looking for?

 

[brewerdoc]

Before I transfer my beer to kegs, I always taste a little of the beer that I've poured into my hydrometer. With most beers I brew (IPAs), I always notice a slight yeasty note, a more pungent bitterness than found in the final beer. My question though is, has anyone found any common characteristics (flavor or aroma) that you've noticed in your beer prior to kegging that clues you in that the beer will be a really tasty beer once carbonated? I haven't noticed anything in particular but still wanted to get the communities thoughts...

I taste everything in every step of the way and take notes. Its incredible to see how much the flavor profile changes over time and with temperature changes.