Unsubtle dig on craft beer from NPR

[Teromous]

I appreciate the op's comments and the discussion. Another reason I enjoy this site. In general, I think we are quick to share our opinions when we haven't yet taken much time forming them. As a biologist I will admit that understanding of a published study is difficult when it is only referenced in another paper. You really have to read the original study to comprehend the objectives or conclusions. I'm gonna get a beer now!!

I agree completely. I believe that the author of the NPR article is referencing a book that is likely credible, but in order to make his article an appealing read, he has to make it somewhat controversial and shocking. What he says does have merit, but all secondary source articles should always be taken with a grain of salt. There are lots of studies done in various fields, which analyze what the brain can truly interpret. If any of you are interested in music or audio engineering (and have an hour to kill ) the Audio Myths Workshop does a good job of this. I highly recommend checking it out:

 

[spearko520]

my add can't handle an hour, but i'm already enamored with poppy...
also i am totally down with killing music and i definitely agree that only bass players care about the bass line- and really not even most of them do.

 

[BrewMU]

I think it would be overstatement to say that the article was about beer. I'm sure there is SOME pretension in SOME beer or wine drinkers - so what? I know that Bud+Vinegar doesn't taste like Firestone/Walker - hey, I wish it did. That would be a lot cheaper than $10 a six. Meanwhile, anybody who doesn't think I can tell the difference is welcome to put their money where their mouth is.

 

[Teromous]

I think it would be overstatement to say that the article was about beer. I'm sure there is SOME pretension in SOME beer or wine drinkers - so what? I know that Bud+Vinegar doesn't taste like Firestone/Walker - hey, I wish it did. That would be a lot cheaper than $10 a six. Meanwhile, anybody who doesn't think I can tell the difference is welcome to put their money where their mouth is.

Yeah, and it doesn't even be a craft ale. I could take a garden variety craft pils and put it against any BMC pils and tell the difference. It is what it is.

 

[OldBunny]

I haven't had time to read the original study but, from other things I've read, our taste judgments are incredibly subjective and suggestable. Moreover "taste" tests, by trying to isolate flavor, can also seriously skew sound judgement. To cite a few:

• Smirnoff winning the N.Y.Times blind tasting over Stoly, Absolute and Grey Goose. The first sip may taste great, but try having a few and then surviving to the next morning.
• A wine tasting, repeated one year later with the same 5 wines and the same tasters, yielding a totally different ranking.
• Diners' ratings of wine being easily altered by changing the prices displayed on the menu.

 

[OldBunny]

Yeah, and it doesn't even be a craft ale. I could take a garden variety craft pils and put it against any BMC pils and tell the difference. It is what it is.

I can't think of any light lager I've drunk that could come close to the flat, cheesy taste of Bud Light.

 

[bovineblitz]

This article is pop psychology. Context is a neural event just as much as taste and feel. It's true that context affects perception quite strongly but the feeling I get from the article is amateurish and over the top.

 

[passedpawn]

Reminds me of the time I insisted my wife's palate couldn't justify her demand that we pay for orange blossom honey. A blind taste test proved it. Bitter victory...

I did the same with Tupelo. I do love honey tho.

I like NPR. Mostly. Beats most everything else on the radio.

I don't care what they said about beer.

 

[BlackJaqueJanaviac]

It seems to me that the whole pretext of the article is that things only matter based on one sensory experience. I've noticed that certain flavored coffees are not flavored but are scented. Just put it in a covered travel mug and you hardly can tell. Does that mean that it is a waste of money to get that flavored coffee - only if one is STUPID enough to be convinced that what you smell while consuming a beverage does not count, and what you taste is the ONLY thing that matters.

That said the other thing they do not seem to note or study is whether taste is capable of discerning anything at all. It is as if someone was only interested in testing the limits of taste and how one can be fooled. I honestly don't think you can make bad coffee taste good by putting a travel mug cover on it. I cannot count the number of times my nose was duped into thinking my mouth would enjoy something.

 

[lou2row]

Most of these studies are done in a way that scews the information to the way the person wants. I have participated in several blind cigar reviews, as well as sent out over a dozen to groups. I have done my own psyche tests numerous times to see who can actually judge a cigar, and who is guessing. The people who's posts make them seem to enjoy hype and fancy labels and assert themselves as "experts", actually are blind without hype and fancy labels. The guy unafraid to admit he enjoys cigars regardless of cost, generally will be able to tell one cigar from the other.

That said, I've never had pate. So I may prefer the dog food. But I do know I can tell bacon from beggin strips, no matter how smokey and delicious they make it smell.

 

[lou2row]

What the hell is a Theoretical Physicist? A guy with no facts that thinks he knows everything? Christ, I know a bunch of people like that, they just don't have a title.

 

[unionrdr]

Theoretical physics deals with what might be done with something other than what's done with it now to my understanding. I just wanna make good beer.

 

[spearko520]

am i the only one with a throbber for poppy?