Do You Drink Starters?

[bpgreen]

Not only do I not taste starters, I don't taste gravity samples or uncarbonated beer going into the keg.


I'm boring that way.

[John Sand]

I hope you taste it coming out of the keg!
I have always tasted the post ferment gravity sample. I'm not always accurate in determining the final taste that way. I do think I'm getting better at judging uncarbed beer.

[Kealia]

Not only do I not taste starters, I don't taste gravity samples or uncarbonated beer going into the keg.


I'm boring that way.

Then I am boring, too.
I've never been able to tell what the final carbed beer will taste like by doing any of that, so I stopped a long time ago.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Have not tasted a starter yet, but I have tasted the post boil wort, prefer the taste of the lower IBU worts though. I do taste post ferment beer at kegging time just because I usually have a bit left over after filling the keg, it does give me an idea of the finished product, to me anyway it seems that you would be able to judge if there is an off flavor problem, with that in mind it can also tell you that at packaging time there may not have been an off flavor and then have one show up after carbonating or bottle conditioning. My 2 pennies.

[BlackDuck]

I've never tasted a starter...probably because I use dry yeast, and have never done a starter. I do taste my FG sample though...for reasons similar to Steve. I'm not really tasting it to see how good it is or will be, I'm more interested to see if something is wrong with it. If nothing seems amiss at the FG test and something shows up in the final, carbed product, it would help me narrow down where it could have gone wrong.

[Crazy Climber]

I've never tasted a starter, but regularly taste the hyrdometer sample when the wort goes into the fermenter. As anyone who's tried it knows, it's nothing at all like the finished beer (and not necessarily pleasant), but I find that you can sometimes learn things about the beer you've just made by comparing the hydro sample to previous brew's hydro samples. And I'd dare say, I've kinda acquired a taste for it.

Then there's this idea, which I am absolutely going to try on my next brew day.

[mashani]

FWIW, of you pitch a hella lot of yeast, like the pitch rate calculator that I use and have posted here before, your hydrometer samples when the beer comes out of the fermenter will taste a lot like a flat version of the final beer. There are lots of beers this year I could have happily consumed flat right out of the fermenter, nothing off about them or need to clean up anything or what not.