BeerBorg

This weekend after brewing up a batch, pitching the yeast and getting everything tucked away I noticed that I still had my hydro sample. I stopped tasting these back when I was still using MrB stuff because I was never able to pick up anything noticeable. To me it still tasted like sweet wort with some bitterness to it.

Fast forward to this weekend and I decided to taste it instead of offering it to the homies. As my ability to pick up on certain tastes and aromas has increased over the years I thought for sure that I would find this to be a much different experience than before. Nope. It still tastes like sweet wort with some bitterness to it. I couldn't pick up anything specific from the Maris Otter, the crystal or the Munich let alone any of the hops.

I guess the good news is that I did get some bitterness from it which is good because this was a simple 15-minute boil + 30-minute hopstand and there was some concern that I wouldn't get enough bitterness.

The other good news is that the homies still got their share

With all that said, I congratulate and envy those of you that can taste wort and tell what the final product will taste like. I just don't have that in me.

Wort only ever tastes good to me from a stout or porter or other dark beers. I really can pick out the roastiness or chocolate notes. The lighter ales I have done I have had the same experience as you in terms of tasting though

Always tastes sweet and nothing like the final beer to me.

Woo hoo! A kindred spirit!!

A plague upon all of you that can taste your wort and pick up on nutty undertones, or a hint of citrus.

Meh!

I'm even worse. I have trouble getting anything useful from the FG sample. I can't really tell until it's carbed and conditioned.

I taste my sample too cuz i just dump it down drain anyway... so i figure might as well have a taste and do notice a huge difference when its carbed and conditioned but sort of get an idea what its gonna be like. i did do a hoppy batch one and could tottally taste the bitterness before it was bottled tho

I dump OG readings back in, drink FG readings.

All of my samples taken from the kettle always taste mostly like a sugary syrup, especially pale ales, the darker beers do too with but with hints of sweet coffee. It's been so long since I brewed I could barely remember.

Last few batches I have been tasting the wort from before the boil. Not until this last batch, a Brown Ale, did I taste a hint of the special grains, I got some of the Crystal 60 and Chocolate Malt. I with Rick on the OG and FG samples. OG back in FG down the hatch.

Having had infected brews, I dump my OG sample, in spite of sanitizing first. My FG sample often goes into a bottle with the last partial trubby fill. I still taste anything remaining.

I haven't become accustomed to identifying any flavors from the sweet wort yet either. Love how it smells, but tasting it doesn't do anything for me. I keep doing it in hopes that someday my palate will figure things out. I only dump the pre-boil SG back in. The OG gets tasted then dumped. The FG however, is always enjoyed.

Interesting....I thought I was in the minority of samplers/ Maybe there is more of "us" than "them" afterall.

I typically dump my OG sample back into the fermenter as well but the carboy was SO full that I didn't add it back in. Given the blowoff activity that I am having (other thread) it's probably a good thing I didn't.

I stopped drinking FG samples for the same reason. I had so many beers that tasted "meh" at that point but turned out great that I just stopped. This way it's more like Christmas. I don't know what it is going to be until I crack that first bottle.

My samplings never reveal anything close to what the finished beer will be either.

The refractometer put that issue to bed for us but we we do taste on bottling day since there always seems to be just less than a bottles worth left in the fermenter.

It cool from being cold crashed and while it won't be close to the taste of the finished beer we can get fair preview of the color, clarity and balance of flavors from a small sample.

A few have even warned us of something "off".

I think I get a better sense of the finish from the aroma, rather than the taste of the cooled wort. I rarely ever taste the wort any longer. I always taste the finish gravity samples!