Are You a Supertaster?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Frankinstiener, Apr 15, 2013.

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  1. Frankinstiener

    Frankinstiener Initiate (0) Jul 28, 2009 Illinois

    I wanted to see if any BA's are supertasters and how this might affect beer drinking. If you don't know what a supertaster is you can look here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster
    But basically they experience taste with far more intensity then everyone else. Back in a college biology class we were tested for this. Everyone was given a piece of paper with some sort of solution on it, and you put the piece of paper in your mouth. Myself and 75% of the rest of the class tasted paper, while the supertasters tasted something very unpleasant.

    Supertasters have a heightened response to bitterness. I wonder if this makes many of them dislike IPA's. I assume they have personal preferences like everyone else and some like IPA's and others don't. I wonder if they have an easier time identifying certain hop and malt varieties. I wonder if a disproportional amount of BA's are supertasters and the heightened sense of taste helped steer them towards craft beer. I would assume the opposite is more likely. Supertasters tend to be picky eaters when they are young, so maybe their heightened sense of taste also keeps them from venturing out in beer as well.

    Supertasters, please share your experiences.
     
  2. Crusader

    Crusader Pooh-Bah (1,651) Feb 4, 2011 Sweden
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Was going to post a similar thread after reading this article from WSJ.
     
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  3. TheMonkfish

    TheMonkfish Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2012 Chad

    John Lee, Supertaster!

    Not even close for me. When I used to read written beer reviews I thought for sure that some of the descriptions were written more to impress readers than reflect the beer (artisan licorice lovingly aged in a red baseball glove) - but I have since realized that others have a far greater sensitivity to most flavors than me.:slight_smile:
     
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  4. Crusader

    Crusader Pooh-Bah (1,651) Feb 4, 2011 Sweden
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Same here. I haven't gotten into reviewing beer since my reviews would be very similar, and short, I couldn't for the life of me list more than maybe two flavor aspects from the malt, one from the hops, and a relative estimation of bitterness. They wouldn't make for very entertaining reviews. I like beer, but my appreciation of it is obviously on a much plainer level than others with more elaborate taste. Or perhaps my enjoyment of beer is precisely to do with my simple taste, I'm easier to please so to speak, which might explain my affinity towards pale lagers.
     
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  5. Frankinstiener

    Frankinstiener Initiate (0) Jul 28, 2009 Illinois

    Good article. Well most BA's are men, and most BA's enjoy IPA's. While most supertasters are women and, according to that article, avoid bitter food. There may not be a whole lot of BA supertasters.
     
  6. SpeedwayJim

    SpeedwayJim Pooh-Bah (2,753) Jun 19, 2009 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    How you know you've been on BA too long:

    When the word Supertaster reminds you of one of the more epic deleted threads on BA :grinning:.
     
  7. fox227

    fox227 Initiate (0) Nov 19, 2010 California

    Not me. My ability to tolerate any type of strong food or drink for the most part should indicate that the flavors are softened to my palate.
     
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  8. kdb150

    kdb150 Initiate (0) Mar 8, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I think most people tend to gravitate towards beers that predominately express a flavor that they enjoy. Many people enjoy piney, citrusy bitterness, so IPAs are popular. Likewise a lot of people enjoy roasty, coffee/dark chocolate bitterness, and therefore RIS is also a popular style.

    Reading this makes me think that my wife is likely a supertaster, as she is instantly turned off by even a hint of roasty bitterness in a beer, and while she can tolerate light hoppiness in a beer, she finds IPAs to be very unpleasant. Non-hoppy Belgian styles and barleywines/scotch ales, though, she likes very much. She also objects very strongly to me adding salt to food while cooking, as she seems to be very sensitive to salty foods as well.

    I would imagine that, in general, supertasting bitter compounds would completely throw off the balance of any beer that had an abundance of bitter flavor. Hence it is very unlikely that BAs are generally supertasters, given what styles are most popular here.
     
  9. Buff0910

    Buff0910 Initiate (0) Jan 20, 2013 Alabama

    My wife is definitely a super taster and so far likes most ipas I have bought. She is more of a wine drinker for sure. She could do those elaborate detailed reviews I read on here, while I am more like you guys. One funny example of her taste compared to mine was when I let her try a 2010 abyss and asked her the first thing she tasted; she said gross it tastes just like licorice, then I read her the description with licorice being prominently displayed on the label. I love it though but just do not get prominent licorice flavor.
     
  10. SerialTicker

    SerialTicker Pooh-Bah (2,815) Jun 18, 2012 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    I'm not a supertaster, but I am a beer drinker ... and I dislike when some people are like,

    "Wow! This beer has some really big flavors. Apple, car tire, smoke, apricot, grape, cardboard, orange, garlic, and just a TOUCH of caramel malts."

    It's like.. where the FUCK did you get all those flavors from?

    I'm looking at YOU, Chris Steltz, or whatever your name is ... you know. That BeerGeekNation dude.
     
  11. dauss

    dauss Pooh-Bah (1,730) Aug 9, 2003 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I remember that paper test from high school. I didn't taste paper, it was a nasty chemical bitterness. I didn't know that was a indicator of being a supertaster.
     
  12. cookiequiz

    cookiequiz Initiate (0) Apr 15, 2013 California

    I have done that litmus paper test and did taste the bitterness. However I enjoy IPAs (and other bitter flavoured food and drink). I think the 'supertaster => can't stand intense bitterness' theory is a bit simplistic.
     
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  13. Dennoman

    Dennoman Initiate (0) Aug 20, 2011 Belgium

    I have fairly sensitive tastebuds, but your palate is pretty much all down to education, which is a life-long process.
     
  14. kdb150

    kdb150 Initiate (0) Mar 8, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I think that a lot of those types of descriptions are more an attempt to describe a flavor or aroma, rather than actually saying that all of those distinct flavors are really there. That's why one beer can have so many different flavors noted in it. It's not like where you can eat an unfamiliar meat and say, "Oh, this tastes like chicken." Beer flavors can be far more difficult to equate to just one thing. So you sort of have to envision what combination of sensations might equate to what you are tasting.

    Also, consider a beer that has been barrel-aged in a barrel that used to hold some sort of wine or spirit. You then have hops, water, barley, yeast, possibly some adjuncts, wood, and the wine or spirit contributing to the flavor. A developed palate can pick out some of what each ingredient adds to the final product, if the brewer has created a well-balanced beer.
     
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  15. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Not a supertaster myself, but have had a chance to chat with a few about what they do and do not taste. There was a definite dislike of hop forward beers and even some that most of us would describe as malty. However, that said there is some variability among supertasters as to what they are most sensitive to.
     
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  16. SerialTicker

    SerialTicker Pooh-Bah (2,815) Jun 18, 2012 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    I think they're full of shit, but that's just me. Jim Koch was the first person that I felt was full of poopy when watching his videos describing his beers.

    I'm drinking an Oberon right now. Oberon's obviously not the best example in the world, but: Malt, orange/citrus, wheat.

    I'm sure people out there would manage to pull "Cherries, carpet, and leather" out of it.
     
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  17. Herky21

    Herky21 Initiate (0) Aug 7, 2011 Iowa

    Ironically, I'm not, but my girlfriend is. She is very helpful in identifying good flavors and off-flavors in my homebrew.

    At brewpubs, I'll taste something I don't like and I don't usually have an immediate word, beyond astringent, or bad. She will immediately say it tastes like plastic, or celery, or -name-your-fruit-flavor in a hop.

    She tends to dislike Double IPAs, but she does like some, like Ruination for instance.

    She likes much fewer IPAs than I like.

    Her favorite beers are stouts, especially milk stouts, anything on Nitro tap, and the lighter spectrum of things from wheat, to cider, to most fruit beers.
     
  18. leedorham

    leedorham Initiate (0) Apr 27, 2006 Washington

    Although I'm not a big fan of Brussels Farts, I'm clearly not a supertaster and I think many of those claiming to be supertasters are full of it.

    I do remember doing the PTC test in junior high science class. Tasted like nothing to me but one kid threw up. Apparently he was a supertaster.
     
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  19. beastmammoth

    beastmammoth Initiate (0) Oct 16, 2010 New York

    I think that being able to put a name to a flavor stems more from active tasting- compartmentalizing flavors in your brain. This seems experiential rather than from 'supertasting'.
     
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  20. JohnSnowNW

    JohnSnowNW Initiate (0) Feb 6, 2013 Minnesota

    Thank god, no!
     
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