Good Question

In comments below, "Anonymous" noticed something I've noticed, too--that sourness tends to dissipate with warmth. This is odd, because cold tends to (in Michael Jackson's words) "anesthetize the palate."

I'm just starting to get into sour beers and I'm sure this is an amateur question, but why do sour beers become less sour as they warm in the glass? (In Supplication's case, this was a nice feature as my amateur taste buds were able to decipher a few more aspects of the beer but no one at our table could figure out why). We’ve also noticed this trend with some of Raccoon Lodges beer as well as Cantillion’s.

Yup, I've noticed it, too, and on this one you've got me stumped. (There goes the well-tended illusion that I know something about beer.) Why do other flavors emerge when a beer warms, while sourness recedes?


(BTW, you anonymous commenters--any chance you could sign your posts, even pseudonymously, so I can recognize you when you comment?)