If, like me, you’re an amateur taster of beer and wine, inevitably you’ve asked yourself why you don’t taste that hint of raspberry or note of pine bark that someone else says is there.
Genetics certainly have something to do with why we have different perceptions of tastes. Scientists have shown there’s a genetic component to how we experiencebitter and sweet flavors, as we’ve reported. And “supertasters,” who seem to be born rather than made, are said to experience a lot of tastes more intensely.
But what if your ability to perceive nuances of flavor is related to something as simple as your gender?
Turns out that, anecdotally, this is something people in the beer and wine worlds discuss all the time.
I first heard it from Douglas Constantiner in June at a beer-and-food-pairing eventin Washington, D.C., hosted by the Brewers Association. Constantiner is a co-founder of Societe Brewing Co. in San Diego. I was sipping Societe’s IPA, The Pupil, when Julia Herz, the association’s craft beer director, mentioned genetic predisposition and taste. That prompted Constantiner to boldly state, “Women are predisposed to have a better sense of taste and smell than men.” …. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY AT WBOI.ORG
