[homoeccentricus]

I can only conclude that these off-flavors are as much in the heads of the judges as they are in the beers themselves.

[euge]

I can only conclude that these off-flavors are as much in the heads of the judges as they are in the beers themselves.

My thoughts. Same with BBQ judging.

[toby]

I can only conclude that these off-flavors are as much in the heads of the judges as they are in the beers themselves.

Yes and no.  As social animals, we are remarkably susceptible to the power of suggestion.  If you have a pair of judges, and one blurts out 'Diacetyl!' while judging a beer, the other judge may suddenly pick it up (or convince themselves they now pick it up).  It's how performance 'hypnotists' stay employed.  Nobody is actually getting hypnotized, but the power of peer pressure makes them act like fools so they aren't the jerk ruining the fun.

That being said, the common off flavors/sensations are certainly real and trained judges can try to minimize those sorts of biases and tricks entering into their evaluations.  And for me, my top 5 most-encountered beer problems are:

1) Phenols (cholorophenols being most common due to water chemistry in the area)
2) Bitterness, as in harshly overdone
3) Astringency
4) Oxidation
5) Undercarbed

I encounter diacetyl, acetaldehyde, and DMS pretty rarely.  I've met plenty of people that claim to be super sensitive to one or all of them that get it practically in every beer.  I try to avoid judging with those people.

[denny]

If that's true, I'm more mystified than ever about why you'd want haze.  So far, I haven't found any positives to the hazy beers.

I like some of them, even something like Tired Hands Punge that was extremely unappealing visually.  They use those tricks to give it some mouthfeel.  I wasn't as big a fan of Surly Wet due to the hop polyphenols.

I have to admit that that mouthfeel is one of the things I don't care for.  Most of the ones I've tried so far do have a good flavor, but not good enough that I'd order a second one.

[toby]

I have to admit that that mouthfeel is one of the things I don't care for.  Most of the ones I've tried so far do have a good flavor, but not good enough that I'd order a second one.

Do you mind sharing which ones?  Obviously an astringent mouthfeel is a negative.  The proteins are to make it not as thin as it might otherwise be since they'll mash low and sometimes bump up attenuation with straight sugars.

[denny]

I have to admit that that mouthfeel is one of the things I don't care for.  Most of the ones I've tried so far do have a good flavor, but not good enough that I'd order a second one.

Do you mind sharing which ones?  Obviously an astringent mouthfeel is a negative.  The proteins are to make it not as thin as it might otherwise be since they'll mash low and sometimes bump up attenuation with straight sugars.

All the ones I've been drinking lately are from Treehouse in Monson MA.  It really doesn't seem like a protein thickness....

[toby]

All the ones I've been drinking lately are from Treehouse in Monson MA.  It really doesn't seem like a protein thickness....

Never had theirs so I can't say for sure.