Chewing the grains gives you an idea, but there really is no substitute for tasting them in a brewed beer. And keep in mind that different yeast and hop flavors may interact with the flavors of the malt differently too, so a malt you prefer in one style might not be what you prefer in another.
A good start for any given style is to brew it with the traditional grains, then tweak some stuff and brew it again.
tubercle, that was me agreeing with you again