Drankin Foul Beer... For Knowledge!

I attended my first Cap & Hare Homebrew Club meeting as an official member last night. The meeting was held at Rahr Brewery, so it wasn't hard to make it. I worked a little late and just happened to be early. Good folks and great beer... but then there was the foul beer. They purchased a sensory training kit from the Siebel Institute with samples of different infections to add to good beer, so that tastes and smells could be identified. Along with each picture was a description of the infection and explanations of what causes it. Very good stuff to know if you are home brewing or working in a brewery (like me) or just for the knowledge. Most of the beers smelled worse than they actually tasted, but a couple were very bad on both accounts. The great thing about a Cap & Hare meeting is that there is always great home brew to help wash away something like infected beer samples. As I read the descriptions, it was hard to believe I was drinking these on purpose. Glad to have had the opportunity though. For the record, the Indole smelled more like Outdo, if you catch my drift.