I’m just getting over Covid (first time). Went down hard for 5 days. Didn’t really lose my sense of taste, or so I thought. Tried a glass of my beloved Bo Pils and it was terrible. It’s my wifes’ favorite beer and she’s quite critical of it, if I alter the recipe she calls me on it. She says it tastes normal. How long will this madness last?
Definitely. I think our tastebuds are complex. I have had my beer taste strange one day and normal the next. When I had covid I lost taste and smell for a MONTH! Everything tasted wrong or like nothing. But also, when you’re sick, on any kind of medication or even if you ate something unusual, the signals your tastebuds pick up from beer can be off. If your wife says your BoPils is okay, it’s probably okay … it’s YOU that’s off. 
I finally gave up judging because my taste and smell became unreliable. Age related, not COVID.
Yes, I had exactly the same thing happen to me, with my beers tasting dull and lifeless – it took a week or so before things tasted “normal”. Your mileage may (and probably will) vary!
It’s been nearly four months since I had COVID, and my sense of smell was pretty much gone for the first three months. Now I can smell most things if I sniff hard enough, but I can only get a faint whiff of hops, even from a dry-hopped APA. I have a bohemian pils on tap that my wife really likes but I can’t appreciate.
At the beginning, I couldn’t handle anything that was bitter or dry. Same thing with spicy (hot) foods. I think the overall balance was just off, since I wasn’t getting any aroma input to balance things out. For the first month, I drank cider instead of beer. After that, I made a blonde and a weizen so that I could enjoy a little malt sweetness without getting blown away by the bitterness or dryness. I also made a bohemian pils in hopes that I’d be ready to handle it by the time my nose came around, but I’m still not able to appreciate it.
I’m fermenting another weizen now, and I can actually smell something coming out of the airlock, so I’m looking forward to trying that.
Hang in there!
I was down with Covid for a month with loss of taste and smell. It took at least another month for full taste, smell and energy to return.
I had Covid about a year ago, and my sense of taste is still off - hops in particular.
I recently heard that our tastebuds degrade just like our other senses. Sight and hearing are common but we don’t think about our tastebuds going down. My dad just turned 95 and I cook for him on occasion. He will say that a lot of things he tries (both my food and food he may get from a restaurant, etc) tastes bland to him. This could be his tastebuds degrading but I suppose it could be that he also eats a lot of frozen foods (high in salt and fat) or canned soups (a ton of salt) and so “normal” food tastes bland to him. His tastebuds are shot.
Based on the experience of both my wife and myself, it seems age related. We eat hardly any frozen or canned food. 90+% probably homemade, mainly with ingredients we produce ourselves.
Not me, but a friend of mine lost his sense of taste/smell for months … a year or so … after having COVID.
I lost taste and smell the first time I had covid. I was sitting in my home office working eating some blueberries and kept thinking they were bland but maybe it was because they were out of season. As I finished a small bowl I realized I couldn’t taste them anything. I tried smelling some herbs growing in my office and nothing. I had no taste or smell for about a week. It took almost two for my smell and taste to come back completely. Second time I had covid, no problem.
everyones saying yes, but me also - yes it happened and it was very concerning. it actually happens to me a bit after many colds as well.
i honestly believe my sense of taste/smell is slightly worse at this age compared to myself in my late 20s say for many potential reasons. im just dealing with it.
Hello all. I recently brewed a Blind Pig clone, BIAB, cold-crashed 3 days with gelatin for clearing. I bottled 6 days ago. Even before bottling, it looked like the beer had settled, but not really. After bottling the ‘heavier’ liquid just kinda formed a layer of 2-3 inches in each bottle. It’s not a solid layer at all, just kinda looks a bit ‘milky’ - just lightly heavier that the clear beer at the top.
Ever seen this before? Any ideas what I did wrong?
Thinking maybe I didn’t cold-crash long enough? Didn’t allow all the gunk to fully settle maybe? I’m wondering what it will be like to drink. I’ll try it this weekend.
Cheers n Thanks!
Tim
I assume it’s sediment that ended up in your bottling bucket and bottles. The sediment could be yeast or hop and break material from the boil. If you leave the bottles to carb at room temp for some time and then put a few of the bottles in the fridge, you may notice that layer “compacting” and getting smaller and more dense. Dense enough to carefully pour the beer into a glass without disturbing it or without it ending up in your glass. In the future you can leave the beer in the fermenter longer so this material drops out and then attempt to transfer/bottle ONLY the clear-looking beer. This sediment should not negatively impact the flavor of your beer. Report back and let us know how it goes.
It doesn’t have to be Covid for your sense of smell to go away. Many years ago I was in Ssnta Rosa and thought Russian River had dumbed down Pliny the Elder. No aroma at all, only bitterness. My wife said it was still full of Cat Pee, she is very sensitive. The next morning when blew my nose I realized why I couldn’t smell anything, yuck!
I had Covid a year ago and never lost my sense of smell.
Interesting point and, unfortunately, true as far as I’ve experienced. While my taste and smell are not unreliable, they definitely have changed. Others think I’m “nuts”, but I’ve always been and am still able to, smell heat.
fyi i dont think youre nuts about that. wont judge if you explain it (if you want to).
I have heard of people who have lost their sense of smell and/or taste since getting COVID and those senses have not yet returned. I was one of the lucky ones; I got COVID in 2022 and again this past June. It felt like I had a common cold that lasted about 11 hours each time with zero ill effects.
I hope those senses return soon! Good luck!
I am on the backend of my third round of covid which started last Sunday. I feel like my sense of taste isn’t as strong as normal but I’m not sure if that’s a covid symptom, the consequence of congestion, or paranoia about losing my sense of taste again.
Remember the regular cold or flu will also skew our tastes.