I've been looking for resources on how to really taste some of the commonly referred to tastes out there. For instance, people say that phenols taste like band-aids. But I really have no clue what that means.
There are off flavor taste kits available for purchase, but those run around $150, which seems a bit high. But luckily I ran across a nice table in the BJCP study guide which would allow me to doctor beer in order to give it the off flavors that I'm looking to experience.
So my question: What type of reference beer should I use? The guide suggests using a clean lager which seems to makes sense at first. But the main reason for me learning these tastes is so that I can get better at picking them out of the beer that I make. And rarely make a clean lager; I normally make stronger ales. Should I use one of my homebrews or get some commercial equivalents?
Bonus for anyone that's had experience using the BJCP instructions and could speak from experience.