Using sourdough starter without refreshing
I have been making sourdough bread for a little over a year now, and I bake 1 or 2 loaves every week. My routine has always been taking the starter out of the fridge the night before using it, and refreshing it twice: once at night and once in the morning before leaving for work, then using it when I come back at night. Over the last couple of months due to time constraints, I have often moved to taking the starter out of the fridge in the morning and feeding it only once, without noticing any difference in its leavening power. So far so good, but for the past two weeks I decided to get even more radical: I've used the starter straight out of the fridge, without feeding it (I do feed it before storing it back in the fridge, of course). Now comes the funny part: again, didn't notice much of a change in its leavening power (still using the same amount of starter for my recipes), but, more interestingly, I think the bread tasted better! There was a bit more sourness, but also more flavour. No hooch is formed, but the one-week-old starter develops a very alcoholic smell, which I think might be part of the reason for the "improved" taste. I guess other organic by-products also build up during the period and they may play a role too.
I have one fresh loaf made this way just waiting to cool down to be sliced, but it looks great and yummy, and smells good too!
So, what do you think of this? Am I getting mad? Does anyone else here ever do this on purpose, or just out of laziness, and like the result?