In the eye of the beer holder: thoughts on color, bubbles and the meaning of life Charlie Bamforth
Perceptions of Beer Foam Smythe et al J Inst Brew 2002
Impact of foam on perception of a beer W X Y Z
W X United States Y Scotland Best poured X Best brewed X Best head X Most carbonated Z Least thirst-quenching Z Best overall flavor X Most drinkable X Most likely to buy X Z Best poured X Best brewed X Best head X,Y Most carbonated Z Least thirstquenching Z Best overall flavor X,Y Most drinkable X,Y Most likely to buy X,Y
Preferred sequences?
A Preference for beer appearance at various stages of consumption 1 2 3 4. B C 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
A Belgium A - 3 and 4 B - 3 and 4 C - 3 and 4 1 2 3 4 B C 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
A Finland A - 3 B - None C - None 1 2 3 4 B C 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
A Ireland A - 2 and 3 B - 3 C - 3 and 4 1 2 3 4 B C 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
A Scotland A- 2 B - none C - 2 1 2 3 4 B C 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
Male and female opinion of cling/lacing Cling appeal 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Females Mean Males 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Beer sample number Davis, CA
Consumer Test Location: Sudwerk (Sacramento) Test type: Paired Preference Two-tailed null hypothesis Total sample population: n = 101 All samples randomized Questions: Do people prefer stale/skunky to fresh? Does the beer brand (label) affect their preference?
Tasters: Who Are You? Beer A Sample Population: n = 49 Beer B 33 men 16 women Sample Population: n =52 Age 39 men 13 women Mean: 29 Median: 25 Mode: 23
Beer A: fresh v. skunky A well recognized brand of beer packaged in green glass bottles Fresh beer bought and maintained cold Skunky beer Bought cold Exposed to sunlight Re-chilled to fresh beer temperature At time of testing All beer kept cold in an ice bath Any opened beer dumped if not poured within ½ hour of opening
Beer A; both beers are labeled Taster told what brand the two beers they are tasting are One beer is fresh, the other is skunky beer quality fresh skunky responses 31 18 Preference is expressed for the fresh beer (p<0.085).
Beer A; both beers are unlabeled Taster does not know what brand of beer they are tasting One beer is fresh, the other is skunky beer quality fresh skunky responses 33 16 Preference is expressed for the fresh beer (p<0.05).
Beer A; both beers are skunky Taster knows the brand of one of the beers they are tasting, but doesn t know what the other one is Both beers are skunky branding labeled unlabeled responses 23 26 No significant preference is expressed for the samples.
Beer A; both beers are fresh Taster knows the brand of one of the beers they are tasting, but doesn t know what the other one is Both beers are fresh branding labeled unlabeled responses 25 24 No significant preference is expressed for the samples.
Beer A: Conclusions People prefer fresh to skunky beer The brand does not influence the taster s s preference
Beer B: fresh v. stale A well recognized brand of lager-style beer Fresh beer bought and maintained cold Stale beer Bought cold Cooked in a 40 o C oven for two weeks Re-chilled to fresh beer temperature At time of testing All beer kept cold in an ice bath Any opened beer dumped if not poured within ½ hour of opening
Beer B; both beers labeled Taster told what brand the two beers they are tasting are One beer is fresh, the other is stale beer quality fresh stale responses 25 27 No significant preference is expressed for the samples.
Beer B; both beers unlabeled Taster does not know what brand of beer they are tasting One beer is fresh, the other is stale beer quality fresh stale responses 29 23 No significant preference is expressed for the samples.
Beer B; both beers stale Taster knows the brand of one of the beers they are tasting, but doesn t know what the other one is Both beers are stale branding labeled unlabeled responses 18 34 Preference is expressed for the unlabeled beer (p<0.05).
Beer B; both beers fresh Taster knows the brand of one of the beers they are tasting, but doesn t know what the other one is Both beers are fresh branding labeled unlabeled responses 34 18 Preference is expressed for the labeled beer (p<0.05)
Beer B: Conclusions The brand does affect the taster s s preference When given a stale version of a product that the taster is familiar with, their expectations for the product are unmet Papery/stale character is present in many imported beers Consumer moves away from unmet expectations of branded product in favor of perceived value in unbranded product When given a fresh version of the familiar product, the taster s s expectations are met and their preference switches back toward the brand they recognize
Conclusions (continued) Beer B demonstrates the important synergy of beer quality and branding When beer quality is good, the beer brand assists the consumers preference When beer quality suffers, the influence of branding is diminished! A brewery with a strong beer brand should be mindful of quality and consistency to maintain customer satisfaction.
Perception of color
The influence of color on flavor perception: scores for lager character A. Standard lager 3.7 B. Lager + 9 units of color 5.7 (1= most lager-like; 10 most ale-like)
A real need for better education of the drinking public (Wright, Bruhn, Heymann and Bamforth 2008)
Content of Beer To me, the lighter the beer, the closer it is to water, which I think is healthier. But like a Guinness is dark because it is so full of hops. I I think a microbrew would have a lot more bacteria in it than a large commercially processed beer. I I think they put caramel in the dark beer for the coloring. I I think darker beers are less filtered. Dark beers have iron. The coloring actually comes from the burning of the hops. That is what makes beer dark.
Perception of Beer vs. Wine If I have a beer it is more of a splurge than wine. I I have never heard of anyone having a wine belly, where I have heard of people having a beer belly. You have beer chuggers and wine sippers. Wine is more of a universal drink. I I think of wine as being more refined, more socially acceptable. wine was more social while beer meant drunk. Beer just makes me feel fuller. More so than any other alcoholic beverage. I don t t drink beer because of that, I feel fuller when I drink beer.
Then we told them something about the healthfulness of beer
Perception of Beer vs. Wine I I am happy about the health benefits of beer. Maybe that would give me something else, because sometimes wine gets boring, it gives me something else to keep in mind. I I would feel less guilty about drinking beer. It would be difficult to market because you think of those twins, or the football people. And trying to get past that whole beer belly go-out out-and-get-drunk at the keggers stuff. They would have a hard time reaching people saying Oh no, we don t t do that any more. That is not us.
Which is healthiest? Male (n=161) Female (n=164) Red Wines 3.68 3.65 White Wines 3.21 2.95 "Light" Beers 3.12 2.84 Regular Beers 2.85 2.46 5 is healthiest
% believing that beer contains Age <30 >30 Alcohol Carbohydrates Sugar Preservatives Vitamins & Minerals Trans Fat Saturated Fat Artificial Flavorings Antioxidants Artificial Colorings Artificial Sweeteners 96 94 61 45 38 33 30 25 23 21 21 89 90 49 32 30 20 13 15 16 18 6
Taste Activity Location Price Weather Calories Healthy Influence Time of Day Company with me Food Pairing After feelings Alcohol Content Serving Size Carbohydrates Importance 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Near Beer
glycerol beer flavor malt extract maltodextrin corn sugar citric acid dried beer extract caramel color yucca extract iso-alpha acids hop oil carbon dioxide
A panel of 46 beer drinking consumers ranging in age from 21 to 50 years old evaluated the beer, twice. In both cases they scored their liking for the beer on a standard 9-point hedonic scale with 1= like extremely, 5=neither like nor dislike and 9=dislike extremely First: no explanation Second: The beer was manufactured
4 3 15 8 7 14 6 7 13 4 5 12 8 8 11 5 5 10 8 7 9 6 7 8 7 6 7 7 7 6 3 2 5 5 6 4 9 9 3 5 7 2 7 7 1 After providing concept Before providing concept PANELIST SAMPLE SET
Before mean = 5.9, range 2 to 9 After mean = 6.2, range 3 to 9 The two mean values were not significantly different at p<0.05. The consumers in general disliked the beer somewhat. Soulless and very low in flavor.
cwbamforth@ucdavis.edu