Glass shape influences the flavour of beer
- Authors: Mirabito, Adrian , Oliphant, Markus , Van Doorn, George , Watson, Shaun , Spence, Charles
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Food Quality and Preference Vol. 62, no. (2017), p. 257-261
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- Description: It is often said that our perception of wine varies as a function of the receptacle in which it is presented. Indeed, glassware has been the subject of extensive study in this category. By contrast, the impact of glassware on the perception of beer has been largely ignored in the field of sensory science research. The current study was specifically designed to investigate the influence of the shape (specifically side curvature) of the glass on people’s perception of beer. Fifty-three Australian participants rated (on 10-point Likert scales) a beer presented in one of two glasses. The beer was perceived as being fruitier and more intense when served in a curved-sided glass. Given previous research showing that people match fruitiness with curvature (rather than straightness/angularity), these results fit within the existing literature on crossmodal correspondences between shape and taste properties.
Happy hour? A preliminary study of the effect of induced joviality and sadness on beer perception
- Authors: Desira, Beth , Watson, Shaun , Van Doorn, George , Timora, Justin , Spence, Charles
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Beverages Vol. 6, no. 2 (2020), p. 1-14
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- Description: Our emotions influence our perception. In order to determine whether emotion influences the perception of beer, 32 participants watched either a scene from the movie Wall-E to induce joviality, or a short clip from the Shawshank Redemption to induce sadness. The participants were then required to sample up to 250 mL of Yenda Pale Ale beer and rate it on a variety of taste and flavor characteristics (e.g., bitterness), before completing the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-X (PANAS-X). The data were analyzed using Bayesian t-tests and Null Hypothesis Significance Tests (NHSTs). After applying conservative corrections for multiple comparisons, NHSTs failed to reach statistical significance. However, the effect sizes suggested that inducing joviality, relative to inducing sadness, resulted in the beer being rated as (a) tasting more pleasant, (b) tasting sweeter, and (c) being of higher quality. Following the induction of joviality, participants were also willing to pay more for the beer. The Bayesian analyses indicated that induced emotion can influence flavor perception for complex taste stimuli. The effect sizes and Bayesian analyses are interpreted in terms of Feelings-as-Information theory. These preliminary findings can tentatively be applied to real-world environments such as venues that serve and/or market alcohol. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
- Description: Funding: This research was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), grant number AH/L007053/1 awarded to C.S.
The visual appearance of beer : A review concerning visually-determined expectations and their consequences for perception
- Authors: Van Doorn, George , Timora, Justin , Watson, Shaun , Moore, Chris , Spence, Charles
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Food Research International Vol. 126, no. (2019), p.
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- Description: This review critically evaluates the literature concerning the impact of visual appearance cues (including colour, foam, and cloudiness) on people's perception in the beer category. The authors assess both the sensory expectations that are elicited by the visual appearance of beer, and the extent to which those expectations carry-over to influence the actual tasting experience. Beer is a particularly intriguing category to study since the differing production rules in different countries mean that there is not always the same scope to modify the colour in order to meet perceived consumer demands. What is more, there is currently disagreement in the literature concerning the impact of beer colour and foam on people's expectations of beer prior to tasting, and their multisensory flavour perception on tasting. Given how much beer is consumed annually, it is surprising that more research has not been published that assesses the undoubtedly important role of visual appearance in this beverage category. Part of the reason for this may simply be that it is difficult to create consistent experimental stimuli given the rapid transition of the head of the beer post-serving. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
The influence of training and expertise on the multisensory perception of beer : a review
- Authors: Van Doorn, George , Watson, Shaun , Timora, Justin , Spence, Charles
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Food Quality and Preference Vol. 79, no. (Jan 2020), p. 8
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- Description: This review critically evaluates the literature documenting the impact of training on people's percept ion of beer. In certain circumstances, training has been shown to improve people's ability to match and identify beers, and to discriminate between beers and between the distinctive attributes of beer. However, a reasonably consistent finding is that the benefits of beer training do not seem to generalise to novel beers (i.e., those not experienced during training). As such, training would appear to improve the capacity to label perception and/or people's recognition memory for beers, rather than necessarily influencing perception itself. Given how much beer is consumed annually, it is surprising that there has not been more published research into the role that training plays in this particular beverage category. Part of the reason for this may relate to (a) the limited role of experts in this field (e.g., primarily restricted to product testing and quality control; as compared to their much more prominent role in the world of wine), (b) the fact that training is an expensive and time-consuming process, and (c) it is wrongly assumed that the effects of training are similar across different beverage categories (e.g., beer and wine). We suggest that further efforts are therefore required before it will be possible to confidently conclude that training lowers the perceptual thresholds, and enhances the perceptual discrimination abilities, of beer experts above those of novices.