A COMPARISON OF BITTER PERCEPTION IN HIGH-ALCOHOL, LOW-ALCOHOL AND ALCOHOL-FREE BEER

A trained sensory panel (N=17) evaluated three commercial beer product s by flavour profiling using 14 descriptors. Bitterness was investigat ed further by HPLC and sensory measurements. Time-intensity curves for five repeated ingestions of each beer showed bitterness either increa sing with ingestion or decreasing, depending on the beer and panellist . Generally speaking. a decline in bitterness over time was perceived more often when the beer was one of those considered initially to be m ore bitter. For the purposes of comparison, a fourth product (AMplus) was prepared by adding iso-alpha-acids to Amstel Malt, the alcohol-fre e beer evaluated. Consumer tests (N=138) showed no difference in prefe rence between Amstel Malt and AMplus. Hypotheses regarding bitterness preference as a function of gender. age or regularity of beer consumpt ion could not be supported.