Quality ratings by experts, and relation with descriptive analysis ratings: a case study with beer

Abstract

The sensory properties (up to 36 attributes) and quality of 71 commercial beers in six categories (domestic/ice, imported, light, near beers, specialty lagers and specialty ales) were evaluated in quintuplicate by a panel of 17 brewing experts over 4 months, using a descriptive analysis method and quality ratings on a 0–15 category scale. A high-quality beer was defined jointly by the panel and the experimenters as free of defects, true to type and well balanced, with some degree of complexity. A highly-significant judge by beer interaction was found in the ANOVAs of the quality ratings for the six beer categories, indicative of differences among experts in the interpretation of the concept of quality. Interestingly, attributes indicative of defects (e.g. dimethyl sulfide, sulfury, skunky/lightstruck, oxidized/cardboard) were better (negative) predictors of quality than desirable beer attributes (e.g. fruity, boiled hop aroma, malty, bitterness). This suggests lack of defects is the most important component of beer sensory quality (for experts).