This method describes how to conduct a simple descriptive test.
beer, beer-based beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water
This simple descriptive analysis provides a method for articulately communicating sensory attributes. The method can be utilized to formulate a list of attributes for the profile test. The list of attributes must then be statistically corroborated and reference samples employed to ensure that all of the testers identify the same reference substance for each of the given attributes (e.g., rancid butter, sweaty = reference substance butyric acid).
This method described how to perform sensory analysis of hop-aromatic beers.
beer
A joint project in 2005 was organized by industry partners Hopsteiner, HVG and Johann Barth & Sohn along with the Central Marketing Organization of the German Agricultural Industries (CMA) and became known as the CMA scheme. This objective of this tasting scheme is to determine hop-related factors influencing the sensory analysis of beer.
First of all, the intensity and quality of the hop aroma and flavor are evaluated in their entirety according to a ten-point scale with 0 as unpleasant and 10 as very good/very pleasant. Then, the intensities of individual characteristics are also ranked on a ten-point scale, with 0 as imperceptible and 10 as very intense. For beer with a pronounced hop aroma, the following descriptors have become established in recent decades: fruity, floral, citrus, green-grassy and hop-spicy. These are available for specific training in the evaluation of hop oil fractions. Distinctive aromas detected by tasters can be described in the space provided. In order to characterize the overall impact of the hops, the bitterness is also evaluated sensorially. Both the intensity and the quality/harmony are evaluated on a ten-point scale, with 0 rated as completely lacking balance and 10 as very harmonious.
The mean values of the intensity of the hop aroma and flavor as well as the intensity of the bitterness are given on the score sheet (i.e., the sum of the scores divided by the number of tasters). The mean value of each aroma characteristic is reproduced as a spider diagram. The individual values should be checked for outliers prior to the calculating the mean. Since quality assessments are subjective by nature, the mean values can only be of limited value. However, they can be beneficial in determining whether any distinctive aroma or flavor characteristics were judged by the majority to be pleasant or unpleasant. The same applies to assessing the quality of the bitterness.
This method describes the procedure for conducting a profile analysis of beer-based beverages.
Beer-based beverages
Analyzing the sensory profiles of the two constituents of beer-based beverages combines both with regard to their respective characteristics. A suitably thorough characterization of the beer constituent as well as the soft drink or fruit juice constituent must be performed.
The set of attributes describing beer as the constituent is typically confined to the fundamental terminology used for the sensory analysis of beer, since most beer-based beverages are not created from specialty beers. Therefore, a differentiation is made between beer-based beverages containing pilsner beer and Southern German wheat beer (weißbier). Individual cases, for example those involving the use of schwarzbier or altbier, are not discussed here.
The following set of attributes for the beer constituent has proven successful in practice and can serve as a basis for developing a product-specific common language among the tasters:
Attributes from the beer component:
A description of the soft drink or fruit juice constituent is entirely dependent on the specific flavor of the beverage and should take the characteristic fruity notes in the aroma into consideration:
Aromas similar to lemon/lime:
Aromas similar to cola:
Aromas similar to energy drinks:
Aromas similar to grapefruit:
Aromas similar to red berries:
Aromas similar to apples:
Other aroma impressions:
In addition, the visual characteristics and, of course, the basic flavors of sweet and sour should be incorporated into the list of descriptors. When using artificial sweeteners, the sweetening power should also be provided (see below).
As a rule, which component is sensorially dominant must be determined by assessing the intensity of the various components in the beer-based beverage. This means that the attributes of both the beer and soft drink constituents should be evaluated using uniform scales for assessing intensity. It is possible that an additional scale can provide information on the sensory balance of the two components, e.g., from -3 (beer constituent heavily dominates) to 0 (balanced) to +3 (soft drink constituent heavily dominates).
Mouthfeel plays a crucial role particularly with the analysis of beverages based on Southern German wheat beer and should (by means of the perception and evaluation of the carbonation) be characterized with reference to its fullness and viscosity.
This method describes how to determine the hop oil content in hops and hop products.
Hops and hop products intended for use in beer brewing or elsewhere in the food industry
The aroma compounds in hops are driven out through steam distillation and are captured in a special apparatus. The determination is carried out through reading the volume transferred into the apparatus.
This method describes how to perform sensory analysis of hop-accentuated beers.
beer
Kaltner (2000) developed a score sheet for assessing beers with a strong hop flavor, which on one hand is based on the DLG quality assessment of beer (refer to S.590.53.700 Einzelprobenprüfung zur Qualitätskontrolle von Bier - DLG-Prüfschema für Bier). The criteria aroma, flavor, fullness, liveliness and bitterness are evaluated using a five-point scale in half-point steps, where 5 denotes a pure attribute and 1 indicates major faults. On the other hand, the quality and distinction of the hop aroma and bitterness are assessed. The aroma and flavor of the hop impression are also distinguished. The evaluation is also based on a five-point scale with an intensity of 5 corresponding to the attribute “perfume-like” and 1 to “not perceptible”. Under “quality of the hop aroma” a score of 5 is considered “pleasant” and 1 “unpleasant”. Additionally, the score sheet provides space for describing the sensory impression of the appeal of a particular hop note. The intensity of the bitterness is also evaluated on a five-point scale, and in this case, 5 denotes a very strong impression, and 1 a very weak one.
The appeal of the bitterness has been plotted on a graph and is expressed using the following terms:
rapidly diminishing (low intensity)
fine, harmonious (moderate intensity and pleasantly lingering)
hard (high intensity and fleeting)
lingering (high intensity and persistently lingering)
This method describes the conditions under which sensory analysis is to be performed.
Beer, beer-based beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, mineral water
One of the fundamental prerequisites for a properly structured sensory evaluation of beverages is training members of the tasting panel.