Beer lovers fall into two flavour camps - which one are you in?

"When taste-testing a new beer, researchers tend to rely on trained panelists who can pick out citrus or floral notes in the same way a sommelier can with wine. Devin Peterson, a food scientist at the Ohio State University in Columbus, wanted to go beyond the professionals, to learn what the average beer enthusiast is drawn to, for a better "understanding of what's driving consumer behaviour", he told Nature."

"The tasters split into two factions on the basis of their beer rankings, the team found. For the group that preferred stronger flavours, brands such as Samuel Adams and Brooklyn were at the top of the list, and Budweiser was near the bottom. Those who enjoyed a mellower-tasting beer placed the same brands in nearly opposite spots. The two groups are "polar opposites in how they're responding to the product", Peterson said during the presentation."

About 135 self‑proclaimed beer enthusiasts tasted 18 lagers across three sessions and rated attributes such as sweetness and aroma intensity. Competing beers were matched for alcohol percentage and had similar bitterness levels. Mass spectrometry was used to identify each beer’s predominant flavour chemicals. Participant rankings separated into two distinct groups: one group consistently preferred beers with stronger flavour chemicals, while the other group preferred mellower flavour profiles. Brand preferences diverged accordingly, with brands like Samuel Adams and Brooklyn favored by the strong‑flavour group and Budweiser favored by the mellow group. The two consumer groups showed nearly opposite responses to the same products.

Read at Nature