Understanding the relationship between carbonation-related characteristics and sensory perception of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers

Abstract

The mouthfeel of non-alcoholic beers is often considered inferior to that of their alcoholic counterparts. Mouthfeel is influenced, inter alia, by carbonation-related properties such as the bubble size, sting and the amount of bubbles. This study investigated differences in the carbonation-related properties of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers and whether such differences are sensorially perceivable. Four non-alcoholic commercial beers and their alcoholic counterparts were analysed for their CO₂ content on the one hand and the size and amount of bubbles formed on a nucleation line in a beer glass on the other hand. A sensory evaluation involving 20 assessors was conducted to link these carbonation-related properties to perceived mouthfeel attributes. Results show that significantly fewer bubbles formed in a glass filled with non-alcoholic than with alcoholic beer. Sensory evaluation indicated that this parameter served as a good predictor of how consumers perceived the amount of bubbles in their mouths. The bubble sizes of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beers were rather similar and no difference in bubble size between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers could be perceived sensorially. Furthermore, no differences were observed in CO₂ content between the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers and a similar sting was perceived. These findings suggest that increasing bubble formation in non-alcoholic beers could help bridge the quality gap between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers regarding mouthfeel.