Image-based evaluation of beers at an online Pint of Science festival using projective mapping, check-all-that-apply, and acceptability

Abstract

A total of n = 67 untrained attendants at an outreach science festival, online because of the COVID-19 pandemic but usually held at bars, used pictures of the brand logos to evaluate eight beers among the most commonly consumed in Spain. Projective mapping, acceptability and check-all-that-apply (CATA) were used, in all cases leading to a clear picture of the consumers' opinion. For projective mapping the panel provided four clear groups, the first dimension replicating the acceptability outcome and the second dimension separating the national beers from the foreign one. For CATA the panel differentiated beers on the basis of 8 of the 10 attributes considered. The best- and worst-rated beers in acceptability were associated, respectively, with positive and negative emotions from CATA, the worst-rated one being the only beer of type Pilsener and the one with the least alcohol.

Practical Applications

Not many works combined the use of projective mapping, check-all-that-apply, and acceptability. This study contributes to a better understanding of how those three techniques complement each other to shed light on the consumers' preference about commercial beers, based on images of their logos. The results obtained would be helpful for beer manufacturers in order to interpret the perception of commercial beers in a large market like Spain. Furthermore, this study shows the appropriateness of two-way feedback between research and outreach activities.