Detection of Differences in Beer Composition by Brand and Level of Caloric Content

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine whether consumers can detect differences in taste when comparing competing brands of premium beer. Three brands, each having both a regular and a reduced calorie (light) version, were contrasted in an oddity (two identical, one different) procedure (N = 144). The results showed that light beers could be reliably discriminated from regular beers but that neither the lights nor the regulars were discriminable among themselves. The amount of calorie reduction influenced the precision of detecting differences.