Sensory Evaluation & Beer Styles Flashcards

What is the primary purpose of a trained sensory panel in a professional brewery?

Answer: To detect off-flavors and ensure consistent product quality before release

Sensory panels use trained tasters to identify flavor defects and verify that beer matches its target profile before it reaches consumers.

Which off-flavor compound, produced by bacterial contamination or poor yeast health, smells like butter or butterscotch in beer?

Answer: Diacetyl

Diacetyl is a vicinal diketone produced during fermentation that, at elevated levels, imparts an undesirable buttery flavor and aroma.

The BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) style guidelines are primarily used in the US to:

Answer: Define and judge beer styles in amateur and professional competitions

BJCP guidelines provide detailed descriptions of beer style parameters—color, aroma, flavor, bitterness, strength—used by judges at homebrew and professional competitions.

In sensory science, what does 'threshold' refer to when discussing flavor compounds in beer?

Answer: The minimum concentration at which a taster can detect a substance

Flavor threshold is the lowest concentration of a compound that a trained taster can reliably detect, which varies by compound and by individual.

Which evaluation method presents tasters with two identical samples and one different sample, asking them to identify the odd one out?

Answer: Triangle test

The triangle test is a discrimination method where three samples (two alike, one different) are evaluated to determine if a perceivable difference exists.

What does IBU stand for, and what does it measure in beer?

Answer: International Bitterness Units — the concentration of iso-alpha acids contributing bitterness

IBU measures milligrams of iso-alpha acids per liter of beer, providing a standardized scale for perceived bitterness.