How Foam Appearance Influences the Italian Consumer's Beer Perception and Preference

Abstract

The current study presents the results of a survey performed to investigate whether different patterns of foam and lacing affect consumer beer preference and the perception of beer characteristics. The impact of three different levels of foam (huge, medium and little) at pouring, and two lacing patterns (very laced to not laced) during consumption, was evaluated on a set of 26 attributes by a panel of Italian beer consumers. Overall, beers which delivered a medium level of foam at pouring were considered by Italian consumers as the best dispensed, the most liked for their visual appearance, the most attractive to consume and the most likely to be purchased. Cluster analysis determined four groups of consumers with different preference patterns for beer foam and expectations for sensory characteristics of the beer. It was found that 80% of consumers preferred a medium level of foam and no lacing, whereas 20% of consumers preferred a high level of foam and lacing. Furthermore, for nearly 40% of consumers, foam and lacing patterns generated expectations regarding beer sweetness, bitterness, fruitiness, perceived level of alcohol, effervescence and the thirst quenching character of the beer.

Bubbles, Foam Formation, Stability and Consumer Perception of Carbonated Drinks: A Review of Current, New and Emerging Technologies for Rapid Assessment and Control

“…Donadini et al [107] assessed different sensory descriptors, such as carbonation, body, and alcohol, among others, using a hedonic scale with consumers from three different countries: Italy, Poland, and Spain. Other authors have assessed beer acceptability based on the visual assessment of foam using images of three different beers: (i) flat, (ii) medium foam and (iii) high foam, using different techniques, such as the path analysis method of eliminating preferred stimuli [108], preference test with ties and "none" option [109] and using a 7-point Likert scale [110]. In general, these studies concluded that consumers prefer beers with moderate or medium level of foam.…”

The visual appearance of beer: A review concerning visually-determined expectations and their consequences for perception

“…Using Bamforth's (2000) stimuli, Donadini et al (2011) assessed the influence of different levels of head (i.e., high, medium, and low) and lacing (present vs. absent) on Italian beer consumers' expectations relating to beer attributes and preferences ( Figure 9 contains images similar to those used by Donadini et al, 2011). Participants were shown different sequences of photographs (i.e., full, half-full, empty) and asked to rate each beer on 26 attributes (e.g., bitterness, ability to quench one's thirst) using a 7-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).…”

“…As such, corrections for multiple comparisons should be customary. As an example of this issue, Donadini et al (2011) found that the amount of foam consistently influenced people's expectations regarding the attributes of beer. However, given that these authors assessed significance at the .05 level, and given that more than 26 ANOVAs were conducted, it is difficult to determine if the statistically significant differences reported are meaningful.…”

“…To summarise, there are several consistent findings in relation to the effects of foam and lacing on people's expectations of beer. Two studies (Donadini et al, 2011;Smythe et al, 2002) converge on the position that a moderate level of foam is more appealing, relative to low and/or high levels of foam, for Italians, North Americans, and Scots. That said, Scots rated the beer with moderately low levels of foam and lacing as the best in overall appearance (Smythe et al, 2002).…”

The Effect of Soundwaves on Foamability Properties and Sensory of Beers with a Machine Learning Modeling Approach

“…The amount and stability of foam and bubbles are essential in carbonated beverages such as beer since they comprise the most important factors that consumers consider when assessing the quality of beer. According to previous studies, consumers have a preference for beers with a medium level of foam height and consider the low foam as non-desirable with the lowest liking, lowest perceived quality scores, and highest penalty scores [17][18][19][20][21]. Therefore, it is important to explore methods such as sonication during its production process to increase foam in beer.…”