Single vs. sequential sensory evaluations of full portions of regular and non-alcoholic beers at home

Most descriptive or hedonic tests with consumers collect their responses after consumption of a small portion of the product. However, eating and drinking experiences are rather variable during consumption of the full portion. The first objective of this study was to determine if 3-step evaluations with full consumption of a product can bring additional information compared to a single evaluation. As a case study, the second objective was to identify potentially important sensory aspects that could help consumers of regular beers better accept beer alternative products. Japanese beer consumers were recruited to taste four beers, whose alcohol by volume was 5%, 0.5%, 0.5%, 0%, respectively. The consumers were separated into two panels. Both panels evaluated the beers based on wanting and satisfaction paired with Just-About-Right (JAR) scales for sensory attributes with their smartphones at home. One of the panels evaluated the questions for the beer, only once after finishing the full portion, retrospectively. The other panel evaluated the same questions three times, at the first-sip, after half of the portion, and after the full portion. Comparison of the results between the two panels showed consistent findings overall for product rankings of satisfaction, wanting, and JAR results, indicating no methodological bias (as compared to the single evaluation approach) caused by the repeated questions in the 3-step approach. Interestingly, wanting significantly dropped while drinking beers, especially for reduced alcohol beers, although satisfaction remained unchanged. Furthermore, a significant step-effect was observed for aftertaste and bitterness, indicating that these perceptions were changing over time.