Good Beer Not Just a Matter of Taste

LiveScience.com reports something that we beer judges^* have known all along:

Good beer is not something you should think about. Knowing what's in a beer, or who made it, can taint your taste buds, a new study finds.

[...]

The tasters were divided into three groups. One tasted the samples “blind,” with no knowledge of the secret ingredient. A second group found out about the vinegar before tasting the MIT brew. The third group learned of the additive immediately after tasting the special brew, but before indicating a preference between the two beers.



The blind group preferred the MIT brew over the regular beer significantly more than either of the informed groups. Apparently, vinegar can improve a beer’s taste, the scientists said.

Read the entire article here.

^*BJCP National #C0481