Lesson 7 - Sensory Analysis SAQ
This lesson enables you to test yourself on the material covered in the Sensory Analysis lesson, and determine the level to which you have met the learning outcomes.
Suggested Response - Q1
*Which sensory test(s) would you use for the following purposes? Please justify your selection.
Response:
a) Establishing a flavour match for an existing brand brewed at a new production site
The tests suited to this purpose are flavour profiling and trueness to type. Trueness to type can be used where there is an established flavour profile for the brand and the assessors have a good working knowledge of the beer. It is a quicker test than flavour profiling. Flavour profiling will give you information regarding where any plant-to-plant differences lie which can assist in further work on flavour matching. PCA would be a good statistical tool to employ to compare the data from the flavour profiling.
b) Gauging consumer preference for prototype beers from new product development
The best tests for this purpose are paired comparison and ranking tests. The paired comparison is also called the hall test because it is often used in large halls for consumer research. The question asked to the consumer would be ‘Do you prefer sample A over sample B?’. Paired comparison could be carried out on the prototype against a range of beers of the same style which are successful in the marketplace. In the ranking test the consumer would be asked to rank the sample of interest against the same range of beers used in the paired comparison. They would be asked to place the beers in order of preference.
c) Checking batch-to-batch consistency of a brewery’s main brand
A few of the difference tests would be suited to this task. For smaller breweries, Two out of Five would be the best option as only ten assessors are required. Where the beer is strong in flavour the Triangle test would be advisable as it has a lower scope for sensory fatigue than Two out of Five or A – not-A.