Sensory Session
Hiroko Kanauchi, Miyagi University, Taihaku-ku Sendai Miyagi Japan
Co-author(s): Makoto Kanauchi, Yoshie Abe, and Akira Morita, Miyagi
University, Sendai, Japan; Charles Bamforth, University of California
Davis, Davis, CA, USA
ABSTRACT: The consumption of beer has decreased since 1994
in Japan for several reasons. One is that low malt beer is less
expensive than conventionally consumed beer. Furthermore, alcoholic
beverages other than beer are consumed by Japanese people in their 20s,
who apparently dislike the bitter beer taste. A questionnaire and
sensory evaluation of a model product were conducted with 83 panelists.
Panelists in each group were asked to discriminate a bitter taste either
of a bitter solution in caffeine or deionized water. The model beers
were prepared using a non-alcohol beer-like beverage with added hop oil
and lactic acid. The evaluation was conducted using a five-point rating
scale method. Results show that the panelists could be grouped in six
groups according to their like or dislike of beer, beer drinking
frequency, etc. According to the sensory evaluation, the group liking
beer tended not to discriminate bitter taste in solution, but the group
disliking beer tended to discriminate the taste in the solution. Bitter
taste is an important factor for the evaluation in the group drinking
more than 350 mL of beer per week. However, in the group drinking less
than 350 mL of beer per week, sweet taste is an important factor.
Panelists who frequently drink beer were insensitive to bitterness, but
bitter taste was the most important factor for beer taste. Furthermore,
the panelists infrequently drinking beer were sensitive to bitterness,
and sweet taste was an important factor for them.
Hiroko
Kamiya-Kanauchi graduated from Chuo University in 1995 (bachelor of law)
and from the Tokyo University of Agriculture in 1998 (bachelor of
brewing science). She received an M.A. degree from the Tokyo University
of Agriculture in 1998. Her master’s thesis examined alcoholic beverage
taste, especially bitter phenols in wine. Subsequently, she was employed
at Ito-Yokado, a supermarket chain store in Japan (2000–2005) as a
buyer and distributor. She merchandised alcoholic beverages for about
180 stores. Since 2008, she has been at the Department of Food
Management, Miyagi University, studying career development.
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