andreic
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 12/7/05
- Messages
- 302
- Reaction score
- 0
Hey crew - a little off topic, but from reading all the notes being put up there is one very interesting common theme....
There are 2 big factors driving the outcome of tasting beer:
1. The expectation of the drinker of the beer, and
2. The beer itself!
It seems as if when people have an image/idea of what a beer will be like (i.e. stout or ale or wit), then if the beer is different then the outcome is that the beer is not what they expected, and thus they see what is 'wrong' (different) with it a bit more easily.
I suppose this provides a good hint to all those brewers out there from a marketing point of view, whether to friends or to potential buyers: Tell the punter what to expect!
Next time I have buddies over for beers I will try this theory on them - I might even brew a weird beer (maybe with chilli, or heavy smoke or something) and test whether people like it or dislike it based on their expectations... Other thoughts/comments?!
PS I will get back on topic tonight and post up another beer tasting!
Cheers,
Chris
Hi,
that's probably a fair assessment... but I think its human nature to be influenced by what's on the label.
I think if you put the "style" you intended on the label, you should probably expect reviews to be comparing the beer against the style. This is of course a bit harder when as a taster you haven't had beers of the style before (there's been a few new ones for me so far). If you put the full recipe on the label, then this may also influence the reviews - e.g. tasters trying extra hard to taste particular malts, hops, etc.
You also have struck on a good hint for future swaps - label the beer how you might want it reviewed... e.g. "beer" if you want no pre-judgment at all, list the style if you want feedback against a style, and full recipe and brewing technique if you want more detailed reviews against style, recipe, possible technique faults.
Anyway, I'm a very inexperienced brewer and taster in comparison to many on this forum and also in this swap. But you only get better with practice so I'm going to keep drinking my way through this case over the coming weeks :chug:
Andrei