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Moving Beyond Variety-by-Name to Flavor Contributions in the Hops Industry: A Preference Study of Beer Drinkers in North America

 

D. Joshua Mayich (1) and A. Luke MacNeill (2). 1. Darlings Island Farm, Darlings Island, NB, Canada. 2. University of New Brunswick, Saint John, NB, Canada

 

Abstract
Despite some recent changes in how beer recipes are developed, for the most part they are communicated and executed utilizing ingredients by name. This has a profound impact on agricultural practice and specifically on how hops are grown and produced. This study is aimed at beginning the process to independently study consumer beer flavor preferences and learning how those drive consumer behavior. This is done as a means of beginning to give hop growers knowledge to inform agricultural decisions. Four hundred self-identified beer drinkers (209 males and 191 females) from the United States and Canada reported the pleasantness and the likelihood of purchasing various craft beer flavors. Flavors were rated using a seven-point rating scale. Gender differences in participant ratings were assessed with independent samples t tests. Relationships between age and participant ratings were assessed with Spearman correlations, as were relationships between income and participant ratings. Across the sample, the flavors with the highest ratings were citrus, apple, and berry. Males provided the highest ratings for citrus, cereal, and nutty flavors, whereas females provided the highest ratings for citrus, apple, stone fruit, and berry flavors. Compared with males, females reported higher ratings for apple, pear, stone fruit, and berry flavors, as well as lower ratings for cereal flavor. Age was related to participant ratings for several flavors, but income was not. Flavor considerations have a profound impact on beer consumer purchasing behavior. For the craft brewing industry, understanding the role that this plays and planning brewing activities with flavor constituents as a critical consideration likely deserves the utmost attention. With respect to the hops industry, the importance of understanding the role that flavor plays in beer purchasing behavior and ensuring brewers have access to the needed flavors (on either a variety-based or blend-based program) likely cannot be overstated.

Keywords: hops, flavor, preference, purchasing behavior