Alcohol Perception and Consumption

A special issue of Beverages (ISSN 2306-5710).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2015) | Viewed by 56016

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, PO1 2DY, UK
Interests: human olfaction and taste; eating behavior; alcohol perception; addiction; multisensory perception

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Alcohol is one of the most widely consumed drugs in the world and in many countries is deeply ingrained in the respective culture and tradition. One of the challenges of alcohol research is to bring together researchers from different areas to provide a more complete picture of our current knowledge. This Special Issue aims to increase our collective understanding of alcohol and would be particularly interested in the following topics:

-          Factors that influence the effects or perceived effects of alcohol (e.g., environment, social aspects, certain foods)

-          Sensory aspects of the properties of alcohol (including taste, smell, perceived strength)

-          Recovery from alcohol addiction (connection to sensory aspects)

-          Cultural differences in alcohol and alcohol related behaviour (could use quantitative/qualitative methodology)

-          Influences on alcohol consumption—experimental work that examines how consumption can be influenced (e.g., packaging, price, availability).

Researchers are welcome to contact the guest editor to check the suitability for submission topics.

Dr. Lorenzo Stafford
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Beverages is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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670 KiB  
Article
Exploring Retro-Nasal Aroma’s Influence on Mouthfeel Perception of Chardonnay Wines
by Anthony Sereni, James Osborne and Elizabeth Tomasino
Beverages 2016, 2(1), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages2010007 - 18 Mar 2016
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6460
Abstract
There are many interactions that occur between taste and aroma that may impact perception. The main objective of this study was to ascertain whether the aroma fraction of wine should be considered when investigating relationships between chemical composition and sensory perception of mouthfeel. [...] Read more.
There are many interactions that occur between taste and aroma that may impact perception. The main objective of this study was to ascertain whether the aroma fraction of wine should be considered when investigating relationships between chemical composition and sensory perception of mouthfeel. Chardonnay wines with different mouthfeels were produced by altering the fermentation temperature (15 °C and 21 °C) of the alcoholic and malolactic fermentations (MLF) as well as the timing of MLF and the presence of a non-Saccharomyces yeast during alcoholic fermentation. Napping® and Ultra-flash-profiling were conducted using a panel of white winemakers. Each procedure was conducted twice: once with retro-nasal aroma (+R) and once without retronasal aroma (−R). Napping® results showed that retronasal aroma impacted mouthfeel perception. Ultra-flash profiling of +R and −R displayed similar descriptive terms used. Several terms appear to be related to retronasal aroma as they were used in +R and not in −R. It is unclear if these terms are due to interactions or due to associated learning. These results suggest that for some mouthfeel terms the volatile fraction plays a role and, to establish relationships between chemical composition and mouthfeel perception, it is important to consider both the volatile and nonvolatile wine fractions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alcohol Perception and Consumption)
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1455 KiB  
Article
Perception and Description of Premium Beers by Panels with Different Degrees of Product Expertise
by Davide Giacalone, Letícia Machado Ribeiro and Michael Bom Frøst
Beverages 2016, 2(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages2010005 - 26 Feb 2016
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7472
Abstract
The present study compares subjects with varying degrees of product expertise with regards to their ability to provide a sensory profile of beverages. Eight premium beers were evaluated by three different panels using a Napping® test, followed by a descriptive task. Two [...] Read more.
The present study compares subjects with varying degrees of product expertise with regards to their ability to provide a sensory profile of beverages. Eight premium beers were evaluated by three different panels using a Napping® test, followed by a descriptive task. Two panels were constituted of consumers, classified according to their self-assessed product expertise into “Novices” (N = 14) and “Enthusiasts” (N = 26). The sensory panel at a large brewery, and a group of master brewers constituted the third panel (“Experts”, N = 15). The Napping® data from the three panels were digitalized using a coordinate system, whereas attributes were entered separately and treated as frequency table crossing products and attributes. The position data were analyzed by Hierarchical Multiple Factor Analysis (HMFA). Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) was used to test differences between the three panels with regards to the use of attributes. The HMFA results showed a separation of the samples into two distinct groups on the first dimension, whereas the second dimension highlighted the specificity of two of the samples. RV coefficients between partial configurations obtained from the three panels were all above 0.90, indicating high configurational similarity. In contrast, PLS-DA showed significant differences in the use of attributes, particularly between Experts and Novices, suggesting that product expertise is more associated with descriptive, rather than perceptual, ability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alcohol Perception and Consumption)
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866 KiB  
Article
An Exploratory Qualitative Exploration of the Personal Values Underpinning Taiwanese and Malaysians’ Wine Consumption Behaviors
by Miranda Mirosa and Sharon Tang
Beverages 2016, 2(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages2010002 - 18 Jan 2016
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 8202
Abstract
Augmented buying power of East Asian consumers has resulted in increased interest in these markets. Wine is a particularly promising sector to target as the number of East Asians choosing to drink wine rises. In order to serve these markets, companies must understand [...] Read more.
Augmented buying power of East Asian consumers has resulted in increased interest in these markets. Wine is a particularly promising sector to target as the number of East Asians choosing to drink wine rises. In order to serve these markets, companies must understand factors influencing consumers’ choices. The objective of this research was to understand how Taiwanese and Malaysian consumers’ personal values influenced their consumption decisions about wine. The means–end chain framework and associated semi-structured interview technique, value laddering, was used to elicit consumers’ preferred product attributes, the consequences of these attributes and the values that underpin these consequences. Data collection involved intercepting foreign travelers from Malaysia and Taiwan in New Zealand (20 Taiwanese and 20 Malaysian) to partake in a wine choice interview. The resulting findings are exploratory in nature. Analysis revealed the most preferred wine attributes for Taiwanese were “Price” and “Sensory Aspects”—that these attributes were linked to consequences “Financial Considerations” and “Satisfy Senses”—which in turn were linked to personal values “Self Direction” and “Achievement”. For the Malaysian participants, the attribute “Sensory Aspects” of wine was most important, as was the value “Hedonism”. This study adds to literature related to beverage consumption decision making by exploring cultural aspects. It also offers suggestions for practitioners interested in targeting these consumers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alcohol Perception and Consumption)
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474 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Influence of the Multisensory Atmosphere on the Taste of Vodka
by Qian (Janice) Wang and Charles Spence
Beverages 2015, 1(3), 204-217; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages1030204 - 15 Sep 2015
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6961
Abstract
A preliminary study designed to assess the impact of the multisensory atmosphere (involving variations in lighting and music) on people’s rating of unflavoured and flavoured (citron and raspberry) vodkas is reported. The auditory and visual attributes of the environment were changed as people [...] Read more.
A preliminary study designed to assess the impact of the multisensory atmosphere (involving variations in lighting and music) on people’s rating of unflavoured and flavoured (citron and raspberry) vodkas is reported. The auditory and visual attributes of the environment were changed as people tasted, and then rated, four unlabelled glasses of vodka (two unflavoured samples, one sample of citron-flavoured and one sample of raspberry-flavoured vodka). Due to the public nature of the event, all participants experienced the same order of auditory and visual changes at the same time. For flavoured vodkas, we saw significant correlations between atmosphere-vodka matching and both liking and fruitiness, and this was reinforced by results showing that those participants who tasted the vodkas in congruent atmospheric conditions (raspberry vodka in red lighting and sweet music, citron vodka in green lighting and sour music) gave significantly higher ratings of liking and fruitiness than did those participants who tasted the vodkas in atmospheric conditions that were incongruent. Specifically, the participants liked the raspberry-flavoured vodka significantly more, and rated it as tasting significantly fruitier, under red lighting while listening to sweet music as compared to under green lighting and listening to sour music. Meanwhile, the unflavoured vodka was liked less under green lighting while listening to the putatively sour music than under white lighting and no music. These results demonstrate how the multisensory attributes of the environment impact on people’s experience of both unflavoured and flavoured vodkas, even when they are not given any information about what they are tasting. Some of the real-world implications for bars (i.e., the “on trade”), experiential events, and other beverage businesses are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alcohol Perception and Consumption)
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Review

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738 KiB  
Review
From Sugar of Grape to Alcohol of Wine: Sensorial Impact of Alcohol in Wine
by António M. Jordão, Alice Vilela and Fernanda Cosme
Beverages 2015, 1(4), 292-310; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages1040292 - 02 Nov 2015
Cited by 52 | Viewed by 26162
Abstract
The quality of grapes, as well as wine quality, flavor, stability, and sensorial characteristics depends on the content and composition of several different groups of compounds from grapes. One of these groups of compounds are sugars and consequently the alcohol content quantified in [...] Read more.
The quality of grapes, as well as wine quality, flavor, stability, and sensorial characteristics depends on the content and composition of several different groups of compounds from grapes. One of these groups of compounds are sugars and consequently the alcohol content quantified in wines after alcoholic fermentation. During grape berry ripening, sucrose transported from the leaves is accumulated in the berry vacuoles as glucose and fructose. The wine alcohol content continues to be a challenge in oenology, as it is also the study of the role of chemosensory factors in alcohol intake and consumer preferences. Several technical and scientific advances have occurred in recent years, such as identification of receptors and other important molecules involved in the transduction mechanisms of flavor. In addition, consumers know that wines with high alcohol content can causes a gustatory disequilibrium affecting wine sensory perceptions leading to unbalanced wines. Hence, the object of this review is to enhance the knowledge on wine grape sugar composition, the alcohol perception on a sensorial level, as well as several technological practices that can be applied to reduce the wine alcohol content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alcohol Perception and Consumption)
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