Alus dzērienu sensorais novērtējums Sensory Evaluation of Beer Drinks

In brewing, the raw materials that give the beer its specific colour, taste, and aroma are hop, barley malt, yeast, and water. However, these traditional raw materials can be partially or completely replaced with other products. A possibility of replacing hops with parts of plants (oak bark or acorn, yarrow, and wormwood) rich in bitter substances was researched. During the wort boiling process, hops were replaced with 0.2 g L^-1 of oak bark, or acorn, or yarrow, or wormwood. As a result, the four beer drinks produced were analysed for the degree of liking and the intensity of sensory properties (turbidity, aroma, malt aroma, brown colour, and astringency) according to ISO 4121:2003. All beer drinks were designated by uppercase letters: A – beer drink with yarrow; B – with oak bark; C – with oak acorn; and D – with wormwood. A total of 25 assessors (18 women and 8 men), with the average age of 35 years, participated in the sensory evaluation of beer drinks. No significant differences in the degree of liking (p>0.05) were established among beer drinks with yarrow, with oak bark or acorn. The added hop substitutes had a significant effect (p< 0.05) on the intensity of turbidity, malt aroma, bitterness, and astringency of the four beer drinks. According to the assessors’ evaluation, the wormwood beer drink had an overly strong, bitter taste. Therefore, a conclusion was drawn that the concentration of wormwood should be reduced in the wort during its boiling process.