BrewersAssociation.org
Craft Brewers Guide to
Building a Sensory Panel
All photos credited to Allagash Brewing Company
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Introduction
Brewers know their beer intimately, because they
regularly taste the product at every stage of the
brewing process. A brewer’s evaluation of his or
her beer can be biased, however, and can be
skewed in a way that prevents objective sensory
analysis. The sensory attributes of beer require
a methodical and deliberate approach to be fully
characterized. Consistently producing beer that
is free of off avors and true-to-brand is of para-
mount importance to the success of any brewery.
The marketplace is competitive and quality has
never been more important to the overall suc-
cess of a brewery. A trained human palate is a
powerful tool and a sensory panel is an essential
process to include in a quality program. Microbi-
ological, chemical, and physical tests can help
ensure that beer meets certain specications, but
if a beer’s avor is not aligned with the brewer’s
intent and the beer drinker’s expectations, then
all other measurements are of very limited use.
Beer is one of the most widely consumed and
historically relevant beverages our civilization has
created and is therefore subject to the inuence
of our emotions, biases, and other personal pref-
erences. Sensory program managers must ac-
knowledge, understand, and account for human
biases and do everything possible to diminish
their inuence on beer evaluation.
This guidance is designed to assist breweries of
all sizes implement sensory evaluation as part of
their quality management efforts. Like the variety
of your beer offerings, your sensory methods will
continue to develop based upon growing capabili-
ties, knowledge, size and business complexity.
Sensory evaluation is often dened as: “the sci-
entic discipline used to evoke, measure, ana-
lyze and interpret responses to products that are
perceived by the senses of sight, smell, touch,
taste and hearing.” (Stone, H and Sidel, JL. 1993.
Sensory Evaluation Practices. 2nd ed. Academic
Press: San Diego.) This denition is useful for
understanding individual roles, tasting methods,
impacts of panel setting, and outcomes of em-
ploying a trained sensory panel.
The Evoker –
Sensory Scientist/Technician/Specialist
The evoker’s role is to elicit a measurable and
relevant response from panelists. It is ideal to
hire a trained sensory scientist, but it is not nec-
essary. Educate yourself, or designate someone
internally to lead the program. There are a host of
classes, books and communities out there to help
you gain knowledge, many of which are included
in the Appendix.
The Evokees – Sensory Panelists
Who should participate?
Anyone willing to put in the time to be trained and
participate on a regular basis, should be
considered for a panel. This can include
brewers, managers, accountants, and human
resources. Anyone who is committed,
regularly available and enthusiastic to learn can
lend their palates in the pursuit of quality.
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How many panelists should participate?
To obtain rigorous data which can be interpreted
with a high degree of condence, you need at
least 10 highly-trained and validated panelists to
sit on your panel. Depending on the sensory eval-
uation method, more panelists may be required.
Small breweries should get as many trained and
valid panelists as possible to participate in the
panel. Small panels can be used to nd mean-
ingful pieces of data, but be cautious of making
claims about statistical signicance. Start by
using the resources available, but never depend
upon only a single palate. The “brewmaster
panel of one” can be misleading because brew-
ers spend a lot of time in the brewery and can
become desensitized to DMS and other volatile
aromas. Brewers are also prone to bias, and may
not be objective enough when informally tasting
beer. Remember, there is no such thing as a
good panelist, only good panels!
Measuring a response
Training sensory panelists is analogous to cal-
ibrating an analytical instrument. You can have
the most enthusiastic panel, but if they are not
calibrated, they will enthusiastically lead you
astray! For this reason, training must be the foun-
dation of any sensory program. First, the panel
needs to be speaking the same language and
trained on specic attributes. This can be done by
spiking product samples with known quantities of
avor-active chemical standards and measuring
responses. Including spiked samples randomly
into the panel can help validate attribute sensitivi-
ty and alignment with standard descriptors.
Develop a lexicon of standard descriptors to
ensure everyone is speaking the same language.
Tools like the Beer Flavor Map help evaluators
hone-in on their experience, and more specically
describe the beer’s avor. Lexicon development
comes through exposure to various avors, be it
in attribute training or by evaluating competitor’s
beers alongside your brewery’s products. This
process gets your panelist talking and associating
words with their avor experience in a consistent
manner.
Standardize the lexicon by spiking attributes
into beer at known concentrations. Multiple com-
mercial spikes are available on the market rang-
ing in price and quality. You can also make your
own using the ASBC Flavor Standard Calculator.
Please note that some attribute spikes are aroma
based and should not be consumed. Be sure to
read and understand manufacturer’s instructions
and warnings! Care must be taken to ensure the
safety of all panelists. Best practice is to pur-
chase food-safe spike kits.
Train panelists regularly. Evaluating beer is not
like riding a bike! Panelists must be trained and
refreshed regularly if their palates are used as
analytical instruments. Regular exposure to
specic avors at known concentrations is
essential to maintain valid panels. Weekly
refresher training is recommended as best prac-
tice. Find a consistent time and place that is free
from distractions and make training a priority!
Exercises can be geared toward training tasters
to detect avor changes changes and identify off
avors, which gives the panel leader the ability to
recognize the potential source of variation when
running future tests.
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Training can take many forms, but the most
common and effective method is to spike
samples with pure and food-safe standards. Most
people have never been taught to master their
sensory skills, so it is important to remain patient
and persistent and run attribute trainings on a
regular basis.
Track progress and document individual
panelist’s performance. The only way to know if
a panel is valid is by tracking their progress. As
the sensory program grows, both in numbers and
acuity, you need to have the ability to measure
their improvement; otherwise, you may just be
measuring noise in your data set. For example, if
panelists cannot consistently identify diacetyl in
training but they continue identifying diacetyl in
panel sessions, you may react to a problem that
either doesn’t exist, or is attributable to an entirely
different problem.
Getting Started with Sensory Evaluation
Set a target based on brand descriptions.
The rst thing you need is a target. Each beer
has to have a specic description that denes its
avor. This description will be your guiding star
to compare all subsequent batches of the same
brand. First, generate descriptions, get alignment
to ensure the target matches the brewer’s intent,
and validate that the target is consistent by
testing multiple batches against the target.
Setting visual, aroma, taste and mouthfeel
specications will take the guess work out of
determining if a batch is consistent.
Dedicate an appropriate space to conduct
the panel.
Now that you have a trained panel, and targets
for your brands, nd a time and place where you
can consistently hold panel in a controlled room
that is free from noise, aromas and other dis-
tractions. Late morning tends to work well, after
coffee and before lunch.
Sample preparation room with access to sensory booths.
Sensory booths help reduce distraction.
Utilize the best space available to get started.
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Determine the initial focus of the
sensory program.
Start by mitigating your greatest risk – releasing
beer that is not consistent with the brand prole
and/or full of off-avors. You can do this using a
production release panel where you simply ask
the panelists: “Is this beer consistent with the
target description? Yes or no? If not, why?” Keep
it simple, elegant and powerful!
Infrastructure for starting up:
It is helpful to get organized before starting a pan-
el. Gather and organize necessary supplies and
create the type of documentation used to best
track data and have guidelines in place for action
based on results.
Glassware can inuence the evaluation of the
beer’s appearance, aroma, taste and mouthfeel,
so it should always be of standardized size, clean
and clear with no scratches or defects. Beer
evaluation glassware should be washed with hot
water and occasionally acid washed. Beware of
detergents or soaps, because they can inuence
the foam quality and other sensory attributes.
Document panel and training results using either
pen and paper or a computer. Even if you do not
brew the same beer twice, having relational data
between batches can help detect process anom-
alies or systemic issues in the brewery. Pen and
paper can be used as long as there is a mecha-
nism to track batch-to-batch variation using excel
or other sensory software packages. The ultimate
goal is to build a body of knowledge that is easily
referenced on an ongoing basis.
Develop a standard ballot for use in every
panel. Use of scales are seldom appropriate
when the question is whether or not a beer’s
avor prole is within the limits of normal process
variation. Once a avor target is locked in,
simply ask if the beer’s avor is in line with the
set target. The GABF judge form is a good place
to start as it simply asks if the beer adheres to its
set guidelines while allowing for comments.
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Beer Evaluation Technique:
The method employed to evaluate beers can in-
uence avor perception, so a standardized eval-
uation method is required to enable evaluators to
utilize their senses effectively. The following steps
provide a roadmap to successful evaluation, but
there are many variations, some of which are out-
lined in the additional resources in the Appendix.
1. Hold the taster glass: The glass used to
evaluate beer can inuence the biases and
perceptions of the sample. Make sure to choose
glassware that is consistent and easy to clean.
Glassware that is scratched or not cleaned prop-
erly will have less visual appeal and potentially
impact avor.
2. Visual: Look at the beer for inputs about the
color, clarity, head formation and retention.
3. Distance: Look through glass from a
distance for the same visual clues. Distance can
help with making distinctions in hue, tint, and clar-
ity by examining the beer from
multiple perspectives.
4. Olfaction Wake Up: Take the glass and quick-
ly pass it under your nose, inhaling as it passes.
The olfactory system makes up a tremendous
amount of the data your brain gets in avor and
aroma perception. This just “wakes up” the olfac-
tory system to know it is about to do its job.
5. 1-Second Sniff: Inhale briey through your
nose to take in the volatiles from the beer. Car-
bonation in the beer helps release volatiles out
of solution. Swirling a beer can also help release
volatile compounds. This rst smell should give
the indication of the type of beer being tasted in
terms whether it is an ale or lager, malty or hop-
py, or has added avors like chocolate, fruit, etc.
6. 2-Second Sniff: Inhale deeply with a
longer sniff, to analyze quality of aromas
present and identify any notes that are not de-
sired by the brewer.
7. Cover: You can cover the sample with some
neutral material, which helps build volatiles in
the glass. This can help capture and concentrate
certain aromas between sniffs.
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8. Taste: This step adds gustation (through
activation of the taste buds, e.g. salty, sweet,
sour, bitter, and umami) and trigeminal sensa-
tions (through activation of the trigeminal nerve
in the mouth, e.g. cold, hot, prickle, tickle) to our
olfaction perceptions to create a complete sense
of avor. Take a sip of the beer, allowing it to coat
the tongue and sit in contact with the mouth for a
moment, then swallow.
9. Retro-nasal Evaluation: For this method, sip
the sample while holding your nose, then exhale
through your nose. This technique helps isolate
sample aromas from the outside world, and en-
ables the taster to identify specic hop varieties,
esters, potential attribute defects and other nu-
ances.
10. Mouthfeel: Beer is carbonated to a
specication level and must be swallowed for
proper mouthfeel evaluation. Beer can also have
thin to full body viscosity, nish dry or sweet, or
be smooth or astringent. Take a taste while focus-
ing on the mouthfeel and nish of the beer.
Collecting Data and Analyzing Product
The appropriate method of data analysis depends
on the test objective and the type of sensory data
produced.
1. Collect only actionable data! Collecting
nonactionable data takes time and does not help
in making decisions about what beer is suitable
for sale to the public. Create an action plan for
responding to unintended attribute avors and
aromas in the beer. Advanced sensory programs
should include decision trees to standardize reac-
tions.
2. Use descriptive testing for research and de-
velopment, pilot batches and new products.
a. The brewer should set descriptive
targets that can be analyzed by panelists. Use
a standard lexicon to describe the avors and
aromas of the beer.
b. Once the descriptive targets have been set,
the panel can determine whether a batch is “true-
to-brand” based on the agreed descriptions and
specs.
3. True-to-brand analysis is the ultimate goal of
a trained panel. Once targets have been agreed
upon, descriptions of beers are formalized, and
panelists are aligned on meaning. This method is
used to track consistency between batches of the
same brand. Good test design will provide current
and trending data that helps keep beer consistent
as ingredients change, processes evolve,
or palate creep emerges.
“Palate creep” can present itself in many forms.
A beer can change over time as result of process
changes, equipment changes, raw ingredient
changes and sensory panelists can develop
either false attribute identication habits or bias
for beers, which can affect the sensory program.
Care must be taken to be proactively aware of
this potential and work continually to hone the
panel’s awareness.
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4. Shelf-life testing can help the brewery de-
termine what the sales window is for every beer.
Beer is a biological product that changes over
time. Oxidation will also change the avor of the
beer over time. This type of screening is even
more important when breweries sell beer in cans
or bottles. Wholesale partners want to know
how long they can sell the beer before signi-
cant change is noticed by customers. Breweries
should maintain an archive of individual batches,
and compare different batches to determine if
acceptable avor is maintained over the stated
shelf-life of a product.
5. Batch tracking should be done using date
codes on packaging, and documentation through-
out the process, including malt and hop lots, ves-
sel status, process aids and packaging informa-
tion. If there is a problem with a beer in the eld,
a sensory panel can help identify what happened
to that beer, when combined with process doc-
umentation. A recall plan should also be imple-
mented to ensure that a brewery can isolate and
retrieve any batches which need to be removed
from the market.
Interpreting Results
Raw data needs to be put to use, otherwise it is
useless. Numerous techniques can be used to
interpret data, but it’s important to keep it simple
to start.
1. Spreadsheets: Spreadsheets allow for data to
be captured in rows and columns. Data is entered
into cells which can provide an organized visual
look at the data. The data can then be used in
formulas to create relational changes to a data
set. Most spreadsheet programs have additional
abilities to chart data visually in easily workable
formats such as bar graphs, pivot charts, and pie
charts.
2. Spider Charts: Spider charts record multi-vari-
ate data into a two-dimensional plot of 3 or more
variables. There is a single foci in the middle and
variables record outward in a web-like line away
from the center. Connecting plots with lines cre-
ates a star shape that can be compared to other
samples recorded in this format, which is use-
ful for comparing attributes in various samples.
These charts can also be used to compare hops,
grains or other raw ingredients.
Reacting to Information
Data can be used to track long term variances
in beer consistency as well as make decisions in
the moment; however, a sensory program must
be fully integrated into the company’s quality pro-
gram to be effective.
1. Standard operating procedures are the
foundation of any quality program. Step-by-step
instructions for common procedures or tasks
allow for uniformity, safety, quality and account-
ability. Establishing SOPs for sensory panels
ensures that data is produced and collected in a
standardized form.
a. Recall Plan: Brewers need to be prepared for
voluntary or mandatory recall of packaged beer.
Date codes and other forms of traceability will
help keep consumers safe if a recall is warranted.
A written plan will also help with any FDA audit
and prepare a brewery to respond when action is
needed.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Ci tru s Aroma
F lor al A ro ma
Tropica l Fruit Aroma
Bi scuit Aro ma
Caramel Aroma
Frui ty Esters Aroma
Alco hol Aroma
Sweetness
Bitter ness
Citrus Flavor
Floral Flavor
Tro pical Fruit Flavor
Biscuit Flavor
Caramel Flavor
Car bonat ion
Alco holi c Warmt h
Example Sensory Attribute Spider Chart
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b. Decision trees are owchart-like maps that
show the various outcomes of a set of related
outcomes. In sensory programs they can chart
go/no-go decision making, recall protocol, and
other decisions that should be data driven. De-
cision trees can help prevent biased decisions
when determining whether to release a particular
product, or initiate a recall.
Total Company Buy-In
Total company buy-in is critical to the success of
any sensory program. Quality is not just done by
a team member or two - it is a philosophy that the
whole company embodies and to which all team
members can contribute. Success for sensory
panels can be hard to dene and investment
can be hard to justify, but the problems sensory
panels can help prevent need to be outlined and
advocated for regularly. Ample resources must be
provided to keep the program going.
An agreement must be made regarding the
program’s value before starting, so that there is
not pushback during time that it takes for this pro-
gram to be developed. If there are managers who
do not believe in the program, those team mem-
bers push back against the program, and some-
times actually get in the way of its implementation
and success. Panelists will be giving valuable
time to the help the sensory program manager
produce data and they need to have the support
of their managers to be able to leave their other
work to make panel times and classes. Managers
who are not supportive can make it hard for a
panelist to participate. Senior management needs
to have unied support of
the program to make sure it is budgeted for and
supported appropriately.
Once validated data is collected, there is an
opportunity for decision making around whether
a beer is true-to-brand and up to quality speci-
cations, which may affect the release of a beer.
Without senior management buy-in, decisions
may be made solely with emotional bias, the bot-
tom line, or retail and wholesale partner supply in
mind. Guidelines for the release of beer need to
be set and agreed upon at the highest levels of
the organization, if a sensory panel is going to be
successful and useful.
It is also important for sales and marketing teams
need to have an understanding of the program,
regardless of whether they participate. There may
be times when a beer is not released due to qual-
ity issues found by the sensory panel, which may
result in wholesale and retail partners not getting
orders fullled. Sensory and quality programs
must be a part of the company culture to have the
best chance of success.
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Bibliography
Brewers Association Brewing Elements Series:
Hieronymus, S. (2012) For the love of hops: the practical guide to aroma, bitterness, and the culture
of hops. Brewers Publications, Boulder, CO.
Mallett, J. (2014) Malt: a practical guide from eld to brewhouse. Brewers Publications, Boulder, CO.
Palmer, J. J., and Kaminski, C. (2013) Water: a comprehensive guide for brewers. Brewers Publica-
tions, Boulder, CO
White, C., and Zainasheff, J. (2010) Yeast: the practical guide to beer fermentation. Brewers Publica-
tions, Boulder, CO.
Sensory Evaluation Texts:
Bamforth, C. W. (2014) Flavor: practical guides for beer quality. ASBC handbook series American
Society of Brewing Chemists, St. Paul, MN.
Civille, G. V., Carr, B. T., and Meilgaard, M. (2015) Sensory Evaluation Techniques, Fifth Edition. CRC
Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Lawless, H.T. and Heymann, H., (2010) Sensory evaluation of food: principles and practices. Springer
Science & Business Media.
O’Mahony, M., (1986) Sensory evaluation of food: statistical methods and procedures (Vol. 16). CRC
Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Additional Resources:
Pellettieri, M., (2015) Quality Management: Essential Planning for Breweries. Brewers Publications,
Boulder, CO.
Bamforth, C. W. (2002) Standards of brewing: a practical approach to consistency and excellence.
Brewers Publications, Boulder, CO.
Available Coursework:
• University of California Davis, Applied Sensory and Consumer Science Certicate Program
• Siebel Institute, Sensory Panel Management course
• Beer Judge Certication Program
• Cicerone Certication Program Sensory Evaluation Standards:
• American Society of Brewing Chemists, Methods of Analysis, Sensory Methods of Analysis
• ASTM International, Sensory Evaluation Standards, Standard Guide for Sensory Evaluation of
Beverages Containing Alcohol
