Modeling the Multiple Hoppy Sensory Dimensions in Beers With Conventional and Alternative Data Strategies

ABSTRACT Beer lexicon is diverse due to the use of different raw materials during the brewing process leading to many beer styles and categories. However, beers are often simply described with the term “hoppy,” which seems a vague and generic sensory descriptor. The focus of the current manuscript is to reach a better understanding on what sensory features are associated with this perceived beer “hoppy‐ness” using the sensory description of 1893 Swedish beers. The use of wordvenn diagram confirmed that the term “hop,” together with other 14 sensory attributes, were exclusive to British‐American ales, and highly linked to attributes like “pineapple,” “grapefruit,” “passion fruit,” and “mango” as shown with multiple correspondence analysis. The use of network maps highlighted the strong co‐citation between certain attributes. Additionally, other sensory attributes used present in multiple beer styles were shown to be important contributors to understanding the perceived beer “hoppy‐ness.”