Effects of “craft” vs. “traditional” labels to beer consumers with different flavor preferences: A comprehensive multi-response approach

The Value of Craft Beer Styles: Evidence from the Italian Market

This study aims to estimate the market value, or implicit prices, associated with the main craft beer attributes (e.g., beer style, organic, gluten-free, and package-related features) and support producers in detecting the more profitable marketing strategies. For this purpose, we conducted an empirical analysis employing sales data of craft beers from the Italian online market, and we estimated a hedonic price model via ordinary least squares. Results show that the type of package and cup only has moderate effects on price. Furthermore, a moderate premium price is found for gluten-free craft beers, while craft beers with organic labels and Italian origin do not benefit from the higher price. Instead, the beer style adopted strongly affected the product price: the highest premium prices were detected for Barleywine (+49.9%) and Italian Grape Ale (+39.6%) beer styles. Furthermore, relevant premium prices, higher than +25%, were estimated for other beer styles such as Sour, Fruit Beer, and Stout. Results suggest that artisanal breweries can effectively differentiate their product according to the beer style. To the best of our knowledge, the current study offers the first empirical evidence on how beer styles as well as other product characteristics affect the market price of craft beer by using secondary data.

Commercial craft beers produced in Uruguay: Volatile profile and physicochemical composition

Even beer being the most consumed alcoholic beverage around the world, there is not enough information generated for craft beers produced in Latin America, for either volatile profiles or physicochemical studies. In this work, the chemical and volatile components of ten commercial Blond Ale and nine Indian Pale Ale (IPA) beers from the Uruguayan market were studied using GC-MS. Principal component analysis applied to the data allowed differentiation among the two groups of samples while the volatile compounds and physicochemical parameters responsible for these differences were identified. The physicochemical properties revealed a great diversity between all beer samples even within the same beer style. The main significant differences were obtained for alcohol, polyphenols, bitterness, colour, and pH. Most Blond Ale beer samples were differentiated from IPA ones by raw fermentation aroma compounds such as 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, hexanoic and isobutyric acids, 4-vinyl guaiacol, and 5,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone. This is the first work that contributes to the knowledge of Uruguayan craft beers. The study also showed the ability of most of the Uruguayan microbreweries to brew Blond Ale and IPA craft beer styles that meet international standards for physicochemical quality.

Consumer Studies: Beyond Acceptability—A Case Study with Beer

Beer is one of the most consumed alcoholic beverages in the world; its consumption and preference are evolving from traditional industrial beers of low complexity to novel craft beers with diverse flavour profiles. In such a competitive industry and considering the complexity of consumer behaviour, improvement and innovation become necessary. Consequently, consumer science, which is responsible for identifying the motivation behind customer preferences through their attitudes, perception and behaviour, has implemented strategies ranging from simple hedonic measurements to several innovative and emerging methodologies for a deeper understanding of the variables that affect the product experience: sensory, affective and cognitive. In this context, we offer a review inspired by previous research that explores some of the quantitative and qualitative methods used in consumer studies related to beer consumption, ranging from traditional approaches (acceptability, purchase intention, preference, etc.) to techniques that go beyond acceptability and allow a different understanding of aspects of consumer perception and behaviour (segmentation, expectations, emotions, representation, etc.). Also, innovative applications (contexts, immersive technologies and virtual reality, implicit measures, etc.) and current trends related to consumer science (Internet, social media, pairing, product experience, etc.) are addressed.

Label-based expectations affect incentive contrast effects in bumblebees

While classic models of animal decision-making assume that individuals assess the absolute value of options, decades of research have shown that rewards are often evaluated relative to recent experience, creating incentive contrast effects. Contrast effects are often assumed to be purely sensory, yet consumer and experimental psychology tell us that label-based expectations can affect value perception in humans and rodents. However, this has rarely been tested in non-model systems. Bumblebees forage on a variety of flowers that vary in their signals and rewards and show contrast when rewards are lowered. We manipulated bees' expectations of stimulus quality, before downshifting the reward to induce incentive contrast. We found that contrast effects were not solely driven by experience with a better reward, but also influenced by experience with associated stimuli. While bees' initial response did not differ between treatments, individuals were faster to accept the lower-quality reward when it was paired with a novel stimulus. We explored the boundaries of these label-based expectations by testing bees along a stimulus gradient and found that expectations generalized to similar stimuli. Such reference-dependent evaluations may play an important role in bees' foraging choices, with the potential to impact floral evolution and plant community dynamics.

Barriers to consumption of plant-based beverages: A comparison of product users and non-users on emotional, conceptual, situational, conative and psychographic variables

Production and consumption practices that reduce the environmental burden of eating and drinking and promote global sustainability are of paramount interest. Against this background, we present a quantitative study of US adults' perceptions of selected non-alcoholic beverages including pairs of regular and plant-based alternatives (iced coffee/iced coffee with almond milk, fruit smoothie/fruit smoothie with soy milk and cow's milk/oat milk). Particular focus was directed to comparing product perceptions of consumers who never consumed these plant-based alternatives with those who did (n = 249 and n = 274), as a means for contextualising the barriers that hinder uptake among non-users. The data were collected via an online survey with a multi-response empirical strategy where the beverages were characterised using a large set of emotional, conceptual, situational, and attitudinal/behavioural variables. Fitting expectations, negative associations were dominant in the group of consumers who never consumed the plant-based beverage variants. However, these associations were product dependent and decreased in the order: oat milk, fruit smoothie with soy milk and iced coffee with almond milk. This pointed to a likely interplay of sensory properties, situational appropriateness and household routines. Food neophobia negatively influenced perceptions of less familiar products, including but not limited to plant-based beverages. While the research was limited to a small number of beverages and plant-based alternatives, it identified the important role that in-depth and product-specific investigations have in helping to uncover and overcome barriers to sustainable eating and drinking solutions.

The attitude of Czech university students to beer consumption from microbreweries

The questionnaire survey was focused on the relation of university students of generation Z in the Czech Republic to beer from microbreweries. The survey involved 1,103 respondents from among Czech university students. 1,004 respondents complied with the survey conditions (they had to belong to university students and consume beer). Although 98% of beer consumed in the Czech Republic is from industrial breweries, it has turned out that the proportion of students who consume beer from industrial breweries and microbreweries is almost the same. As for beer from microbreweries, students prefer classic beers of the Pilsen type. So far, these do not circulate in beer tourism in larger quantities. The respondents agree that beer tourism will compete successfully with wine tourism. For beer tourism to develop successfully, microbreweries must also offer catering, accommodation, and other services; beer baths are in high demand at present. The economic benefits of microbreweries are in several areas – they integrate into tourist destinations, use local raw materials for beer and food preparation, create new jobs, enhance abandoned breweries and contribute to the development of rural areas.

Craft beer: An overview

The purpose of the work was to provide an overview on craft beer. Details and issues concerning history and legal definition market, fiscal policy, innovation, safety, healthiness, consumer profile, and sustainability are supplied. The term "craft brewery" generally refers to a brewery able to produce low volumes of beer, often made with traditional ingredients-for emulating historic styles-but also with the addition of nontraditional ingredients as a distinctiveness sign of the master brewer. In many countries, the importance of the company size is related to the opportunity to take advantage of reduced excise rates for low production volumes. In several countries, another important requisite of a craft brewery is represented by its independence from other alcohol industry members. Even in the presence of a great heterogeneity of the size of craft breweries in the various countries, their number in the world is around 17,000. Craft beer is mainly consumed in restaurants and bars. Innovation of craft beer concerns aspects, such as ingredients, alcohol content, aging, and packaging, and the profile of the typical craft beer drinker is that of a young man, with a higher education and a medium-high income. Craft beers are often not filtered/not pasteurized and, for these reasons, they are beverages rich in health compounds but with a reduced shelf life. As in the case of larger breweries, the environmental impact of craft breweries is mainly represented by water consumption and production of liquid and solid wastes.