Music Affects How Beer Tastes, Study Says

According to an abstract, the study — which was led by Dr. Felipe Carvalho of Vrije Universiteit Brussel — comprised of three experiments "in which participants tasted a beer twice, and rated the experience, each time under the influence of a different sound stimulus. The participants were not informed that they were, in fact, tasting the same beer." Volunteers at the Music Instruments Museum in Brussels tasted three different beers in a range of styles from pale ale to dark, with alcohol content that varied from 4.5 to 8 percent ABV. "'The results demonstrate that soundtracks that had been specially developed to evoke a specific taste can effectively be used in order to influence the participants' beer tasting experience," they concluded.