Influence of different alcohol levels on beer sensory dynamics and salivary proteomic response
Recently, the role of alcohol in mouthfeel sensations has been broadly investigated, with its
effects being partly mediated by interactions with phenolic compounds and salivary proteins,
affecting protein precipitation and oral texture perception. This work aimed at establishing
correlations between temporal sensory analysis of beers with different alcoholic levels and
salivary proteomics.
Initially, 65 untrained participants evaluated the beers using a Temporal Check-All-That-Apply
(TCATA) ballot containing taste and texture attributes. Subsequently, over 3 days of repeated
exposure, the participants rated their overall liking (on a classic 9-point hedonic scale),
provided open comments, and collected a saliva sample after each tasting, which was later
analysed using proteomics techniques.
There were no significant effects of repeated exposure on liking, yet across samples, beers
with intermediate alcoholic levels had significantly lower liking than control or non-alcoholic
products. TCATA profiles showed few differences among samples in terms of attribute
intensity, although the control beer stands out for having more citations of
“typical”/“refreshing” taste. Open comments provided insight on sample-attribute
correlations, with non-alcoholic beers being described as more “cereal”-tasting, and beers
with higher alcohol levels had a “good amount of gas” and were more “quality-like”. Based on
liking scores, three consumer clusters were obtained.
Total salivary protein concentration (assessed by BCA) and corresponding salivary profiles
(SDS-PAGE), salivary flow rates, and total phenolic content (assessed by Folin-Ciocalteu) were
monitored to characterise oral biochemical responses. Across participants, these measures
showed variability and differences between the samples and the control.
All in all, these results suggest different behavioural patterns in sensory perception across
beers with varying alcohol content, while salivary measurements indicate potential variations
in oral biochemical responses. Multivariate statistical analysis is ongoing to better
understand the relationships between these factors and to exploit correlations.
Publish date 2026-08-21
Author(s) R. C. Lima; R. Isaías; C. Guerreiro; A. Boticas; C. Rocha; B. Barbosa; J. C. Ribeiro; J. Marques; L. Baião; I. Silva; M. Jesus; L. Gonçalves; E. Brandão; V. Freitas; S. Soares; J. Costa; L. M. Cunha
