Supplementing hedonic and sensory consumer research on beer with cognitive and emotional measures, and additional insights via consumer segmentation

A consumer-based multivariate approach to the study of eight commercial beers (mass-produced, speciality and craft) was undertaken in New Zealand with similar to 200 people. The beers spanned a wide range of sensory characteristics, from traditional lager and ale styles to high flavour impact beers with novel flavours (e.g. liquorice and rosemary) and less common styles (weisse and gose). These flavour differences were a larger driver of consumers' hedonic/emotiona/cognitive responses than alcohol content, which ranged from 0.5 to 7.2% alcohol by volume (ABV). The supplementation of hedonic and perceptual measures with emotional and cognitive variables resulted in a more detailed differentiation of products, which was further enhanced by consumer segmentation. In the rapidly evolving beer market, there is significant value in product-focused consumer research that delivers insights beyond liking and provide a deeper level of understanding about consumers' product experiences. The research also contributed methodologically to the multivariate approach by considering pros and cons of study implementation aspects such as free-listing and ballot length. This will benefit future researchers in study planning and execution.