Rare Beer Actually Does Taste Better?

[CrushedVol]

This was prompted but the deleted BA thread.

for some reason my google skills are failing me, having a hard time finding the actual study. But below are the basics.
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2008/january16/wine-011608.html

The original study was using the data for marketing purposes. How to predict, change, and shape a consumers experience of a product. However what i took out of it in the world of beer tasting, is that rare beer actually does taste better, by the very nature of being rare.

The researchers recruited 11 male Caltech graduate students who said they liked and occasionally drank red wine. The subjects were told that they would be trying five different Cabernet Sauvignons, identified by price, to study the effect of sampling time on flavor. In fact, only three wines were used—two were given twice. The first wine was identified by its real bottle price of $5 and by a fake $45 price tag. The second wine was marked with its actual $90 price and by a fictitious $10 tag. The third wine, which was used to distract the participants, was marked with its correct $35 price.

There are plenty of issues with the study itself.
Only 11 people - All Grad Students- All male - Not experienced tasters etc. but it should't affect the discussion.

The participants said they could taste five different wines, even though there were only three, and added that the wines identified as more expensive tasted better.

This part isn't unexpected, but people general assume participant bias. That they are lying because that's the answer they think they are supposed to give, because expensive wine should taste better.

But these tasters were having MRI scans of their brains while tasting.

The researchers found that an increase in the perceived price of a wine did lead to increased activity in the mOFC [Orbital Frontal Cortex?] because of an associated increase in taste expectation.

It's doesn't seem to be expressly stated in this article, but what i remember about the study is the scientists used the activity of the brain as a subjective value of how good the wine tasted. And the brain scan from the same bottle of wine with a higher price showed more activity.

Now I know little about the human brain, (and even less about he female human brain) and may be extrapolating to much from the study, but it seems to suggest the participants actually enjoyed the more expensive bottles more even though it was the exact same liquid.

It would appear that when we expect something will be better our brain is pre-stimulated and then we in reality enjoy it more.

 

[StarRaptor1]

****, with the way Firestone has been lowering the price of their Proprietor's Reserve Series (Parabola, Double DBA and Sucaba) I soon won't be able to drink them

 

[CrushedVol]

****, with the way Firestone has been lowering the price of their Proprietor's Reserve Series (Parabola, Double DBA and Sucaba) I soon won't be able to drink them

but Three Floyds is tasting better than ever

 

[stupac2]

There are lots of studies about stuff like this. Playing classical music makes people buy more expensive bottles, dying white wine red makes wine critics (professionals!) use words like "tannic" that don't apply to whites but do to reds, and there are a bunch about more expensive bottles tasting better.

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. People seem to think that their senses are absolute, that nothing changes them, but it's completely ****ing obvious that the world seems better when you're in a good mood. Senses aren't absolute, you're not a robot taking in data from sensors and compiling it emotionlessly. It's okay! It doesn't matter! Have fun, put yourself in a good mood, and drink some good beer.

It's similarly obvious that something you had to hunt down will taste better. Again, why does it matter? It's interesting, in the sense that the fallibility of our senses is interesting in general, but I don't really get why some people care so much about it.

 

[MarkIntihar]

There are lots of studies about stuff like this. Playing classical music makes people buy more expensive bottles, dying white wine red makes wine critics (professionals!) use words like "tannic" that don't apply to whites but do to reds, and there are a bunch about more expensive bottles tasting better.

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. People seem to think that their senses are absolute, that nothing changes them, but it's completely ****ing obvious that the world seems better when you're in a good mood. Senses aren't absolute, you're not a robot taking in data from sensors and compiling it emotionlessly. It's okay! It doesn't matter! Have fun, put yourself in a good mood, and drink some good beer.

It's similarly obvious that something you had to hunt down will taste better. Again, why does it matter? It's interesting, in the sense that the fallibility of our senses is interesting in general, but I don't really get why some people care so much about it.

 

[harrymel1]

****, with the way Firestone has been lowering the price of their Proprietor's Reserve Series (Parabola, Double DBA and Sucaba) I soon won't be able to drink them

You and I are having the opposite financial experience.

 

[CrushedVol]

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is.

In the context of the study, they care because if you can anticipate and or manipulate a consumers behavior you can make billions of dollars.

Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. People seem to think that their senses are absolute, that nothing changes them, but it's completely ****ing obvious that the world seems better when you're in a good mood. .

You would think its obvious, it seems obvious to me as well. But based on my discussions about beer with people, they never say i was in a great mood when i drank that last bottle, and then drank it again after my dog died and it just didn't taste as good. However they do talk about cellar conditions, bottle variation, whether the beer was poured correctly etc etc, when these all likely have less affect on flavor perception than, mood/expectations

It's interesting, in the sense that the fallibility of our senses is interesting in general

This is exactly why i find it interesting

Again, why does it matter?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ at worst to satisfy intellectual curiosity. At best the benefits of understanding how we perceive and understand things are endless

It's okay! It doesn't matter! Have fun, put yourself in a good mood, and drink some good beer.

I actually find discussions like this fun , which puts me in a good mood. Now i just need a beer.

 

[harrymel1]

Have fun, put yourself in a good mood, and drink some good beer.

Whenever I'm slurping a beer, and find it minimally enjoyable, I just start wanking and about three minutes later the beer is amazing.

 

[mikecharley]

Whenever I'm slurping a beer, and find it minimally enjoyable, I just start wanking and about three minutes later the beer is amazing.

This. ^

 

[holldy01]

Whenever I'm slurping a beer, and find it minimally enjoyable, I just start wanking and about three minutes later the beer is amazing.

I prefer to just jerk it to my cellar. Why drink the beers when I can crank one out to the bottles I've collected?

 

[czar_chasm]

Whenever I'm slurping a beer, and find it minimally enjoyable, I just start wanking and about three minutes later the beer is amazing.

Me too. No wonder no one invites me to tastings anymore

 

[sacrelicio]

I prefer to just jerk it to my cellar. Why drink the beers when I can crank one out to the bottles I've collected?

The glint of light off that glass gets my crank arm movin

 

[holldy01]

The glint of light off that glass gets my crank arm movin

You let light into your cellar? That's going to ruin the liquid inside! How can you jerk it knowing you're ruining the liquid you'll never drink?!

 

[reverseapachemaster1]

When I slake my thirst with rareness I like to text people about it and savor their jealousy which definitely maximizes my enjoyment.