foods Article Evaluating the Chemical Components and Flavor Characteristics Responsible for Triggering the Perception of “Beer Flavor” in Non-Alcoholic Beer Scott Lafontaine 1,* , Kay Senn 2, Laura Knoke 3, Christian Schubert 3 , Johanna Dennenlöhr 3, Jörg Maxminer 3, Annegret Cantu 1, Nils Rettberg 3 and Hildegarde Heymann 1 1 Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California Davis, 595 Hilgard Lane, Davis, CA 95616, USA;
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[email protected] (H.H.) 2 Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California Davis, 392 Old Davis Rd, Davis, CA 95616, USA;
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[email protected] Received: 24 November 2020; Accepted: 17 December 2020; Published: 21 December 2020 Abstract: Forty-two commercial non-alcoholic beer (NAB) brands were analyzed using sensory and chemical techniques to understand which analytes and/or flavors were most responsible for invoking the perception of “beer flavor” (for Northern Californian consumers). The aroma and taste profiles of the commercial NABs, a commercial soda, and a carbonated seltzer water (n = 44) were characterized using replicated descriptive and CATA analyses performed by a trained sensory panel (i.e., 11 panelists). A number of non-volatile and volatile techniques were then used to chemically deconstruct the products. Consumer analysis (i.e., 129 Northern Californian consumers) was also used to evaluate a selection of these NABs (i.e., 12) and how similar they thought the aroma, taste and mouthfeels of these products were to beer, soda, and water.