There are countless kinds and brands of beer in the world, and everyone has their favorite. But what if the perfect lager is possible?
Thanks to artificial intelligence, some Belgian scientists believe they have a formula to predict exactly how a beer will taste and have the ability to tweak its flavor to perfection, Knewz.com has learned.
For the study, the scientists from KU Leuven and the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology in Belgium examined the chemical makeup of 250 commercial Belgian beers of 22 different styles.
In particular, the researchers studied the alcohol content, pH, sugar concentration and presence and concentration of more than 200 different compounds involved in flavor.
“Beer – like most food products – contains hundreds of different aroma molecules that get picked up by our tongue and nose, and our brain then integrates these into one picture. However, the compounds interact with each other, so how we perceive one depends also on the concentrations of the others,” Professor Kevin Verstrepen said, according to The Guardian.
Their goal was to create a model that can predict how different chemicals affect a beer’s taste and consumer appeal.
“I wanted to have a more neutral and scientific description for the different beers in the world,”Verstrepen said, according to Study Finds.
With the data in place, the researchers trained machine learning models to create a system that can predict aromas and scores among consumers.
“The flavor of beer is a complex mix of aroma compounds,” said Michiel Schreurs, one of the study’s authors. “It is impossible to predict how good a beer is by just measuring one or a few compounds. We really need the power of computers.”
Equipped with the AI-generated information, the researchers fine-tuned recipes to its recommendations. Then, taste tests were done that confirmed that the modified brews were significantly better than the original.
“It was a truly Herculean effort,” recalls Dr. Miguel Roncoroni, who led the chemical analyses and tasting panel. “We began the project with less than 100 beers, and quickly realized this would not be enough to capture Belgium’s incredible beer diversity, so we ended up analyzing 250 beers.”
The team isn’t stopping there, however.
“Our biggest goal now is to make better alcohol-free beer,” Verstrepen said. “Using our model, we have already succeeded in creating a cocktail of natural aroma compounds that mimic the taste and smell of alcohol without the risk of a hangover.”
Despite the encouraging results, there is no need for beer brewers to worry, according to Verstrepen.
“The AI models predict the chemical changes that could optimize a beer, but it is still up to brewers to make that happen starting from the recipe and brewing methods,” he said.
Together, brewers and AI could produce beer that is irresistible, the researchers say.
“We did celebrate the paper with the alcohol-containing variants!” Michiel Schreurs, one of the study’s authors, quipped.
The study was published in Nature Communications.
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Author: David Wetzel
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