Food and Nutrition Sciences, 2016, 7, 454-465 Published Online May 2016 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/fns http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/fns.2016.76047 How to cite this paper: Medoro, C., Cianciabella, M., Camilli, F., Magli, M., Gatti, E. and Predieri, S. (2016) Sensory Profile of Italian Craft Beers, Beer Taster Expert versus Sensory Methods: A Comparative Study. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 7, 454- 465. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/fns.2016.76047 Sensory Profile of Italian Craft Beers, Beer Taster Expert versus Sensory Methods: A Comparative Study Chiara Medoro * , Marta Cianciabella, Francesca Camilli, Massimiliano Magli, Edoardo Gatti, Stefano Predieri INSTITUT OF BIOMETEOROLOGY-BIOAGRIFOOD DEPARTMENT, CNR, Bologna, Italy Received 28 April 2016; accepted 27 May 2016; published 30 May 2016 Copyright © 2016 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract In recent years, the interest on craft beer has been increasingly growing. In this work, sensory traits of five Italian artisanal beers were explored by a trained panel, through different sensory analysis methods: Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) and a sensory dynamic method, Tem- poral Dominance of Sensations (TDS). The sensory profiles obtained through these methods were compared to the description given by an expert beer taster. The trained panel (n = 12) evaluated five Tuscan beers, manufactured in Maremma area, Tuscany region, first through QDA. Twenty- eight sensory properties (visual, tactile, flavor and aromatic traits) were evaluated through a nine point scale. The descriptive profile was enriched by a dynamic sensory evaluation method, TDS. TDS was used by panelists to obtain a “real-time” flavor profile of the craft beers. During tasting, TDS provided information on the most striking flavor traits chosen among: floral, honey, roasted, chestnut, spicy, fruity, hoppy, and malty, of each beer. A PCA analysis showed the importance of the flavor attributes for beer profile compared to the expert taster description. Results highlighted the main traits of each beer and showed the validity of different profile methods. The interesting out- comes both provided useful profile patterns for brewers aiming at targeting specific segments of beer market and supported the development of interesting instruments for beer sensory analysis. Keywords Sensory Analysis, TDS, Craft Beers 1. Introduction Beer is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the world [1], its production in Italy accounts for 13.5 * Corresponding author.