Scientists use artificial intelligence to make beer tastier

The Catholic University of Leuven, headed by Professor Kevin Verstepen, is conducting a study that uses artificial intelligence to make beer more delicious. This was reported by The Guardian with reference to Nature magazine.

Verstrepen says that artificial intelligence can help to understand the complex relationships associated with human perception of scent.

“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,” said the professor.

Verstrepen and a team of researchers analyzed the chemical composition of 250 commercial Belgian beers of 22 different styles, including lagers, fruit beers, pale beers, West Flanders ales, and non-alcoholic beers.

They examined alcohol content, pH, sugar concentration, and the presence and concentration of more than 200 other different compounds. This testing was carried out by a panel of 16 participants who evaluated 250 beers with 50 different characteristics, such as hop flavor, sweetness, or acidity. In total, this process took three years.

Verstrepen said that small changes in chemical concentrations can have a big impact. He noted that some substances that are usually perceived negatively can have a positive impact if present in lower concentrations and combined with other flavor compounds.

Using the data collected, the researchers created an AI model that predicts how beer will taste and evaluates it based on its composition. These results were later used to improve commercial beer by adding ingredients that the AI deemed appropriate and important to enhance the flavor.

The tasting showed that artificial intelligence was able to improve the taste and scores of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers. Verstepen noted that the greatest benefit of such an AI model could be in improving the taste of non-alcoholic beer.

The professor also noted that people should not worry that their favorite beer will change because of artificial intelligence. He said that AI can only predict chemical compounds that can optimize beer, but everything else still depends on the skill, recipes, and brewing methods.