Researchers develop AI that predicts taste and quality of beer

Belgian scientists have developed artificial intelligence that can predict the taste and quality of beer, the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) announced on Tuesday. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Comparing the taste of beers has been a major challenge for years. A judgement is often based on one person's opinion, which makes it inherently subjective. A team of researchers from the VIB-KU Leuven Centre for Microbiology and the Leuven Institute for Beer Research set out to make this process more objective.

The team spent five years chemically analysing beers and mapping the concentrations of hundreds of flavour compounds. The researchers then used AI to link the chemical reports to the flavour scores. A model was able to predict a beer's final score before it had actually been tasted by humans and identify its key aromas.

Revolutionary study

The results were then used to further improve the flavour of an existing commercial Belgian beer. The flavours identified by the AI model as improving quality were added to the beer. The modified beer also scored significantly better in blind taste tests.

The study could be extended to other food products and potentially revolutionise the way new foods are made, says researcher Kevin Verstrepen.

"Our biggest goal now is to make better non-alcoholic beer. Using our model, we have already been able to create a cocktail of natural flavour compounds that mimic the taste and smell of alcohol without the risk of a hangover."

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