Food Research Institute

Kostadinova Jankovski, D. – Doneva-Shapcheska, D.
Young adult perception of botanical beers: Hedonic response to hops, chamomile, sage and nettle infused beers
Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 65, 2026, No. 2, s. 126-132

Despina Kostadinova Jankovski, Organic Technology, Faculty for Technology and Metallurgy, University of Ss. „Cyril and Methodius“ in Skopje, Ruđer Bošković 16, 1000 Skopje, North Macedonia. E-mail: despina@tmf.ukim.edu.mk

Original article
Received 6 February 2026; 1st revised 27 March 2026; accepted 9 April 2026; published online 17 April 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64122/AGQM8724

Summary: Herbs are increasingly explored in brewing as alternatives or complements to hops, offering new flavour profiles that may appeal to young consumers. This study evaluated the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of four beers (hops, chamomile, sage, nettle) among young adults (21–25 years). Beers were assessed using a nine-point hedonic scale and a check-all-that-apply (CATA) questionnaire, with multivariate analysis of the resulting data. Significant differences emerged across appearance, taste, mouthfeel and overall liking, with nettle and hops receiving the highest scores, chamomile showing moderate acceptance and sage the lowest. CATA and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that better-liked beers were associated with sweet, citrus, honey like and clean attributes, whereas bitterness, earthy and mouldy notes characterised less accepted samples. Drivers of liking confirmed these attributes as positive or negative contributors to acceptance, and gender analyses showed that women tended to prefer sweet-aromatic profiles while men displayed greater tolerance for bitter characteristics. These findings identify key sensory directions for designing botanical beers that are better accepted by young adult consumers.

Keywords: botanical beer; sensory evaluation; check all that apply; gender differences

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