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5

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0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90 90-100

% o

f scr

eene

d ca

ndid

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% performance score achieved in screening (based on 21 flavour assessments)

ConsiderPreferred

Reject

Data represents 210 selected candidate assessors from seven brewing companies

194WORLD BREWING CONGRESS 2008 WBC 2008

August 2 – 6, 2008Hawaii Convention Center

Honolulu, Hawaii, USADEVELOPMENT AND PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF COMPETENCY-BASED STANDARDS FOR

PROFESSIONAL BEER TASTERS(Bill Simpson, Ronald Nixdorf, Boris Gadzov, Javier Gomez-Lopez, and Evelyne Canterranne, FlavorActiV Limited, Chinnor, UK)

Introduction Defining taster competence

Competency-based skills development provides an effective way of training professional beer tasters. Selection and screening of assessors before training substantially improves training outcomes. Nevertheless there is no room for complacency. More than half the professional tasters currently being deployed by breweries have substantial opportunities available to them for skills improvement.

Developing the chosen few

Conclusions

Evaluating taster performance

Choosing the right people

Different needs – different tastersA typical modern brewery evaluates about 10,000 discrete beer samples every year. The methods used for these tests range from simple to complex. Consequently the skills of the tasters needed to perform such tests range from novice to expert.

Given the range of test difficulty, it follows that selection, screening and training of tasters should be test-specific. The major requirements for breweries lie in the area of acceptance / warehouse release tasting and in-process tasting. Descriptive panels are the domain of larger sites, head office, and outsourced activities.

Without a clear idea of the job that tasters have to do and the skills and behaviours needed, the chances of success are limited. A competence guide can be a helpful tool in defining skills needs.

It all starts with selection.A good selection process (i) Eliminates those whose health may be put at risk by tasting; (ii) Eliminates those who lack the necessary time or interest and (iii) Communicates to candidates the potential benefits of participation. We use standardized questionnaires delivered over the web . Acceptance rates average 80%.

Specific outcome Assessment criteria Assessment toolsConsistently rate commercial beer acceptability using a defined scale

Statistical evaluation of data derived from routine taste sessions (including both regular and ‘spiked’ samples)

Basic statistical methods

Correctly identify specific non-conformances in beer flavour

Statistical evaluation of data derived from routine taste sessions (including both regular and ‘spiked’ samples)

Basic statistical methods

Taste six samples in 20 minutes

Time to complete test Visual observation or computer-based monitoring

Conform to good sensory practices in and out of the taste room

Shows interest in and enthusiasm for the activities of the taste panel; shows sensitivity to the risk of bias in other assessors; recognizes the risks involved in professional beer tasting and takes all reasonable steps to minimize them

On the job evaluation, peer review, one to one reviews

Table 1. Competence guide for acceptance / warehouse release taster

Response to training is a good measure of aptitude. A three-part screening method allows us to identify those with the greatest aptitude for tasting. With few exceptions only selected candidates are screened. The proportion of assessors in each screening category is shown in Figure 2. Acceptance rates average 50%.

Figure 1. Categories of tasters deployed in commercial breweries

Selection Screening Basic TrainingIntermediate

TrainingAdvancedTraining

ExpertTraining

SpecificIntermediate

Specific Screening

Basic Training

Specific Basic Training

Specific Screening

SpecificAdvanced

Specific Basic Training

Modules

Taint netTaster

BreweryDescriptive

Taster

Trials TasterIn-process Taster

Acceptance / Warehouse

Taster

Shelf lifeTaster

Global /Regional

TasterRecruit

We employ a modular approach to training seven types of professional beer taster. Training is organized into a taster ‘career path’.

Figure 3. A modular taster ‘career path’.

To facilitate rapid skills development, maintain a high level of involvement and interest, and address skills fade we employ more than 30 types of training session. These include: Recognition tests, Brand Matching tests, Flavour Matching tests, Stop-Go tests, True-False tests, Ranking tests, Rating tests, Rank-Rating tests, Quality Rating tests, Short-Form Descriptive Profiling, Detailed Descriptive Profiling and Warehouse Release / Acceptance tests.

Type of taster Training time required

In-process 5 - 7 hours per process area

Acceptance / warehouse release 35 hours

Shelf-life 35 hours

Taint net 21 hours

Trials 35 – 70 hours, depending on tests

Descriptive profiling 70 – 110 hours, depending on number of attributes

Table 2. Training times for different types of professional beer tasterFigure 2. Distribution of scores from screening of

210 candidate assessors

We have been involved in operating proficiency testing schemes for professional beer tasters for more than a decade. Our Taster Validation Schemes assess the ability of tasters to identify individual flavour compounds in beer at low concentration. The principle of the assessment is shown in Figure 4.

Historically, beer tasters developed their skills over many years, building up experience in day to day brewery tasting . At times in the past, an erroneous link has been implied between taster status - job title or number of years’ service – and tasting ability. In our experience this is rarely a reliable indicator of taster performance so we have developed and deployed a competence-based approach to professional beer tasting.

Success rates for this type of approach are high. Typically 98% of selected, screened trainees reach the required standard of 80%. The deployment and retention rate for trained tasters approaches 100%.

Figure 4. Principle of assessment of flavour recognition performance.

To date we have collected more than 18 million data points using this system. This data represents assessment of close to 200,000 beer samples per year by almost 5,000 assessors in more than 100 countries.

Taster performance, in terms of recognition success, is graded on a percentage scale. The performance of assessors participating in one of our schemes in the last 12 months is summarized in Figure 5.

1 5

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3

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6

7

Each taster in the scheme performed a blind assessment on

36 samples during the year

Figure 5. Performance of tasters in one of our taster validation schemes over a 12 month period.

Objective evaluation of flavour is one of the most critical quality assurance tests carried out on final-pack and in-process beer. The reliability of such tests depends on the competence and number of assessors used to evaluate each sample. As with all skills, aptitude and performance varies and must be managed proactively.