Assessing the influence of colour and glass type on beer expectations

We evaluated how beer colour and glass type interact when it comes to forming beer expectations. Following previous research, we predicted that, given that colour is a dominant feature in food and beverage expectations, it would modulate the effects of glass type on beer expectations. One hundred and ninety-five participants from the United Kingdom took part in the experiment, which followed a 6 x 7 within-participants experimental design, with factors glass type (Pilsner, Pint, Tulip, Chalice, Weissbier, and Mug) and colour (yellow, blue, brown, orange, black, red, and green). Our results revealed that whilst colour influenced the expectations-based sensory-discriminative, hedonic, and willingness to pay (WTP) ratings, glass type influenced all variables but intensity and WTP. Importantly, all the variables for which glass type had a main effect were followed by a significant interaction. The results indicate that, the extent to which an extrinsic beer element, namely glass, influences expectations, depends on the associations that people have with colour, an intrinsic beer property closely related to beer type. We discuss the implications of our results for the design of beer expectations.