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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
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Contents:
  Mouthfeel=body=viscosity? (Fred L Johnson)


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Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 08:06:10 -0400
From: Fred L Johnson <FLJohnson52 at nc.rr.com>
Subject: Mouthfeel=body=viscosity?

I am constantly frustrated in trying to translate people's perception  
and description of tastes, aromas, and tactile impressions of beer  
(and other foods for that matter) into something that is objectively  
measurabIe. I grant you that we probably cannot easily "calibrate" of  
our senses to a set of standards, so there is some limitation to  
being able to describe the taste, smell, and feel of a beer in  
objective terms. Nevertheless, we've managed to come up with a  
bittering measurement (International Bittering Units) that have  
served us pretty well, and I would like to see other parameters of  
our brews be described in objective, measurable terms as we do with  
gravity and bittering levels.

In that regard, I have a couple of simple questions:

Is what is often described as "mouthfeel" in a beer the same as  
"body" in a beer? And are these no more than the simple tactile sense  
of viscosity? If so, one could actually measure/quantify "mouthfeel"  
or "body" of a beer with a viscometer. At any rate, I'll bet body,  
mouthfeel, and viscosity are highly correlated.

And continuing in that vein, I would guess that the majority of the  
viscosity of a beer is due to residual sugars and the relative  
amounts of water and alcohol in the beer. And for that reason, there  
should be a relatively simple, direct relationship between the  
specific gravity plus % alcohol content of a beer and its viscosity  
(i.e., mouthfeel and body).

Comments? Flames? All are welcomed and encouraged!

Fred L Johnson
Apex, North Carolina, USA



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