A new study finds that just the taste of beer alone -- even without any intoxicating effect from the alcohol -- can be enough to trigger alcohol cravings.
April 19, 2013
The dopamine effect was stronger for men who had a family history of alcoholism.
In other research, scientists explored the effects of noise on the perception of alcoholic beverages’ sweetness. The admittedly small control group (80 participants) at the University of Portsmouth had to rate the alcohol strength, sweetness and bitterness of a selection of drinks while they were exposed to different distractions, such as music, hearing and repeating a news story, both music and news, and silence.
Recent years saw a boom in the craft beer segment of the alcoholic beverage category; even in the midst of an overall down beer market in 2010 (sales dipped 1% vs. 2009), sales of craft beers grew a solid 11% by volume and 12% in dollars.