Blue Ribbon challenge! (NGC)

[moto]

In the spirit of wine connoisseur professionals who can't tell Californian from French wine, or red wine from white wine, and in the spirit of my own uncle who can't tell dark beer from light beer -- all in blind taste tests -- I offer the Blue Ribbon Challenge!

The Peroni beer we commonly find here in the US is called Nastro Azzurro, or "blue ribbon." Pabst also makes a Blue Ribbon beer. Both are of similar antiquity, with Peroni in business since 1846, and Pabst originally founded in 1844 (putting aside its recent history of being brewed by other companies).




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My Blue Ribbon Challenge asks you to see whether you can taste the difference between the beers in a blind taste test. Pour the beers, equally chilled, into two glasses. Then ask your partner to randomly serve you a beer based upon the outcome of a coin toss that you cannot observe. You should keep your eyes closed or wear a blindfold. Have your partner keep a record of what you're served and what you guessed. Also ask your partner to remain silent about whether you guess correctly.

Here are my own results in six trials, with I = Italian and U = U.S.:

Actual: I, U, I, I, U, U
Guess: I, U, I, U, I, I

How well can you tell? For myself, I think I'll stop wasting my money on Peroni!

Cheers!

Moto

[Two Checks]

If you are comparing a beer to Pabst, neither is worth drinking!
 

[moto]

If you are comparing a beer to Pabst, neither is worth drinking!
 

Perroni is the premium Italian beer and sells for $8.99 a six pack. Not everyone agrees with you.

Moto

[Perazzimx14]

I thought this was going to be a challenge like drink a case or PBR pounders over an afternoon while watching the smoker work and reporting in periodically to see how our spelling is.

FWIW Italian beer is a good as North Korean Bourbon!

[Tom]

After the first 2.....who cares.      

[moto]

After the first 2.....who cares.      

I'll drink to that!

Marketing is a powerful thing. Even after my own experiment I swear I can tell the difference in taste between the two beers, so long as I know which ones are in each glass. I'm sure countless sums are completely wasted buying products that consumers couldn't really distinguish in blind tests.

Though I am basically as susceptible as anyone to marketing, at least in this single experiment I have proven to myself I shouldn't buy Peroni anymore. Food for thought.

I wouldn't be too presuming about North Korean whisky, either.

Moto

[alanp]

It seems to me that you were quite discerning until the 4th beer, so I think you should buy both.  Just save the Pabst for beers 4+. 

[Two Checks]

Quote from: moto on Today at 05:28:41 PM

Perroni is the premium Italian beer and sells for $8.99 a six pack. Not everyone agrees with you.

Moto

Priced Budweiser lately? High price does not equal good beer.

[moto]

It seems to me that you were quite discerning until the 4th beer, so I think you should buy both.  Just save the Pabst for beers 4+. 

😁 Funny! It was the fourth sip, though, not the fourth beer.

[moto]

Priced Budweiser lately? High price does not equal good beer.

I agree! However, I bet Budweiser is not distinguishable in blind testing from many German or Czech lagers. I first began to reconsider Bud after reading this, back in the eighties:

Although it has a definite hop nose and finish Budweiser Budvar [a Czech beer, rated 3 ("worth seeking out") to 4 ("world classic") stars] is sweet by Czechoslovakian standards, clean and rounded, with a hint of fruitiness. The Budvar brewery was not founded until 1895, so it must have been the similar beers from the older Samson brewery that inspired Busch [the founder of Budweiser in America]. Even today, with all the changes in barley, hops, technology and market fashion, there seems to survive a vestigial resemblance between their beers and his. -- Michael Jackson, The Simon & Schuster Pocket Guide to Beer. 1986, page 19.

I used to regard Bud as swill like all my drinking buddies, but I've let it rise in my estimation over time, and will now order it at a restaurant if the only alternative is another one of those cloying ales that brewpubs and "craft breweries" exude without end.

Moto

[wavedog]

Things have really changed, and I have become old.
$8.99 for a 6 pack of Peroni.
 I vaguely remember drinking Birra Peroni in a crusty bar in Sardegna during the 70’s. 800 or so lira to the dollar and 300 to 400 lira for a large bottle of thirst quenching Peroni- no mystery why I only vaguely remember. Peroni   was better than some of the other brands available at that time, including that bitter beer in the green bottle that people raved about. That stuff was 500 lira a bottle. Out of my price range.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'll drink to that!

Marketing is a powerful thing. Even after my own experiment I swear I can tell the difference in taste between the two beers, so long as I know which ones are in each glass. I'm sure countless sums are completely wasted buying products that consumers couldn't really distinguish in blind tests.

Though I am basically as susceptible as anyone to marketing, at least in this single experiment I have proven to myself I shouldn't buy Peroni anymore. Food for thought.

I wouldn't be too presuming about North Korean whisky, either.

Moto

I've always thought that "bourbon equals bourbon.."  For the most part, I don't get the subtle nose or palate flavors many people profess. But. In blind tasting, this guy does..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7dXj88GUSg

[john fish]

Want to do a taste test?  Don't chill it so much.  It kills the taste.  Try drinking a PBR warm.  It's fizzy Ipecac.  :)  And Peroni is pretty shitty anyway. 

Having said that, I have a fridge full of cheap light beer.  Kept very cold.  :)  Because I'm cheap.  (Guzzi content)