{"id":50997,"date":"2026-10-07T12:05:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T16:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebeertimes.com\/?p=50997"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:17:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T16:17:20","slug":"difference-between-taste-and-flavor-beer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebeertimes.com\/en\/difference-between-taste-and-flavor-beer\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Difference Between Taste and Flavor in Beer?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Taste is the sense of the tongue, and it perceives five basic tastes, sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. Flavor is much broader. It adds smell to those basic tastes, especially the smell that reaches the nose from the back of the mouth, along with mouthfeel sensations such as the prickle of carbonation or the warmth of alcohol.<\/p>\n

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Taste and flavor<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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The difference between taste and flavor depends on the meaning given to the word taste. In the strict sense, taste names only the basic tastes the tongue perceives. In the broad sense, the one used in everyday conversation, taste and flavor mean the same thing.<\/p>\n\n

What Does the ISO Standard Say About Taste and Flavor?<\/h2>\n

The ISO 5492 standard<\/a>, which sets the vocabulary of sensory analysis, defines flavor (spelled flavour in the standard) as the combination of three kinds of sensations. The definition can be read in the ISO 18794 preview<\/a>, which reproduces it.<\/p>\n

Complex combination of the olfactory, gustatory and trigeminal sensations perceived during tasting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The same vocabulary, in the version reproduced in ISO 18794 with changes to the notes, defines taste as the sensation perceived by the taste organ when it is stimulated by certain soluble substances, and warns against an imprecise use of the word.<\/p>\n

The term “taste” should not be used to designate the combination of gustatory, olfactory and trigeminal sensations which are designated by the term flavour.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Five Basic Tastes<\/h2>\n

Umami is the latest addition to the list. According to a review by Kurihara published in 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/a>, it traces back to a Japanese discovery in the early 20th century.<\/p>\n

In 1908 Kikunae Ikeda identified the unique taste component of konbu (kelp) as the salt of glutamic acid and coined the term umami to describe this taste.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The same review places it alongside the other four.<\/p>\n

Recently, umami has been shown to be the fifth basic taste, in addition to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 2002, Nelson and colleagues reported in Nature the identification of an amino acid taste receptor<\/a> formed by the proteins T1R1 and T1R3. The study notes that several amino acids taste umami to humans.<\/p>\n

Five is the consensus list. Some scientists propose adding another 15 to 20 basic tastes, such as metallic, fatty acid or kokumi, according to the review by Charles Spence discussed below.<\/p>\n

In everyday English, taste also covers flavor in the broad sense, the one we use when we say a beer tastes of caramel or coffee. Because the same word also names the basic tastes, the term flavor is useful in tasting to name the whole without confusing it with them.<\/p>\n

The Part of Flavor That Seems to Come From the Mouth<\/h2>\n

Much of what we usually call the taste of a beer, such as the citrus notes of a hop or the banana of a wheat beer yeast, is actually smell.<\/p>\n

It travels the retronasal route, from the back of the mouth up to the nose, and the brain attributes it to the mouth. A study by Small and colleagues published in Neuron in 2005<\/a> describes it this way.<\/p>\n

Odors perceived through the mouth (retronasally) as flavor are referred to the oral cavity, whereas odors perceived through the nose (orthonasally) are referred to the external world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the team found that chocolate odor activated different brain areas depending on whether it entered through the nose or through the mouth. That difference did not appear with the other three odors in the study.<\/p>\n

The retronasal route preferentially activated the area that represents the mouth, which the authors link to the attribution of the odor to the mouth. That same route is what sustains the aftertaste of beer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How Much of Flavor Comes From Smell?<\/h2>\n

It is common to read that smell accounts for 75 to 95 percent of what we call taste. Researcher Charles Spence reviewed that idea in 2015 in the journal Flavour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is frequently asserted that somewhere between 75 and 95 % of what we commonly think of as taste actually comes from the sense of smell. However, empirical evidence in support of such a precise-sounding quantitative claim is rarely, if ever, cited.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Spence traces the likely origin of the figure to a 1977 study by Murphy, Cain and Bartoshuk, in which ratings of a mixture of saccharin and an odorant fell by up to 80% when the nose was pinched shut, and concludes that this work does not support the claim as stated.<\/p>\n

He adds that the confusing use of the word taste, sometimes in the everyday sense of flavor and at other times in the scientific sense of gustation, makes matters harder. It is the same double meaning described at the start of this article. His conclusion keeps the underlying idea without the percentages.<\/p>

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Most researchers would appear to agree that olfaction plays a “dominant” role in the tasting of food.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Carbonation and Trigeminal Sensations<\/h2>\n

The third component of flavor is trigeminal sensations, which the ISO standard defines as the irritation that some chemical stimuli produce in the mouth, nose or throat. In beer, carbonation acts on that pathway and on taste at the same time.<\/p>\n

According to a study by Chandrashekar and colleagues published in Science in 2009<\/a>, carbonation in mammals triggers somatosensory responses and also activates taste neurons.<\/p>\n

[\u2026] we demonstrated that the sour-sensing cells act as the taste sensors for carbonation, and showed that carbonic anhydrase 4 [\u2026] functions as the principal CO\u2082 taste sensor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The experiments were done in mice. The authors themselves note that CO\u2082 does not simply taste sour to humans, because besides taste it strongly stimulates the somatosensory system, the one responsible for touch and irritation in the mouth.<\/p>\n

Aroma, Flavor and Mouthfeel<\/h2>\n

Competition scoresheets evaluate aroma, flavor and mouthfeel separately.<\/p>\n

The BJCP beer scoresheet<\/a> (Beer Judge Certification Program) splits 50 points among aroma (12), appearance (3), flavor (20), mouthfeel (5) and overall impression (10).<\/p>\n

In the flavor section, it asks judges to comment on malt, hops, fermentation characteristics, balance, finish and aftertaste. Body, carbonation, alcohol warmth and astringency are scored separately, under mouthfeel.<\/p>\n

That is why flavor on the scoresheet is narrower than in the ISO standard, which includes trigeminal sensations such as astringency.<\/p>\n

The beer Flavour Wheel published in 1979 by Meilgaard, Dalgliesh and Clapperton in the Journal of the Institute of Brewing<\/a> organized the vocabulary used to describe beer flavor.<\/p>\n

Working groups from the European Brewery Convention, the American Society of Brewing Chemists and the Master Brewers Association of the Americas brought together 44 basic terms and 78 additional ones.<\/p>\n

A Test to Tell the Difference<\/h2>\n

A simple way to notice it is to pinch your nose while taking a sip. The basic tastes are still there, such as bitterness, sweetness or sourness, and so are mouthfeel sensations like the prickle of carbonation or the warmth of alcohol.<\/p>\n

What fades, and comes back when you let go of your nose, is retronasal smell. The three together make up flavor. It is a homemade version of what Murphy and colleagues measured in 1977.<\/p>\n

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)<\/h2>\n

1. What is the difference between taste and flavor?<\/h3>\n

In the strict sense, taste names only the basic tastes the tongue perceives, sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. Flavor is the combination of those tastes with smell and the trigeminal sensations perceived during tasting, according to the ISO 5492 standard. In the broad sense of everyday speech, taste and flavor mean the same thing.<\/p>\n

2. Why do tasters say flavor instead of taste?<\/h3>\n

In everyday English, taste also means flavor in the broad sense. Because the same word also names the basic tastes, the term flavor lets tasters name the whole without confusing it with them.<\/p>\n

3. What are the basic tastes?<\/h3>\n

Sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami, which is the consensus list. Umami is the most recent. Kikunae Ikeda described it in 1908 from the glutamate in konbu seaweed, and a review published in 2009 presents it as the fifth basic taste. Some scientists propose others, such as kokumi or fatty acid taste.<\/p>\n

4. Is it true that 75 to 95 percent of what we call taste comes from smell?<\/h3>\n

That figure has no clear empirical support. Researcher Charles Spence reviewed it in 2015 and concluded that the study it seems to come from, by Murphy, Cain and Bartoshuk (1977), does not support it as stated. Most researchers would appear to agree that smell plays a dominant role.<\/p>\n

5. How is flavor evaluated on a beer scoresheet?<\/h3>\n

The BJCP beer scoresheet separates aroma (12 points), appearance (3), flavor (20), mouthfeel (5) and overall impression (10), out of a total of 50. Flavor carries the most weight, and mouthfeel is scored separately.<\/p>\n