Study Finds That Listening to Irish Music Makes Guinness Beer Taste Better

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, researchers have confirmed that Guinness, the favorite beer of Jason Momoa, tastes better if consumed while listening to Irish music. Scientists at the University of Lincoln also found that Guinness’ flavor profile changes depending on what genre of music you’re listening to.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology and reviewed by The Daily Mail. Annemieke van den Tol, a senior lecturer of psychology at London’s University of Lincoln, explained that the difference in taste boils down to “two psychological phenomena.”

She elaborated: “The first is priming. This is the idea that exposure to one stimulus may influence a response to a subsequent stimulus without conscious guidance or intention.”

Van den Tol explained that through their research, they had seen increased interest in German and French wines when they played the country’s respective music in a bottle shop.

“The second psychological phenomenon is "musical fit,’” she said. “Our brains function better when things are as we expect them to be, or are well put together. For example, people are willing to pay more for their drinks when the music in a bar or restaurant fits the décor and types of foods being sold.”

The study further revealed that different types of music can change how Guinness tastes at any given time. “Certain frequency ranges, tempos, timbres, and harmonies are associated by our brains with flavor attributes such as the sweetness, bitterness, sourness, and perceived body and strength of the beer,” Felipe Reinoso Carvalho, a professor at Brussels’ Vrije University, said.

Carvalho went on to say that light-hearted pop tunes, such as The Saw Doctors’ Irish anthem “To Win Just Once,” or Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" make Guinness taste sweeter.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to "enhance the perception of bitterness, you could listen to some Sinead O'Connor or the Cranberries' ‘Zombie’,” he suggested. “The super heavy guitar and strong emotions are likely to make your Guinness taste even heavier, stronger, and more bitter.”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, indeed.