The Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) is a marketing service company that provides reviews for
spirits
Spirit(s) commonly refers to:
* Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink
* Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things
* Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being
Spirit(s) may also refer to:
Liquids ...
,
wines
Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
, and
beer
Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...
s. It uses numerical scores and publishes books of its test results.
The company's beer marketing program, the World Beer Championships, was founded in 1994.
Reviews
The company rates spirits, wines and beers. It does not accept advertising from any company that submits their products for review. The judging ratings range from 96 to 100 for superlative to 80 and below for not recommended. Jerald O’Kennard, Director of the Beverage Testing Institute, said that 94 is an extremely good score, and unusually high. They use a tasting lab in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Testing methods minimize external factors and maximize the concentration of the panelist. All of the panelists are
professional guest tasters who are retailers, restaurateurs, or prominent writers.
Books
The company published the book ''Beverage Testing Institute's Buying Guide to Beer''. The book is a guide to beers throughout the world. The breweries and brands are arranged in alphabetical order according to geographic location. There are also notes on the appearance, aroma, and taste for every beer that is rated and there is information on
beer styles
Beer styles differentiate and categorise beers by colour, flavour, strength, ingredients, production method, recipe, history, or origin.
The modern concept of beer styles is largely based on the work of writer Michael Jackson in his 1977 book ...
. The company also published the book ''Buying Guide to Imported Wines''. The book has evaluations of styles, vintages, and producers cover 2,500 wines from 22 countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Russia. The best-scoring wines are categorized by name, region, description, and price.
Scores and their meaning
The scores are translated onto a modified 100-point scale. It roughly corresponds to a five-star system:
*96–100—Superlative
*90–95—Exceptional
*85–89—Highly Recommended
*80–84—Recommended
*less than 80—Not Recommended
*Best Buy—Wines or spirits that provide uncommon value.
*Cellar Selection—This is a wine that they believe will improve significantly with at least three to five years of age.
See also
*
Spirits ratings
With a growing number of offerings, such as those produced by an increasing number of microdistilleries, various mechanisms have arisen to provide reviews and opinions of individual varieties of spirits. These events generally use expert panels a ...
*
Blind tasting
In marketing, a blind taste test is often used as a tool for companies to compare their brand to another brand. For example, the Pepsi Challenge is a famous taste test that has been run by Pepsi since 1975. Additionally, taste tests are sometimes ...
*
Court of Master Sommeliers
The Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) is an educational organisation established in 1977 to encourage improved standards of beverage service by sommeliers, particularly in wine and food pairing. From the court's inception through 2018, a worldwid ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Beverage Testing Institute
Drinking culture