Strategic malting barley improvement for craft brewers through consumer sensory evaluation of malt and beer

American craft brewers are targeting barley malt as a novel source of flavor and as a means of differentiation. However, fundamental tools have only recently emerged to aid barley breeders in supporting this effort, such as the hot steep malt sensory method, a wort preparation method recently approved by the American Society of Brewing Chemists for evaluation of extractable malt flavor. The primary objective of this study was to determine if insights into beer liking and sensory attributes can be gained through hot steep malt sensory using an untrained panel of craft beer consumers (n = 95). We evaluated consumer acceptance of hot steep and beer samples of different barley genotypes using a 9‐point hedonic scale, check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA), and open comment during separate sensory panels. Beers brewed with Washington State University breeding lines (n = 4), selected for all‐malt craft brewing, generally had higher consumer acceptance than the industry‐standard control variety (CDC Copeland). Genotype had a significant influence on the consumer acceptance of beer aroma, appearance, taste/flavor, sweetness, and overall liking but only on hot steep appearance. Significant differences between genotypes were found for 18% (fruity and other) and 46% (chemical, citrus, earthy, fruity, stale, and sweet aromatic) of CATA attributes for the hot steep and beer panels, respectively. Hot steep and beer liking and sensory attributes had low correlation coefficients. For example, beer overall liking was negatively correlated with chemical (r = −0.338, p