AN APPEAL for drinkers of stout has been launched by Musselburgh-based Queen Margaret University.

It’s looking for 150 people to take part in a consumer taste trial where they will sample the beer.

Run by the university’s Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation, the team is recruiting 100 people who are already stout drinkers – those who enjoy the occasional pint of Guinness, Belhaven Black or Murphy’s – as well as 50 who have not drunk stout before but are keen to try it.

Recruitment for tasters starts now, with the trial to begin later this month.

Each participant who completes tastings and provides the necessary feedback will be rewarded with a £10 John Lewis or Amazon voucher as a thank you for taking part.

Participants, ideally from Edinburgh and the Lothians, will be asked to pick up samples from the university and will be given two sample stout recipes to taste at home. They will need to complete an online questionnaire to provide feedback and highlight their preferred sample. Access to the internet is essential and the feedback process is believed to take about 30-40 minutes to complete.

Catriona Liddle, who heads up the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation, is running the trial.

She said: “Our consumer tasting panels are extremely popular with foodies and people from the local community who enjoy sampling and talking about food and drink. It’s open to people who are already part of our existing consumer panel, but it’s also an opportunity for new people who might like to get involved in further food and drink tasting panels.

“We normally have multiple sessions running on campus each week across all food types. The only consideration is that sadly we cannot accept any applications from those with food allergies or food restrictions.

“The samples on this trial will be blind tested, so participants won’t know which type of stout they are tasting, and we will be using the results to help create Scotland’s favourite stout.”

Email the food team at consumerpanels@qmu.ac.uk to apply.

Participants must be aged 18 and over.