The science of drinking

And perhaps one of the scientists having the most fun is Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University.

Spence has devoted his career to researching sensory perception of food and drink, working with the likes of Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adria.

The main question he asks is: do we just smell or taste what we see or do external factors, such as sound and light, have an effect?

This has led him to work with Pernod Ricard, looking at the effect of music and colour on wine.

He has also worked with our very own beer writer Pete Brown, as part of music and beer-matching events that Pete hosts.

I know many of you will be thinking this is, frankly, all a bit “woo” and perhaps I would be one of you – aside from several experiences I’ve had as a drinks journalist.

In particular, a visit to the Coca-Cola Innovations Laboratory in Brussels some years ago, as part of which I tested three new drinks.

One was quite viscous and orange-flavoured, another was thinner and more refreshing, and the final one was green and didn’t taste great.

I sat in a white room and the light changed for each of the drinks.

Yes, you’ve guessed it – all three were exactly the same liquid. It was astonishing, honestly.

It’s certainly worth thinking about lighting and sound in pubs with this in mind, and there’s definitely potential for quite a few events based around the idea too.

Apart from the science, it would be a lot fun.