Beer flavour 'triggers urge to get drunk' Results published in the Neuropsychopharmacology journal revealed significantly greater dopamine activity after participants drank beer than Gatorade. The men also reported that drinking the beer made them crave more, while Gatorade did not cause the same effect. Prof David Kareken, who led the study, said: "Our research shows, for the first time in humans, that the mere flavour of beer can itself provoke this dopamine response. Many neuroscientists believe that it is this dopamine response that reflects the craving that is provoked by drug-associated stimuli - for example, the enticing aroma wafting from an adjacent mate's pint of Boddingtons. Dai Stephens, Professor of Experimental Psychology at Sussex University, who was not involved in the study, added: "These findings, though neatly done, and a first convincing demonstration in humans that a drink's flavour has such effects on the brain, are not particularly surprising as we have known for some time from animal studies that events conditioned to drug taking come to increase dopamine."