In the testing sessions, measures were obtained before beverage consumption and repeated 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes after consumption. To maintain blinding, the breathalyzer tests (Alco-Sensor IV, Intoximeter; St. Louis, MO) displayed 0.000 g/dl during real-time assessments with actual values downloaded later. The primary dependent measures were stimulation and sedation subscale scores from the 14-item Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) (29) and two items from the Drug Effects Questionnaire (DEQ; 100 mm visual analogue scale) for hedonic reward (“do you LIKE the effect you are feeling now?”) and motivational salience (“would you like MORE of what you consumed, right now?”) (30,31). The surveys instructed participants to focus on their current mood state and did not reveal the beverage content (32). Stimulation, sedation, liking, and wanting were examined across the BrAC curve by subtracting the placebo from alcohol response at each time point. Secondary measures were general drug (DEQ “feel-drug” item) and physiological responses, including heart rate and salivary cortisol.
