Sometimes I agree with the hype, sometimes I don't.

Any Bourbon County slays CBS.

 

Good luck. I went last year expecting 4 bottles, left 4 hours later with 1 bottle. Be prepared.

 

I believe you meant to say highly questionable and regrettable?

Have you tried the Bakon vodka? That stuff is perfect for bloody marys.

 

CBS is the #3 beer? Do not understand. I thought it was good, but not better than any of a half dozen of BA stouts (and significantly behind a number of NON BA stouts).

 

People are blinded.

 

I didn't mean you, I just meant that the second people see a certain bottle they cream their jeans. Chill out, the contents of the bottle DO matter. Also, pack a spare pair of shorts for brewery only releases.

 

Was it this year's Younger? Because it was not the real deal.

 

Wait, you started a thread about PtY? Do you start a thread about every beer you drink? Regardless, I thought PtY was pretty good for what it is, but would probably rather drink Elder most of the time.

 

No. The lack of Amarillo hops this year caused Vinnie to redo the hop profile this year. It was completely different. I'm a RR local and I've been drinking Pliny since I turned 21, but I haven't seen any change in the Elder.

 

I tend to feel ratings mean something as long as you realize what that is. A beer being #1, 2 or 3 doesn't mean everyone thinks it's 1, 2 or 3. All it means is that the beer is more commonly at the top of people's rankings. if a bunch of people rate a bunch of beers and CBS (or westy or PtY) consistently rate very highly but other beers are not as consistently at the top, the CBS will come out higher, even if not a single person thinks it's the best.

I think people tend to way overthink these things. The ratings are what they are. If you disagree that's your personal taste.

 

Ratings are a proxy more than anything else IMO. I love Pliny as a DIPA, and acknowledge the craft and wouldn't argue the rating, but I enjoy drinking Blind Pig, Sculpin or Stone IPA a bit more on your average night. It doesn't make the Pliny worse, it just makes the rating a little less important to me.

Or, less verbose- If it is a highly rated beer, I will damn sure make sure I taste it given the opportunity, but don't have any preconceived notions on how much I will like it.

 

While I don't see how the Law of Diminishing Returns applies, I agree with your general point.

Bottom line: a beers ranking, reputation, and possibly hype cut in several directions and can definitely affect one's impression of a given beer. But these factors also affect different people differently, so it's hard to simply pin down their respective impacts.