Is beer being described like wine now?

Just get a spice rack and randomly start using words from it in your BA reviews. Palates are all different. No one can doubt you.

 

I don't really review either - at least here. I have written a couple for a local blog here, but I literally describe what I'm tasting. There's a difference between that kind of review, and what it appears you're referring to, and the other sort of review like I see on Wine Spectator and the like, using terminology that doesn't really translate into actual taste, smell and so forth.
Then there are the reviews that I think someone has a grid of descriptors on the wall and throws darts at it to come up with his (her) review.

 

This has zero chance of happening in beer to the extent is in wine due to the lack of a Parker like figure for beer.
If there was no Parker (and now AG), spectator, and tanzer, these sort of reviews (and their effect on the marketplace) wouldn't exist.
This is both good and bad. Good because people often buy blindly off of scores, and bad because Parker got California wine on the map sorta speak. A cult needs a leader and a figurehead can increase market share.
In terms of reviews, a lot of wine reviews are bs but it's all just opinion and if you leave it at that it does no harm. I like reviews because I like to compare/contrast to my own take on the wine.

 

Beer is often as complex as wine, if not more so. It's also more varied. How else should it be described than to use adjectives that describe various flavors and aromas? Be careful not to confuse your inability to detect complexity with its not actually being there.

 

While beer can change over iterations brewers consider consistency a hallmark of a good product, whereas vintners embrace agricultural variables from year to year. I don't think we'll ever get to a legitimate equivalence in beer simply because beer doesn't have the variation in vintage that wine does. This all reduces both scope and frequency of product reviews. A basic review of a this year's Lagunitas IPA is going to be shorter and more durable than a basic review of this year's Prunotto Barolo.

 

Barnyard, back of the stable, mushroom, forest floor, moss, violets, peat, Piedmont clay (I made that up, but it works, subjectively), chalk, tobacco, old tomato, brett (oh my), apples, pears, marmalade, black cherry, currants, and butterscotch. Quince, gooseberry, chocolate, strawberry, limes, and limestone. Sounds good to me.

 

I'm guessing you haven't had much 3 Floyds then...

 

Have I seen beer labels with over-the-top, pseudo-reviews printed on them? No.

 

I mean, they have beer sommeliers now, so it can't be too far away from wine.

Did I mention how much I'd love to be a beer sommelier?

 

Most fine alcoholic beverage will use similar language and descriptors, let's not limit it to wine.

 

I know that's true, but a little piece of history can't let me wax poetic about rum.

 

I'd like to taste a beer that has all of those smells and flavors, actually.

 

why not start a thread with

at the end of the day, this is your opinion & you're entitled to it - others, including wine & beer companies are entitled to their opinions too. you recognize the object is to intrigue potential buyers yet you sound sorta betrayed by the practice as if you aren't aware beforehand. if you know the game either don't play or if you choose to play, try to play like you have some sense. pretty simple.

 

^ Ouch! I've written thousands of reviews and missives on wine, and finally realized, over time, that the words were fun. If it wasn't for words, we'd all be lost. Just sounds to me like the Op needs to drink an old Rioja, then describe it the best he can. Then have a beer.

 

I don't drink wine. Ever. But when it takes longer to read the description on a bottle than to drink it, that's where I draw the line. Except for the Stone bottles and Lagunitas labels that have nothing to do with the beer.
I believe New England brewing got it right. Cans of Sea Hag say something like "drink it, it's good.' And they're not lying.

 

Hmmm, enticing, descriptive words and phrases used in a campaign to promote sales. Genius! I have some friends in NYC who work on Madison Avenue I bet would really like this idea!

 

1. Maybe you should learn to read faster, or drink slower.
2. Let's say you really hate the taste of, say, black licorice or rosemary. But the only way to find out that the beer you're holding in your hand tastes like black licorice or rosemary, before you decide whether to buy it, is to read the label. Would you rather take the brewery's word for it that "it's good"? Or would you rather have a few lines describing exactly what kinds of flavors you can expect before you decide to exchange your hard-earned cash for that beer?

 

I'm surprised at you. I know that you know a joke when you see one. Aaaah. It's Monday. You're off your game.
Cheers.

 

When people note both clementines and tangerines in the same breathe I wonder if they are just obsessed with orange colored objects

 

Sad that you can't appreciate wine. You are missing out on one life's natural pleasures.