How Long Do You Spend Reviewing A Beer?

i am an advocate of midwest pours, specifically, the Chicago styled 2oz pours so I can tick the shit out of every 12oz beer split 6 ways. For me, i make my judgements on a beer within 4 seconds, and only out of tiny, whisky snifter sized glasses. Srs

 

The ones I love and particularly despise get the most thought provoking reviews. The 'middle of the road' ones sometimes get the least attention.

 

It takes me drinking about 1/3 to 1/2 the beer.

 

I'll be the first outcast...it takes me forever and usually more than one serving. I can decide whether I like something well enough after a few sips. But OP asked about describing and detailing for others and that takes me a long time. I have gotten in the habit of using the hads feature to log in a quick first impression as more or less an overall liking, then go back and review. I take notes, I look at what others think, then write things up in my spreadsheet. Then I fuss over it and will finally commit to the review.

Yeah...I can get caught up in my shorts sometimes. It isn't as big a deal as it sounds, but I try to review methodically and conscientiously. Probably fall short most times despite all that.

I totally agree about the middle road being the toughest. How much can you come up with about average?

 

If you're going to take the time to 'review' a beer as opposed to just 'scoring' it, I think its senseless to not put in a little thought. I don't claim to be a cicerone, but if you write the taste is just "chocolate, malty, coffee" I don't get the point.

I relax and enjoy the beer, sometimes half, sometimes more than one. Then I write a bit about what I thought on its different aspects. Some beers I've drunk numerous times before I get to review them. I agree with the extremes taking the longest, but on average I would say it takes an hour to review.

 

However long it takes to pour, view, smell, sip, and sip again.

 

I like to take my time. I could be writing the review until the last drop of that beer is gone. . . But then lately I discovered the hads. All you do is pick a number and say nothing. This is mysterious and I will do more of it. XD

 

Simple styles usually get a quick, straightforward review that's determined about halfway through the glass: 10 mins
My average for most reviews: 15 mins
The "whales" and more complex styles beg for deeper contemplation: 20-30 mins max
Rarely does it take me a full 10-12 oz pour to get me acquainted with a brew. It usually only takes about 6-8 oz to get a handle on a beer.

 

Sorry I'm confused. So you take an hour to gather what you think or you simply take an hour to drink the beer and then gather what you think?

 

It takes me almost exactly the same amount of time as drinking. (I do reviews while drinking )

 

Used to review/rate on here but figured I'm not going to type it on my phone, usually drink out.. but now I write it down in my handbook and take my sweet ass time (depends on style). People think its odd when I pull out a handbook to review a beer... but who cares, I like learning about/experiencing the nuances.

 

5-10 minutes

 

If I spent a significant amount of time (or money) acquiring said beer, I will spend a significant amount of time reviewing it, and vice-verse. Just my style.

 

approximately 12-22 ounces...that's how long it takes me...

 

I pass judgment on the beer immediately. Small pour, swirl, sniff, taste. Fill up the glass and then begin the review, which develops as I drink the beer. Most importantly, I avoid website descriptions and especially BA ratings beforehand.

I feel that there is the potential for an inherent bias in my reviews, that the quality of my review can correlate to my perceived quality of the beer. That is, more illustrative notes about A, S, T, M, O/D if the beer appeals to me more. I can't make a beer smell or taste like something that it does not, but I have recently tried to improve the level of description in my reviews for beers that I assign a lower rating to.

 

If it's a good beer that deserves to be enjoyed over an hour or two then the review can easily last as long. Big beers with bold flavors change as they warm and I have had some beers that have started off a "slow long shot", end up winners. Same applies to simple beers...a BMC designed to be swallowed in 143 seconds deserves that amount of time to be given to it's review.

As utopiajane pointed out in an above post...I have just found out that it's just as easy to give any beer a "rating" in a few seconds without actually reviewing it. Originally, I really enjoyed giving a long drawn out review over an hour or two but recently have discovered that I also enjoy just "ticking" away? Sometimes simple works just fine.

 

I do two types of full reviews:

1. At home, or somewhere without distractions, I will spend 20(ish) minutes writing up a review and focus on all aspects of the beer: appearance, aroma, taste, mouthfeel and overall impression. These reviews tend to be a bit wordier than my other, quicker reviews.

2. Friday happy hour bottle share, or somewhere with friends that I'm conversing with. These reviews are typed into the notepad on my phone and I use short hand. I still describe all 5 aspects, but in a much more concise way. I then go back and type up these short reviews and make them a bit wordier to make the character minimum.