Who Reads Reviews?

For sure. It gives more information than just giving the beer a score.

 

I definitely read them. I like to see if my experience is similar to others, and it helps to train my palate. Also if I'm going to a brewery or tap-takeover where I won't being drinking everything, it helps me whittle down the list of what to try first.

 

I do. In fact it was reviews from this website that got me interested in beer and taught me everything I know about beer. I love to see what my friends think of beer that I am trying and there are lots of folks on this website who have impeccable palates and write a very precise and detailed review.

 

I click on the reviews only box. I prefer stouts and porters that are not hop forward. So if I'm looking for beers I haven't tried yet I like to see if others who have tried them feel that they have the qualities I'm looking for before I search out and spend money on that beer.

 

As someone on a budget, I almost always want to have some expectation of what I'm getting. I want to make sure it sounds like something I would enjoy beyond just the basic info of "Imperial Stout" or something. Mouthfeel and body really make or break a good beer for me.

 

Yes.

 

Totally agree. It's very helpful to see if I got a bad bottle or if others have gotten the same flavors as I did.

 

My palate is pretty useless so I tend to read reviews to help me identify flavors. I also use them to help me determine which beer I want to track down next.

 

I do

 

I used to read northyorksammy's reviews for comic relief.

 

I look for certain reviewers who I have come to know have a similar palate/feelings about the style in question.

 

Really appreciate the reviews... the numbers give me a general idea of good/bad or otherwise but the details on smell, taste, mouth feel really help me decide if I want to pursue a beer or go out of my way to try something new to me...

 

I do not. I totally understand why people do. I like the adventure of experiencing beer with all its ups and downs. I mostly buy six packs, so if I get a clunker I'm only ever out like $10. I suppose if I were doing the heavy lifting some folks are doing around here, with trades and $300 beer hauls I'd be a bit more picky. For the most part, I'm easy to please with beer (though I have become much more selective). I decide what style I feel like drinking and then set out to find something that looks interesting in that style. Reviews/scores are impacted by so many things, from what you ate before you drank the beer to the fight you had with your significant other before you drank the beer. In short, they can be difficult for me to trust (especially with all the hype driven beers). Plus, in the reviews I have read it's more of the same over-exagerated sensationalized nonsense that you see in marketing campaigns (this beer is tastes like a rhino made of hops that ran head on into a hipo made of grapefruit and the impact was so epic that it started to ferment bro!). Again, I get why people do it, but it's not for me.

 

I used to check out a beer's profile and see nothing but reviews until I rated or reviewed that beer, then I'd see mostly ratings - now that's all I get - a few reviews in a sea of ratings. What' gives?

 

I don't give much credit to ratings, but I read at least a few reviews on most beers I am trying.

 

Just the numbers for me.

 

Uh oh! You might start a war with those last comments! Some on here get very defensive about their ability to smell and taste 50 different things at once!

 

I read them. Definitely. Sometimes I'll read reviews after I do my own review just to check to see if others have picked up the same flavors that I have. It's incredible how the same beer can range in body from medium-light to full. How flavors can range from sweet to bitter, honey to dank. Some language is very creative. There are lots of reasons to read reviews.

 

My relationship with reviews has gone in phases since I stumbled across this site. At first, I used to read reviews as I was drinking the beer. Trying to find all the flavors and smells they were referring to, helping to train my palate.

Then I started reviewing myself and tried not to look at reviews until after I wrote mine.

In the smartphone age, I now use reviews as dealbreaker if I am truly on the fence about buying/trying a beer or if it is a beer I have not heard of before. But I have to admit, at this point in my journey, I am much more informed than I ever was and trust myself to buy a beer blind more often then ever before.