Who Reads Reviews?

I absolutely read reviews.
Ratings do not work at all for me, as my taste seems to stray from the general consensus on much of the beer world.
I do treat them like any other reviews, as you will always have the extremists on both ends of the spectrum, but I can get a good idea on what beers I may like by most reviews.
Also they can be quite amusing sometimes to read, as some people are quite eccentric in their descriptions.

 

I do read through the reviews for a variety of reasons, mostly already mentioned above. Some of them are extremely entertaining and/or strange. Some are downright bizarre!

 

I Don't look at the ratings, but i definitely look at reviews before buying a new beer or a style with which I am uncomfortable.

 

I usually read a few if I look up a beer. I like to see what others thought, and then compare that to my own opinion.

 

Wait, people are actually reading these things?

And here I thought I was just over here in my vacuum...

 

I always read the reviews but I also click "top reviewers" (for several reasons). I like to see the discrepancies, if there are any, between those who review often. I look to see if someone perhaps received a bad bottle, if they just don't appreciate the style, if someone was just particularly fond of that beer etc.

 

I scan them after I write mine. I find for a review to be useful, you must first find a reviewer with whom you share taste buds. I also believe in KISS.

 

It used to be for a beer to count on here for ratings you had to do a full review. Now all you have to do is tick and it counts so I'm guessing a lot of people don't go through the effort anymore to do a full review of every beer.

I usually don't do full reviews because my pallette sucks and the only purpose of doing a review is to share with others and I don't feel I have much value to add. I usually only do a review when something sucks to explain why I feel that way.

I usually read reviews when I'm deciding to buy an expensive beer. If I'm coughing $15 or more for a bomber (or trading for one) I want to get a good idea it's worth it.

 

I rely on BA reviews to determine whether I'm gonna try a beer or not. Reviews are what got me hooked on this site in the first place. Wish I could write reviews as good as some of you other folks. But I am inspired, nonetheless. I want to know what I'm expected to taste, not a bunch of numbers. It takes time to do a review, but it's definitely worth it.

 

I ignore "hads". or whatever they're called now to make them sound equal to reviews.

I read the reviews.

 

I read them all the time especially when on a quest for something new. I don't blindly buy into them but after reading a decent amount of reviews on a certain beer you can at least have a very good idea of what the flavor profile comprises of to see if it is something that appeals to me (hate black licorice so if too many reference that flavor I know it isn't for me). Also typically anything rated at 70 and above I am willing to plunk down some coin on and form my own opinion without hesitation.

 

Scores are not of much use without context. And the scoring formula---how each individual category is weighted---has changed a few times over the years, so in some sense scores are actually worthless without context.

Yes, I read reviews.

 

True. Still it is often pretty easy to find a reliable reviewer whose opinion you have relied on with good results in past. "Like" ing a review is a good idea for sure. Not likely to happen, but a good idea.

Now just imagine the lack of thought that goes into hads and it will be easy to see why I disregard them completely.

 

I always look at scores and reviews after I drink a new beer to see how it compares to what I thought of it. Also the reviewers sometimes can name that taste I can't place and that helps me improve as a beer taster.

 

Reviews are the only thing on this site that tells you something about a beer. Hads are meaningless numbers.

 

For me, sharing my thoughts with others is only one reason to review. I mostly review so if I absolutely love or hate an obscure beer that I snagged I will be able to remember what I liked/hated about it.

 

This is me as well. If its a brew I don't know, I first look at the overall score. I let that dictate whether to buy. I don't read the individual reviews until after I review it myself. I don't wan't anyone else's take on the beer to influence what I think I taste. Then I read the reviews afterward. Just a game I play.

 

Gotta read reviews! If I went on score only, I'd be chasing way too many DIPAs that are rated in the 90s but are actually sickening sweet, copper, sticky, malty, caramel atrocities. Because to many folks, that's a good beer. So a "99" overall means nothing to me unless I can get a good idea of the appearance, taste, and mouthfeel.

 

When I first used this site the number rating for me was a good determining factor for my beer purchases. Hmm 90 okay, i'll try it. 82? Maybe less likely. It wasn't the only thing I was looking at by far, but if I was on the fence it would help me out. Lately I have been completely ignoring the numbers. I haven't even been on this site for long at all but it seems to me the prevalence of "hads" with no written reviews has exploded. These blank numbers provide zero context, thus zero information in the end. If I'm not sure on a purchase now I will read two to five reviews to try to get an accurate picture. I'll usually just scroll through them quickly, sometimes just even reading the overall impressions at the end of the review.

I understand the ticking mentality with "hads" pushes the market and creates more traffic for the website, so this will never change. I also get that writing reviews can be a pain in the ass (why I've only put up 5, as of now). While I enjoy writing them it can be a little time consuming, and I usually drink w/ company where we may discuss the beer, but I'm certainly not going to put pen to paper and write up notes; I know other people bring notebooks to the bar, but I'm just not that kind of guy.

I'm intrigued by the idea of 'liking' reviews. NYTimes online has recommended posts on their comment boards, maybe BA could do something similar with recommended reviews. Or an upvote-downvote system like reddit. There are the BA reviews but even some of those are just "hads."

 

I love to read reviews, it's always fun to see how other people's palates differ from mine, plus, there is a ton of useful information in there that is great to help me know what to expect from a certain beer. I still like to have surprises and take chances but it's also nice to know what to expect.