Poll: Why I Don't Review Beers.

OTHER - Like so many, Untappd is just easier. I almost always have my phone with me and its much easier to log-in beers on Untappd rather than wait until I'm back in front of a computer to log beers in on BA. I wish the two were linked...

 

Having never slept with horses, I've never been exposed to their blankets.

UNQUALIFIED

 

I write short little reviews for myself mainly. I like to remember what I thought about a beer if I ever want to try it again.

 

I don't know, when you think about it, 150 characters is just two or three sentences. Definitely enough to hammer out some broad impressions at least. [151 characters]

 

I couldn't answer the poll because I review each new beer. Occasionally, I'll go back and edit old reviews if I feel such is warranted. I do it because I enjoy it, it expands my beer "universe" and it improves my palate. The more I know about beer, the better I can enjoy and appreciate the skill it took to make them.

 

Honestly, I don't believe that people are tasting what they say they're tasting. I feel like a lot of these guys are so busy searching for adjectives that they start imagining some of them. "I'm getting malted milk, burnt baker's chocolate, 10-year aged gouda, the used sock of a Baltimore Ravens punt-returner, cayenne pepper that's been scraped off of a deviled egg that has already spoiled..."

By the way, OP, a couple years back we went back and forth about the merit of those that seemingly taste every single nuance of every single beer. I wonder if that thread is still searchable. lol

 

I tend to rates beers on just my overall feeling and not go into each aspect of the beer. For me its easier on untapped to just do stars.

 

As someone who didn't review at first, but has since begun doing so, I'd add that I can see the day coming when I may stop reviewing. I think it's been a helpful part of the larger process of understanding styles, particular tastes and aromas, etc. In short, I think it's helped me to be a more informed drinker. That said, my goal was always to get to a level of understanding/competence that worked for me -- one where I felt like I could speak halfway informedly to what I was drinking. When I feel like I'm about there, it won't surprise me if I stop caring about the reviews, as they'll have already served their purpose.

I also feel like the reviews were kinda fun to help capture my experience of beer I'd long sought after. These days, though, my list of "must trys" and "have to track this downs" is getting pretty darn small. Too much good beer on the shelves to worry much about chasing the latest and greatest.

 

OTHER:

I initially used this site as an online database of some of the better beers I've consumed. I have several friends on here who do in depth reviews and decided that I could chime in on the beers that I think are really worth the effort to taste. Typically those available to me in Canada that I think stand out in compared to the world market.

 

I chose "don't have time", but that's not quite accurate. I do use untappd, but not all the time. Part of the answer is this: I am never, ever at a computer while enjoying a great beer. I also never have a pad or pen. I don't like reviewing after the fact, though I have done so, as my recollection is just not good enough for details rather than generalities.

The BA review process is time consuming, requires a computer rather than my phone. I know that everyone likes the return of the categories, but that also means that the effort required is up and proximity of review time to consumption is down. If I can pick a single score, and jot some observations down, as I do on Untappd, that I can reliably do. Don't have time or opportunity to do more.

 

I apologize if others have covered this, but I'll add this - perhaps it is a touch intimidating for folks to review a beer. While lots of us will do our best and review based on our abilities to either interpret the beer or express our interpretation, there may be some that feel as if they simply aren't at the level of mastering critical observations like others are. I'll admit that when I first joined it was quite leap for me to begin reviewing, as I didn't want to be called out for a novice review. This was particularly exacerbated by the well thought out and seemingly expert reviews that I was seeing on the beers I was looking to review. So how did I break the ice? Quite literally with "ice".

I am ashamed to admit that I decided to "pile on" a beer as my first review.

Bud Ice | Anheuser-Busch

But what this did was serve as a dry run of sorts at getting my opinion out there to be judged, while using a beer that wasn't going to be picked apart in eloquent fashion by anyone, ever. Basically I surely didn't' want to expose my novice by reviewing say, Old Rasputin first.

As time went by I began reviewing more often and certainly began reviewing a more acceptable (to the community at least) style of beer. I also toyed with different styles of review, going from paragraphs to itemized by attribute or a mix of both.

Getting back to my point (and getting the focus away from me per se), it's quite likely that several users have not developed the confidence in their reviewing "art" to put it out there in the larger arena of the community and these interwebs.

If my assumption is correct, I have a few thoughts on how we can overcome this fear as a community is to perhaps have more (a lot more) group tastings of a wide range of beers in a wide range of styles. If more people feel like they have a safe environment to throw maybe one or two thoughts out there while simultaneously seeing how others express exactly what they are thinking, than maybe we'll give others the confidence to begin reviewing.

Also, more discussions on particular styles. For instance, starting thread like "American Barley Wines - what do you like or dislike about them?" and encourage the participants to give examples of the good and bad. We see similar threads from time to time but never with any real consistency that can be considered a series that educates. By getting thoughts on styles out there, lots of new users or perhaps old users that don't review can learn more about what to expect from styles and reassure them that what they are tasting is indeed a nuance of that style. For instance, someone may be afraid to mention that the most overwhelming taste in a beer is "Band-Aid" because they may think others could see that is ridiculous, even though it is an actual thing.

So to sum it all up, as with nearly everything in life, education may be the answer. Or perhaps I just long winded a theory that isn't actually a problem, but this was the first thing that came to mind.

 

150 characters? Hell, I cover that many words in my appearance description alone haha

 

Years ago when I first joined BA I was writing reviews on every beer I drank. It was time consuming, but I was usually drinking them on my own so it didn't bother me all that much. Eventually I hit about 3,000 reviews and I decided that just rating a beer was more than sufficient for my needs on here. I was torn between the options of whether to write the review or just give the numerical breakdowns that they supply us with on here. Once I started hanging out with more friends and doing bottle shares and such I chose that giving a rating was the way to go. If I sat there writing reviews all night on the beers at a share I wouldn't have time to talk with my friends. So now I only leave a review on something if it's required by BA to do so.

 

I stopped regularly doing written reviews a few years ago because it takes me too much time and I have other things I would rather do. I use Untappd to satisfy my ticking itch these days. However, on rare occasions I have a beer that really surprises me and I will do a written review because I feel the beer needs more representation or an alternative opinion to BA's group-think tendencies. Because of this the few written reviews I do tend to have more extreme rDevs, whether that's for good or bad.

 

I rarely ever read them...the only time I've ever reviewed a beer was when I upgraded my original rating for Budweiser and the site wouldn't let me unless I reviewed it. I pick a number for the beer and assign it to all categories, mainly just so I can add it to my list. I don't like analyzing things to death like that, kind of ruins the magic for me.

 

Other - I prefer to use Untappd for reviewing. It's more convenient and user friendly. It may not have the depth of knowledge/information, but I don't want to write an essay when I'm enjoying a beer. I want to give a quick review and drink my damn beer.

 

lololol - yeah baker's chocolate strikes a nerve with me too for some reason

 

Other, I like to review while I am actually drinking the beer, however while I'm drinking I usually end up hanging out with friends or playing guitar or reading.

 

Sometimes it's hard to find the right words. Like for instance yesterday I tried Stone Fyodor's Classic and wanted to review it, but just couldn't find the right words. Sure I could describe it, but then I would just be describing your typical barrel-aged imperial stout flavors. If I was describing a mediocre barrel-aged imperial stout, I would still be using the same words to describe it, but obviously this beer was far from mediocre. So I just said screw and simply wrote, "World-class brew" as my review. So take that how you will.

Also, it was 13% ABV and I had a whole pint of it, so I was a little too toasted to write any sort of coherent review.