Do you ding brewers for not including info on labels?

In a word, No.

 

I don't buy beer that doesn't say where exactly it was brewed. If it's a contract brewer situation - they should have to say where the beer was brewed, packaged and by whom.

 

How do you know it's not brewed in the city listed? The Feds allow brewers to list either the city where the brewery is located, multiple cities or "The bottler's or packer's principal place of business may be shown in lieu of the actual place where bottled or packed if the address shown is a location where bottling or packing operation takes place." So, if you buy a Rolling Rock that says "St. Louis", a Pabst Blue Ribbon that says "Milwaukee", a Yuengling Lager that says "Pottsville, PA" or a Sixpoint that says "Brooklyn, NY" you do not know that those beers might have been brewed in Newark, NJ, Eden, NC, Tampa, FL or Memphis, TN (respectively).

 

No, I review the beer itself. I don't like the fact that a beer has no bottling date, but I don't penalize what's in the glass for that fact.

 

If you want a bottling date to ensure freshness, and you want freshness to ensure optimal taste, presumably the out-of-date beer will get a lower score than a fresher bottle would, which would make dinging it for the lack of a bottling date gratuitous.

 

No. Even the look of the beer in the glass doesn't affect my smell or taste review. As Mr. AlienSwineFlu stated, if it taste good.....

 

I don't dock them in a BJCP / Cicerone sense, but it's something I remember going forward with their brand. If I like the beer, that's great, but at this point in my spending if it's an unknown beer with no identifying information about the contents other than a name and brewery, I'd certainly be less likely to pick it up.

 

No

 

If it's IPA's I'll pass on it, unless if its a new release. But not having a bottling date or best buy won't hurt the score. It just hurts the brewery with a bad rating if it was old.

 

Isn't that rather like deciding to not like a person because you don't like their clothes? Lowering your score because of the packaging is poor form, at a minimum.

 

Appearance rating is for the appearance of the beer, not the label.

 

I always thought ABV was required to be put on the label although I have searched a few and not found it. However, it does not concern me since I can always look it up and at least get an idea, even if it isn't accurate. As far as dates, I don't ding anybody, I only buy an undated beer if I've been told by a reliable source that it's new or if it's from a small startup brewery. The best way to express your opinion is with your wallet. Money talks bullshit walks.

 

Another vote for born on / best by dates

I typically don't buy beers that only have marketing fluff on the labels... By that I mean a long winded paragraph describing nothing about what i should actually expect the beer to be like. I know a lot of beers don't fit into a specific style or category, but as long as it includes something related to style (even loosely... Could be "west coast / east german style rye bock IPA") I'll buy it. But if I read something and have no idea what I'm about to buy, I'll pass.

Notable exception: Lagunitas little sumpin' sumpin'

 

I bitch about it, but when it comes right down to it....what inside the bottle/can is a hell of a lot more important than what is on the outside

 

If by "ding" you mean not purchasing, then yes. No date, no sale.

 

I don't know about giving them a ding but "Ale brewed with spices" is a pretty worthless description.

 

You should review the rules for reviewing a beer on this site

 

I think it is a little unfair to ding a brewery for ABV not being on the bottle. Some breweries brew two different versions of he same beer for different states where alcohol laws are different. I know a few Alabama breweries brew their IPA at one ABV for Alabama, and then the beer they ship to Tennessee is brewed to a lower ABV to account for weird high gravity beer laws. They use the same labels and/or cans for both. That is very common amongst craft breweries.

 

Absolutely not. You should review the beer for the beer, not the label info.

 

Date should be included. I also like when they tell you the kind of hops that are used.