Rating beers at festivals

Is that 4 ounces mean for professional tasters or for amateurs such as most of the people on this site?

 

I start from the premise that a significant pour of 10 ounces or more is the preferred way to fully enjoy a beer.

That said, my sense (I've never been to EBF) is that festivals like EBF are places where one can find beers that are brewed once and in a very small batch. Such beers will likely only be available to the average mortal in a microscopic pour (2-4 ounces). If that is the case, then a rating based upon that small of a pour is legit - IMHO.

By contrast, a beer that is readily available in significant quantities should never be reviewed based upon a paltry pour.

 

Both for a truly accurate review. Many amateurs have spectacular palates. But I also believe that logging your tasting experience is important. Even if the beer was not given a proper chance. Keep in mind people's ratings are also highly dependent upon the setting, their mood, etc. This is why beer ALWAYS tastes better at the brewery. Cool vibe, nice people, on vacation, whatever...

 

Thanks. Although I'd suggest that a critical part of the brewery experience is the combination of freshness and the lack of need for packaging and/or transport to another location.

But then I'm a strong believer that beer is best consumed "within sight of the brewery."

 

Ratings/reviews based on a tiny pour at a festival are worthless and shouldn't be counted.
I agree with the prior posts that there should be a tick option on here for the tickers.

 

I tick beers to keep up with what I've had. A sip no, but at a beer fest yes. I don't rate beers at the festival, I also dont use this site for tracking

 

Me too I have lots of ticks. I can't resist the urge either, whether its a flight or a taste pour. "What beer is that?" The idea of a review though . That's another matter. I can't honestly say that I remember the beer I have ticked. I do remember the beer that I did drink.

 

Back when I ticked, I did the very same thing. Now it seems absurd to me, and even at festivals or bars with a huge selection,I usually pretty soon make up my mind and stick to something I like which I enjoy through the whole session.

 

It depends on the reviewer. Case in point - how many ounces does a beer judge consume when judging beer?

 

Not really a good comparison.

How much training do most beer judges have? How many of them do their judging solo rather than as part of a panel that engages in sharing of their impressions and discussions of the beers before combined ratings are finalized? How many styles are they judging?

Answers:

1) Typically a training course in tasting and often lots of experience.
2) At most a few to zero.
3) Typically one per judging session.

 

It doesn't matter.

 

Personally, I just hit "Got" if I feel I didn't get enough or didn't have enough time to make a decent judgement. Most of the time I have new beers in social settings and don't like to immediately hop on BA and do a rating.

 

Many times I get well over 3 oz pours during beer fests, I've never been given a one ounce pour. And is a bar or brewery a good place to judge with a loud environment and ambient smells? Is a bottle share at my house while I'm playing music and eating food not the same? Should I not invite more than 3 people or I can't review the VR I just opened?

I'm genuinely curious, because I don't see the problem at all.

 

I use ratings for my own personal tracking. After a fest I can go back and see which samples I thought highly of and might want to go find a bottle or full pour of.
I would not, however, write a review on anything except a full pour.

 

Also curious. Have you read the "How to Review...." document he's quoting from?

 

I have but I still don't see much of a difference. But I also don't really rate on this site so it doesn't change much for me.

 

this is why i track beers on untappd. easy to use and makes it so i can mark a beer that i had, give it a rating if i want, and when i do, get it in the ballpark of my scale.

i have no interest in rating, or reviewing beers on BA for all of the reasons that came through the discussion above.

I would think for more rare, hard to find, barrel aged, etc offerings you would be hard up to find a pour of that size. A local craft beer bar here has a great list of rotating taps. But for the high gravity items, usually it comes in an 8oz pour. Or if you go to Founders ... any class III beer.

 

I think this is where the whole "hads" section versus actually reviewing a beer comes into play. I couldn't thoroughly review a beer with 1-2 oz, but I can generally analyze it via the "hads" section. It gives me info about whether to revisit it later (and actually complete a review) or skip it. If I don't document it somehow, it didn't happen.

 

Ok, well I think the intent of the OP and his questions, etc. was to be focused on this site where reviews are considered important and that document offers guidance on how the owners of the site would like us to do the reviews. There are plenty of sites that allow you to just tick a beer you've had so as to keep track.

The goal is to enable others to visit the site and get sensory information that helps them decide whether to invest money in buying the beer in the first place.