Hype is not a flavor...

I can accept that, Jack, but it isn't always possible to eliminate expectations. I do try to minimize them myself, though, as per my post above; and having a beer a few times really is the best remedy if you can do it.

 

Oh I can't claim to be unbiased. I've held some strongly felt opinions (ex-wife would say wrong headed) for, oh, some time now. Don't bother with hype anymore, when you start outliving your classmates things that really matter come more sharply into focus.

When it comes to hype though Beer Geeks can't touch the garment hems of bamboo fly rod enthusiasts . . . those guys can get into fistfights.

 

This diagram doesn't show where the taste buds fire rarity are.

 

Hype, I've never tasted it. What does it taste like?

 

Woo-Hoo! We agree on something.

Today is a good day.

Cheers!

 

Can't say for certain but I believe it smells like money.

 

Thats a fact jack!

 

I have found that hype generally has a very nice hoppy taste. Although at times it can also have a deep dark roasted malty taste as well. Hype is one of those things I can't get enough of.

 

I personally think hype makes a lot of people think it tastes better. I have had KBS, Pliny, BOMB!, etc. and yes they are good, but there are also beers out there that compare to them, IMO..........

 

Everyone knows hype is not a flavor. It's an ingredient used only in stouts from Iowa and hoppy beers from the northeast.

 

KBS is good. I've only ever had it twice. 2012 and 2016 version. Both were pretty comparable, I'd say this year's was more bitter and had more pronounced coffee flavors. I would buy it again. But I wouldn't go chasing trucks around for it. Parabola on the other hand...
But I try to stay away from hype. Let the fools stand in line for hours. I'll drink something local and under the radar any day.

 

Hype adds to my desire to seek a beer out, but mostly certainly does not have an effect on what I think of the beer. It's either good, average or not good for my personal palette. I will call a turd a turd, even if its from one of my favorite breweries. I have the feeling that is not the case with alot of BAs.

The coffee flavor indeed falls off, no argument here. But as coffee fades, chocolate type flavors become more pronounced, at least in my opinion. I tend to prefer aged KBS for that very reason. Everyone is different.

 

I find hype is more about the brewery than the beer, quite often breweries with hyped, limited beers will have high ratings on everything. Sometimes it's because everything they make is pretty great (eg Hill Farmstead) and other times not so much (eg Mikkeller).

 

I think this pretty much sums it up for everyone.

The influence of this so called "hype" on ratings seems to be largely a myth, aside from increasing the total number of ratings because of piqued curiosity. You may have a situation where the more mainstream attention impacts the ratio of experienced to inexperienced drinkers reviewing a beer, but there is no proof that the reviewers themselves were not being honest with their ratings and opinions.

There are no beers in the top 100 that don't deserve to be there. I'm willing to admit that even when I don't necessarily like the beer. Thats the big key difference that I think is really behind most of this trashy speculation about the impact of "hype" on ratings.

 

Hype has lead me to seek a beer out, but these days it rarely affects my opinion of the beer itself. I've had fantastic beers from a little brewery in a small coastal town in Oregon that most people here probably don't know exists, I've had some very hyped-up beer that I just couldn't get into, and I've had plenty in between. I hope to have many more. Hyped or un-hyped, beer is good!

 

I think it is impossible to not be effected by hype. When you drink a beer that has been hyped up, you go in with preconceived notions. These do not act the same on everyone, nor do they act the same with every beer; however, they are always there.

If this beer tastes good to you, you may find that you slightly over rate it, because you expected to enjoy the experience, you did enjoy the experience, and therefore, the beer lived up to the hype. However, If did not enjoy the experience (and here I do not mean you hate the beer, just that you found it sup par, or even just like a similar beer better) you may react by being you harsh and rating the beer lower than you would having entered blind.

None of this is to say that I think hype is a bad thing. I love hype. I love trying to find the best of the best. The hunt may be my favorite part of beer drinking. Sometimes I love them, sometimes I don't. But I always wonder what I would think if I went in fresh, with no preconceived notions.

 

Well said. Some on here seem to take this basic, common fact (that human beings are influenced by things like hype) as an attack on their character. Acknowledging this obvious human condition is not an attack on anyone's character. I do, however, find that those who deny that they are influenced by hype to be the most susceptible to it.

If you are on this site seeing ratings, reading reviews, reading threads, then your whole beer experience is influenced by hype. From the beers bought, to the tasting, to the reviews. Denying that people are influenced by hype only exacerbates the problem. But acknowledging that it exists and understanding your behavior relative to hype will help further your beer tasting experience.

 

I can't imagine how anyone could be unaffected by hype. If everyone is telling you how great a beer is, would you choose not to try it because it wasn't otherwise on your radar? That would be self-defeating behavior in my opinion. I can't even think of all the great beers I've tried because I heard they were really good.
On the other hand, I'm not sure where taste and hype intersect. If anything, hype increases my expectations, and I think I'd be more likely to be disappointed. Sorta like Avengers 2.

 

I have always searched for the local small batches that are considered good by locals, and I honestly enjoy these the best. I recently got a box that was half stuffed with grey whales, but it is the one beer from a brewery I never heard of that has zero reviews that I am most excited to try.

And hype sometimes is a groundswell of folks raving about how superior something tastes, so hype can be justified. It is hard to tell for sure, kind of a catch 22 that you won't find out if it is exceptional quality, rarity, or homerism that is behind the hype until you try it.

 

As with things like music, etc, I think 'hype' (broadly defined) can shape your perception without you even being aware of it.

Of course there's a certain threshold, past which you can objectively judge something regardless of what other people have said about it...

...but I think in many cases below this threshold, you're primed to perceive something as 'good' and thus regard it as such.

Time and time again, I'll hear a song I really dig and cant help but wonder "if I was in a bar and saw a band playing this, would I think much of it?" I cant confidently answer yes, and I think the same can apply to beer.