Beer Reviews Biased

AFAIK, only your first check-in of a given beer on UT counts towards its score, no matter how many times you check it in.

 

So.

You're saying a perfect beer in a style you dislike, is worse than the shittiest beer in a style you love?

This attitude is why ratings are worthless. Which is better: a plate of nachos, or a 2 inch ribeye?

 

Yes. The best beer of any style should be rated as such. The best Malt Liquor and the best Quad both could deserve 5s.

 

But, a Quad and a Kolsch can both meet your criteria, can both be excellent or terrible, but can not be compared.

Do you prefer lasagna or rugby? Which is better?

 

Aren't reviews by definition supposed to be biased? Even in the best of circumstances, no two people are going to have the same exact experience, preference, method...

 

Or even the style guidelines posted on this very website.

The Beer101 page has a ton of great info.

If, ya know, one is inclined to learn......

 

No.

Reviews are supposed to be neutral, unbiased, views of the various criteria, each independent of the other.

 

That might be asking a bit much

 

Perhaps. (By perhaps I mean, yup, sure, that's how folks roll. And, there ain't a damn thing I can do about it.)

Don't, make it wrong though.

 

You are wrong. You can edit any aspect of an old rating if u want at any time.

 

Get used to it. its always been this way and is very unlikely to change.

 

Descriptive and quantitative reviews are all over the map, admittedly. If I have an issue, it's that I tend to review the beers that I end up liking, whatever the style. So there's that. Am I going to take the trouble to leave a "Goodreads" style 1 star rating (1.0) on a crappy beer with a full description? Nope.

What does drive me a little batty is that people, members of BA for years, don't really know how to review a beer for aroma, taste, or mouthfeel. I see descriptors like "tastes like nuts" or "too thick" or "medium texture" and it all means nothing. Give us an actual aroma, taste, or at least compare it to another beer so that other readers/BA members have a clue as to what you are talking about in the end... This is where I'd rather just have their "# score" than a description if the text description is gibberish.
That and the typos, mistakes, and false descriptors are more irritating to someone who is a bit O.C.D. (yeah, me).

 

I think I understand, and agree, with what he's saying. If I have to choose between a 3.8 Pils and a 4.5 IPA I'm going to choose the pils. Not because I think the IPA is a shitty beer, on the contrary, it's likely to be an excellent choice for an IPA drinker, while a 4.5 Pils is likely to be a lousy choice for an IPA drinker.

To use your example someone who's lactose intolerant won't enjoy a 5.0 plate of nachos and a vegetarian won't like a 5.0 ribeye

 

Thumbs up emoji (if BA had one).
I occasionally try different IPA's, but don't rate them because I know I'm biased against their overall profile.

 

I like that balance thing. Anyhow, personal taste is good, the style can be bad too and deserve low points.

 

I do my best to rate a beer more heavily on style than on my personal preference. There are plenty of delicious liquids out there that utterly fall flat style wise.

 

Maybe because some of us use pre-existing ratings (as imperfect as they are) when we're staring at 5 shelves full of beer in Bevmo and trying to decide what to buy? What blind "judgement" would you suggest using? Buying a beer based on its label? You have literally contributed nothing to this discussion.

I have found that overall and despite people rating beers either to their own preferences or to style, the overall rating of most beers on BA are a pretty accurate indicator of how good a beer is going to be. For example Ratebeer has much worse inflation than BA in my experience. Go there if you really wanna see some skewed and inaccurate ratings.

 

Perhaps there should be multiple ratings. One rating for "fits to style", and another for "I liked/disliked this". If it turned out that adding goat cheese and oregano to IPAs made them universally the best beer anyone has ever had ever, there would be a place to rate it as 0 to style, but 5 to preference. At least until ChèvrePA is a registered style.