What Exactly Is A 5.0 Beer Rating?

I has some a few weeks ago and thought it was pretty good stuff, but I’ve got no real baseline either. I like SOS and Double SOS, the Triple I thought was too sweet.

 

If I even decide to rethink my ratings of beer I’ll keep a reminder on some posts here that imo made some sense. 5 rated beers is a classification of beers, room for more than one, not a pyramid is which what I had In my mind. There is room for 5s, not just one title for top dog, that could be an add on note in your description.

 

I don’t trust anyone who likes bananas more than strawberries.....

 

Double Sunshine is one of my favs and has stood the test of time imho.

 

Great beer.

 

The 2 beers I rated as 5 were not perfect, more like 4.95, and context does have a lot to do with it.

Apparently the best beer on earth is found here (though reviewed by the brewer):

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50956/

 

Good point. If we are grading by percentiles I would agree with the 3.00 average. However, I would also argue that in the educational/school system, the average isn't 50%. The average is closer to 75-80%. A 3.75 sits right in that range. I still consider passing around a 3.50 or 3.25. After spending a lot of time in school, 3.75/5.00 as an average only feels right to me.

 

One reason I feel that my ratings tend to be high is because of a sampling bias. I use BA as a filter to choose which beers to spend money on. It's rare that I will purchase a beer blind without looking it up on BA first. Of course it does happen when I am out at a bar, but that is a rare event now a days with kids and all. My typical rule is IPA's < 4.0 on BA = no purchase and non-IPA's < 3.75 on BA = no purchase. Using these two simple rules it is rare that I drink a beer that I don't enjoy on some level.

 

Russian river temptation is my highest rated with a 4.92 and to me that's the perfect beer if that makes sense lol

 

A Beer I absolutely love, and nearly flawless in every category. I have ~1% overall group of perfect 5’s....it’s my “Global Elites” beer group. Some get kicked out on a revisit where I find some flaws or don’t love it as mich as I previously though and some get added to the group. I love when I repeat after a few years and it’s still worthy of a 5. That always makes me feel honored to be able to drink such outstanding beers like these.

 

this actually is a pretty good barometer you use, with the caveat that there’s has to be at least 5-10 ticks or reviews. Otherwise I may have to rely on Untappd which isn’t as reliable.

 

I too am guilty of looking at things through the lens of academic letter grades/percentiles It a conscious bias that I struggle with, and compounded by selective/informed purchasing. As such I'm not surprised when my overall average is a 4.01.

 

I reported them a few months ago, but still up. I'd better start my brewery while this loophole is open

 

This thread had me look back at old ratings. I realized I had one 5 so I was looking back trying to find it and chuckled when I say my orval at 4.94 and thought that's harsh . But I found my one 5. Deschutes Obsidian stout, I stand by that today. If you disagree you crazy

 

I actually think that that letter grade system is pretty fair and realistic. If you are minimally thoughtful about your purchasing these days its pretty easy to only drink really good - great examples of any given style. And my experience is that most breweries are making at least decent beer. I'd wager that the bulk of craft beer made in the us these days could fairly be BA graded in the 3.25-3.75 window and with a simple look here (or at other user sourced rating platforms) you could exclusively drink beer that deserves a 3.75+ grade.

 

It’s why I’m dubious of ratings, a 3 IPA would most likely be a real shit beer and not middling. The scale slides up 1 imo for IPAs and a 4 is imo a decidedly average IPA , and a nice Pils or lager perhaps goes the other way. I don’t believe the ratings are truly by style to style, it’s how much you like a beer, most guys like flavorful IPAs and Stouts over lagers so it reflects that in the ratings. Just my opinion here , ratings for anything need to be understood and perhaps qualified, whether it’s beer, wine, cheeses. When a see a simple Budweiser’s with a 1.8 that’s certainly not a fair rating to style , it’s bias, that’s just as easy example, because at worst it might be average to style, at best it should and be well over a 4 for the style, it just is what it is a harmless light lager.

 

Yeah there definitely has to be at least 10 reviews and/or ratings. There is one important exception to this general beer buying strategy and that is when I am exploring a style I am unfamiliar with. Then all bets are off, especially if it is a hard to find style like Extra Special Bitters for example. I will take one of those whenever I can get one.

 

Looking back at my ratings, I see I have given (2) 5 ratings (Abt 12 and BCBS 2012). I would find it hard to beat Abt 12 or Westy XII as a style and the BSBS was my first one (probably), but still, to me the best a barrel aged stout gets. I've become a little more stringent in my ratings over the years as well.