Why don't you review?

One observation here that I can't hold back...there are some on BA who apparently fixate on "unique" reviews to the extent that their review is a meaningless, flowery pile of B.S. which does little more than entertain the reviewer and earn them another karma point. Very clearly the mods are, at times, asleep at the wheel when it comes to checking whether the reviews meet the minimum expectations for demonstrating that the reviewer has actually even tasted the beer. I'll take concise and descriptive over imaginative fantasy anytime.

 

To be clear, I never said I reviewed for others or to contradict. I mostly preview for myself so I remember whether or not I like a beer (for various reasons), and don't rely on someone else's perception of good or bad.

There are only a few other members whose reviews I trust to be inline with my palate.

 

Oh, yeah - like me, you were more of an Addams Family fan, huh?

 

Does it help if I liked *Edmund* Gwynn (Gwenn)?

 

Very funny. But with all due respect, if someone respects your opinion and/or your ability to honestly describe a beer, why wouldn’t you want them to be able to easily access your reviews? Is that not a vital part of this site and “respecting beer”? Granted, this is irrelevant now given JK’s revelation but I’m just sayin’. Cheers my friend. All jokes on this side.

 

There exists two types of people on this Earth; those who enjoy The Munsters and those who i choose not to associate with.

 

I honestly wasn't trying to lock people out of my reviews, didn't realize it could be done (and as Jess points out, it can't).

 

...were at the right age to have alternating (maybe simultaneous?) crushes on both Morticia and Wednesday.

And I'm not afraid to admit it (seeing as the statute of limitations has probably been reached).

 

Why don't I review? I'm lazy. Or maybe it's just one more thing to take my attention away from things that really matter. Like building a 2nd generation legacy wagon that can destroy all the Bavarian motor werks fan boys in the 303...

 

I started off just ticking (my first 900 beers or so). I was intimidated, to be honest. Between the whole "rating to style" thing and the fact I'm not an expert on any style of beer whatsoever, it was an easy choice.

But then I said fuck it, and started reading reviews and getting an idea of how to write them. I've rated over 1700 beers now and I mainly do it for myself, so I can remember how certain beers tasted and were enjoyed (or not) by me. If others use them to help make a decision then that's great! But I'm not expecting that and in fact I'd recommend NOT doing that because my palate is absolutely hilarious.

 

Not sure I wanted to like this post... sort'a scaring me.

 

What about Marilyn ?

 

I was going to ask the same, but there were two and was afraid of Jess' reply.

 

Judging by his last post I suppose he had it out for both of them.

 

Exactly why I was afraid.

 

I used to participate in NBS/NBW so I did on occasion review a beer. here and there..I once wrote a great number of reviews as a beer wholesaler and really developed a knowledge of beer styles, but that has stopped for good. Lots of reviews here and elsewhere are very good, an equal number not so good. It seems that lots of folks are simply trying to rack up an always bigger number of reviews. It is not a race or like likes or friends on FB.

 

I remember the post accusing you of not reviewing and if I remember correctly you did not reply.

 

I am 100% absolutely certain that if I hadn't always had to scrape together the few bucks left over after providing for my families, and other priorities, and had a big beer budget, I just would have started at one end of the beer store, and drank my way to the other end, and just poured out any beers I didn't like with the first couple of sips. Then start over. I wouldn't have read a review. Why bother? I wouldn't have wanted to provide reviews to to others who shop carefully. Why bother?

I since have found many reasons to review that aren't related to a tight budget, but this thread is about why NOT to review, and having bucks ahoy is definitely a reason not to review.

 

See, so that's two things I don't do 'round here!

(I think it's happened more than once but who keeps track? Well, there might be a website for that, too.)

 

I rate every single beer I drink on BA and always have, it’s like a personal badge of honor, and maybe some day I’ll get enough karma points to get a gold star or something, but I long lost hope for that. Reviewing is a different story. If I’m in the mood and if I have time, I might write a good old traditional BA style review and opine on each of the components as suggested by BA long ago. But oftentimes, what actually keeps me from reviewing a beer, in addition to rating it, is that I don’t want to just give it a quick one phrase “dank piney ipa, but not well carbonated...” like you’d see on Untappd. I feel this is being disrespectful to myself as a BA contributor, the BA community, the beer itself, and the brewer. While I have done this type of thing on occasion, and might actually like to do it more often with a bit more substance as I think it could be of benefit to the BA community, this type of review is more of an impulsive nature and better served by Untapped. I would rather come to BA for thoughtful, qualitative and substantive reviews where that matters. While I review with less and less regularity, and while BA has a much smaller universe of users than Untappd, and even though Untappd owns BA, the quality of beer reviews on BA serves as a differentiator between the two sites - to the extent I can help contribute to BA, I’m willing to try to do my part when I can. It’s all good fun!