Do you care about beer awards?

No.

 

I am interested in which beers win awards but save my enthusiasm for beers I can actually buy.

 

if a local brewery wins a award in a style i like i definitely am going to seek it out.

 

I enjoy reading through the winners list mostly just to see if there are breweries that I normally buy from on there. I have never gone out of my way to find a beer just because it won a medal, but if I happen upon one that I have never had and I know it got top 3 I would probably be more inclined to try it.

 

This is the real world value of these contests to me. They're one of the better modes of discoverability in this crowded beer world

 

I like to see if any winners are readily available to me and check them out, especially if it's in a style I usually pass on. Always nice to recalibrate on rating to style.

 

No. Tasting some of the medal winners in Chicago has me thinking very average beers can win awards (looking at you, Beezer).

 

No.
I'll be the judge of whether a beer tastes good for my palate, regardless of what some bjcp certified judge thinks is "most accurate to style" (yawn).

I also think the best breweries aren't even in these competitions in the first place. It just reflects the "best" out of those who even entered to be judged.

 

Yes, but I’m biased as a competition organizer. Those who said they view awards as recommendations by someone knowledgeable who may or may not have a similar palate to theirs have the right idea.

No competition, even one as large as WBC, is comprehensive. It’s a snapshot of the beers entered on that day.

Also, keep in mind that breweries are the “customers” rather than the public. They provide the beer and pay for entry fees and shipping to participate. The feedback from Judges to the entrants should provide the most value, with any medals/recognition the cherry on top.

 

One of the 'issues' that is often/typically discussed when the winners of a competition is announced is something like: Why didn't (insert revered brewery name here) win a medal in (insert category name here)?

Are you at liberty to provide further insight into which breweries choose to submit beers to a competition (such as yours)? Will 'hyped' breweries like Tree House, Hill Farmstead, The Alchemist, etc. submit their beers to a competition? There is always discussion that for breweries that are revered to actually submit beer since there is really no 'upside' for them.

The other 'argument' is that non-hyped breweries are motivated to submit beers since a competition is sorta like the lottery in that if they win there is tremendous upside for advertising their business.

Any insight you can provide here will be most appreciated.

Cheers!

 

I read the title too quick and thought this was a thread about awards for people who cared about beer.

 

Do you seek out winning beers? No.

Do you take pride in your region/state bringing home a lot of awards? Not really but I guess it beats a kick in the pants.

Do you give a care at all? No, but if you shove a list of winners in my face, sure ... I'll take a peek.

I use BA.com's reviews and ratings to help me seek out new beers. FWIW I use the Whisk[e]yTube for finding new whisk[e]ys. In neither instance do I use awards. You learn pretty early as a whisk[e]y geek that most of the whisk[e]y awards are more or less bought, so they're essentially useless. I'm not sure how it works in beer, but either way ... the awards feel like something for the marketers, sales teams and industry as a whole, not for the drinkers.

 

Could not care less.

 

In that case everyone here gets an award

 

I slightly care about awards for a couple of reasons. First is that if it's a style I like, and a beer I can get and haven't tried, I'd seek it out. Secondly, it's great when small breweries in my region can be recognized.

 

No poll @chrisjws ?