Poll: Should “value” be added as a beer rating category?

Randomly, when writing up a beer review, I might make a note in the "overall" portion of the review (at the end) that the beer was a good value for what it is. I think I've only done that a handful of times. I believe value is a personal thing and this starts to get fractal.

 

The buyer might well judge whether a beer is too pricey for him/her. But the price the purchaser sees in many cases is determined by the wholesaler markup and the retailer margin. Since the wholesale distributor often has exclusive rights, that price could well be competitive in the brewery's home market, but elevated to luxury-level out in the hinterlands (or vice versa!). It still can be useful to mention pricing in the written review, though.

 

Wouldn't that require a place to enter price paid? I might think this beer is worth the $35 I spent, however if you found the beer at a lower price say $25 you might feel that is too much to spend for your enjoyment.

 

My thought was that I'd never want to see it incorporated into a beer's BA rating. While the other rating components are quantifiable, at least some degree, "value" is entirely subjective. Some people would think I was nuts for paying $5/oz for pours of KBBS, or for saying I wouldn't give you a dollar for a truckload of Budweiser. If I ever get the chance to pay $25 for an ounce of Utopias, I'm in. Those are value judgments on my part, and I don't expect anyone to care. By the same token, I don't care about anyone else's take on a beer's value. If it's not worth it to me, I won't buy it in the first place.

But since it's never happening, it's a moot point.

 

Given the diversity of descriptions for almost any single beer's perceived attributes in BA reviews, I would argue that looks, taste, etc. are barely more objectively quantifiable than value. IMO, the representation of the beer attributes (look, smell taste, etc.) is highly subjective, even if numeric values are assigned.

 

I like the premise and the post. But after thinking about it I definitely vote No. Even though the idea of adding value to beer has good merits, it adds inconcsistency. A stout I can buy for $2.99 in the store, is often upcharged to $10-15 at the bar. Two reviewers would assign very different value depending on where they were drinking it.
That's not to say there isn't other inconsistencies already in the reviewing process such as beer age, but this would add another component.

 

Price has pretty much been a determining factor for me from the start of this craft beer journey.
Ratings are subjective due to everyone being different...duh, right?
Cost could/will always be different from region to region too.
That being said, I don't think scoring a beer lower or higher, because I paid more or less for it is fair.
There are plenty of beers out there that I think are a good deal for what you get, but that shouldn't effect an overall rating, imo.

 

No, only because this comes into play when it’s really outsized. Not interested in debating if something is a $7 pour or a $8 pour. Regions come into play and other variables I don’t expect to be well controlled. For me this is only on the far ends of the spectrum and a once in awhile consideration.

 

I’m hungry and need to consider my thoughts before elaborating. Suffice, for the moment, to say, “how on earth would anyone evaluate worth as a community?” Let cost be one of many intangibles to be considered and noted under the Overall category.

 

You are free to add whatever you want to your reviews, within site guidelines. There never will be a category or any mention of price allowed officially. I won't try to explain the reasoning for that, it would be pointless.

I came here twenty years ago to find reviews to help me to choose beers. I found plenty of reviewers with my palate, and who reviewed in a way I found helpful. Even though I certainly am not one of them, I believe there are many who would like your kind of price guidelines recommendationary reviews.

 

per one of my comments and my vote, I do NOT favor a separate rating category for cost. I only favor allowing raters to take cost into consideration (if they feel it impacts their drinking experience) as one of many drinking experience characteristics when they rate "Overall"

 

Sorry, I was fixated on some members diatribes against consideration of cost. I meant to say I am against a separate rating for perceived value( my definition = perceived satisfaction / dollars per ounce). However if very hi or low perceived value influences my enjoyment i.e. the controversial “drinking experience” then I will most certainly consider it in “overall” rating despite the F bombs that some members want to assign to that habit.

 

While intrigued by the idea, after seeing how this thread has shaken down, I voted "no." Yeah, beer reviews in and of themselves are subjective, but throwing a perceived value into the mix, regardless of how low the percentage is, will create a weird dynamic. I could actually see people bringing down the scores in the other criteria once they actually consider the price they paid vs. What they're experiencing. Point being, I think it would only have a negative effect, not a positive one

 

Per one of my comments, you (and by extension everyone else) are free to write whatever you want in your reviews so long as it is within site guidelines.