Do brewers read BA reviews?

Yes they do.

I reviewed Einhorns Spezial Pilsner and made a comment about it tasting like dirty soda water and way too foamy. Doug the owner/brewer sent me a message saying it was a QC issue and as soon as a new batch was ready he would send me a replacement bottle to make sure I got a quality product.

Doug is the man.

Cheers!

 

Wouldn't you?

 

Care to share these results?

Cheers!

 

You think they read them in their entirety?

 

Of course they do, when I was at Williamsburg AleWerks they even talked about BA and review scores during the brewery tour. Our guide even said how awesome it was to see West Coast reviews for his beers when they have such small East Coast distribution, and basically that he was a fan of trading.

 

I reviewed Kern River Citra Dipa. I didnt find it nearly as impressive as other people, and thought it might have been an older bottle. I got a BM from them talking about my review and the beer. It was really nice to see them caring about their beer. Which that reminds me I need to update my review after trying a very fresh bottle from the March release and finally understanding the hype.

 

Yep. I've been contacted from a few breweries in regards to some of my reviews here on BA.

 

Thread probably doesnt exist but the Pisgah email to Todd Alstrom was pretty funny.

 

They do. From my limited interactions with smaller brewers in the area, I know that developing brewers are very sensitive to this for a few reasons. One, more on the micro level, they want to see that their QC measures are working and that customers aren't getting bad bottles (see above anecdote for an example). Two, more on the macro level, the overall scores are discerned by distributors and retailers in determining how much of a product to carry/distribute. The overall score on BA, more than any other site (from the words of one local brewer) , ties directly into how much of their product makes it to market.

Small brewers, especially ones that are just starting and only brewing a couple styles, dream of having the next "IT" beer. It can be their cash-cow that could allow them to 1) Build their own brewing facility, tasting room, canning line, etc. and 2) Grow their distribution to get to the level that they are a well-known commodity in the craft brew world.

I don't mean to give too much credit to BA, but from what I've heard, being well thought of on this site as a small brewer could mean the difference between living month to month as a business and being able to be the next titan of the industry.

When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense on both levels. BA is a large conglomeration of the most knowledgeable (for the most part) people who consume their product. I recognize that a lot of really knowledgeable beer fans resent BA for this and actively don't use it for that reason (see independent beer bloggers, other sites, traditional media that want criticism of beer to be more in the hands of thoughtful critics, and others I'm not mentioning), but you can't ignore its power in craft beer culture. It is a huge resource for all things from the stuff I mentioned already, design/branding, packaging, business practices, finding a niche in a crowded market, etc....

 

I've had 3-4 messages about reviews over the years. And only a couple weeks ago I reviewed a brewpub's beer (I was the first review) & found it linked to their Facebook page the next day.

So the answer is some of them definitely do.

 

I reviewed a beer in a blind BIF and wasn't very complimentary, in contrast to its generally high ratings. I got a BM from the brewer explaining that the flavors I described and disliked were actually intended and were part of the reason this beer was so unique. It was pretty cool to get a direct response, and if I ever get more experience with buttery chardonnays I'll give that beer a revisit

 

A few months ago, Jean Van Roy saw that I'd reviewed all these weird Cantillon beers and offered to send me a few bottles from the brewery's cellar (3 x 750's or 6 x 375's). He doesn't like using email, so told me instead to give him a call at home(!). Then I woke up.

 

Some do, some don't (Hi Dave & Jim!). Most don't take them seriously, and shouldn't. Do any of us actually read and use Yelp reviews before trying a restaurant? Most folks in the restaurant industry I've talked to read Yelp strictly for the entertainment value.

I have received 1 BM response from a brewer explaining why the beer that I rated rather low, was exactly how he intended it. I replied that I didn't think those flavors worked in the style he made.

 

Surprised more people here don't have brewer stories. I get even more owner responses from my BeerFly place reviews.

 

Actually I do, and I think many in the industry do take it seriously especially when their place has a major trend of bad reviews.

 

The brewers that don't read the reviews probably hear multiple times from customers about exceptional reviews, good and bad.

 

He actually does answer a significant amount of the e-mail sent to info@cantillon. I got a high-res version of the Don Quijote label straight from him the other day. Same thing with Vinnie at RR. It's kind of amazing that these guys are so busy brewing, but take the time to personally answer customer's questions.

 

Garrett Oliver (Brooklyn Brewery) posted a few years ago on BA about reviews. IIRC, he did not put much weight in reviews (BA, ratebeer, etc) because of the unknown sources.