Some review advice needed

I typically rate beers for the quality of the liquid itself, regardless of price. That being said - if the beer is way overpriced, or underpriced, I would typically call this out at the end of my review. (ie. Overall this was a solid beer but would not purchase again at this price..)

 

As someone with a monthly beer budget, including that type of info is always helpful (I don't write reviews, but read lots). I agree; it shouldn't be factored into a rating, but is certainly helpful as an endnote in a review.

 

I don't expressly mention it, but two beers I find of equal value get rated the same no matter how different in price they are for myself.

Will I prefer the cheaper one, without question. Value matters.

I don't get my beer for free.

 

Definitely mention if there's a significant price difference such as a bomber of barleywine MM being $18 and a 4-pack of barleywine CW being only $14. In this case I enjoyed the CW more, regardless of the price. The lower cost simply made it sweeter in my mind.

 

I find pricing can be helpful in a review. If there's a brew I'm going read reviews on before purchasing an indication of expected price range can be helpful. I wouldn't however change my rating of a beer dependent on price.

 

The beer should speak for itself, regardless of price. Obviously if two beers wow me the same way and one is less money, its a no-brainer which one I'll buy more of.

 

During one of the updates to this website, I was briefly allowed to rate a beer an addition category of "Value." This caused some errors in my browser soon thereafter - and then the option to rate for "Value" was gone

A ghost in the machine? Or just BeerAdvocate flirting with a new ratings category, then thinking better of it.

 

I also do this. I dont let the price/value perception reflect in my score. I often include what I paid for a bomber just as a reference anyway. I try to score to style. On a semi- off topic side note, I don't know that I agree with down voting reviews. I was a big fan of voting for them though. I actually suggested being able to "like" a review months ago based on the fact that it would not only make them more useful, but maybe encourage people to do it more for those who like to collect karma (which doesn't matter to me one way or the other). However, labeling a review as non useful (yes, I had one of mine thumbed down for the record) does not seem productive. I have no problem with someone not agreeing with or liking what I have to say (my wife does it all the time), but I don't feel very motivated to do more when it is specifically marked as non useful when you put some time and effort into telling everyone what your experience was. I don't claim to be an expert, and most of us aren't. Giving a thumbs up seems to be good enough for me. We dont dislike other posts for example. Just a reviewing thought.

 

I appreciate when people take the time to write thoughtful, serious reviews, as I try to do. That being said, I say as long as you're giving meaningful, well-reasoned critiques, mention whatever you like about the experience with that beer. If I feel like a particular beer is not only high quality, but a great value as well, I feel it's appropriate to mention that. However, as others have mentioned, I try not to let the perceived value (or lack thereof) influence my actual thoughts on the beer itself.

 

I wouldn't let it reflect in my score but I would definitely make a note if I felt strongly about it.

 

Include it, good question.

 

I don't. Focus on the beer for what it is, not what is just as good at a cheaper price.

 

It should not be the basis for any evaluation of the 5 categories BUT I would mention it if you felt strongly about it . I also would shy away form comparing two beers in a review because that is not really fair to the beer you are supposed to be reviewing . So whether you were comparing price or taste, you really should only be talking about the one beer in the review of that beer.

 

May have been mentioned above but another potential issue with reviewing in price/value is that price is generally not constant.

 

I like to track beer prices over time....

 

I agree with you. My reviews are more for my own benefit than the benefit of others....

 

Here I am to further derail this topic (sorry, good legitimate question by the way). Not going to disagree with you necessarily on the comparrison point, just acknowledge that I do this in most reviews. Not to say which I like better per say, but to give a frame of reference for what I thought it tasted like. Example: "if you like beer X, you should enjoy this" or "reminds me of beer x". With the amount of beer selection available these days it can be overwhelming to pick out new ones to try. I utilize reviews quite a bit, and thought maybe that would be helpful.

 

The price of beer can vary by state/region taxes and distribution, so I personally I don't think a few bucks more or less per six-pack is a significant observation. I say spare yourself of the hassle of writing about the price and let people decide for themselves if a few bucks is worth to them. But, if it was a significantly expensive beer, like a $20+ single or 4-pack then the price that could be worth mentioning, because that price is going to be relatively high no matter where you go in the country.

But, you can do whatever you want with your reviews, of course.