IPA and Barrel-Aged Stout Bias

I have a Wit, Pilsner, and Hefe rated higher than some really Big boys: Fou' Foune, BCB Vanilla Stout, Temptation...

 

That's not bias. Bias is when ESPN thinks every SEC football team can beat every non-SEC team that they haven't actually played. Rating one beer you drank higher than a different beer you drank is bias free. Bias is when I walk into a new brewpub and try the IPAs and Stouts first because I believe I will like them more.

 

or maybe people just like IPA's more then others

 

Majority of people want flavor/booze bombs and the only way you get that is high alcohol DIPAs or BA stouts

 

It is funny how even the highest rated lager on here is barely at a 4 or below it, haven't checked recently. Like most others have said, IPAs & Stouts are more flavorful and therefore easier to be impressed by. Thus they have a higher rating. I like a Lager from time to time, but it isn't a style i go to for complexity.

Best bet would be to compare ratings by style, as that would be more appropriate for reading the ratings & reviews.

 

I don't drink either one, can't stand them. I will have a porter from time to time. In my opinion, it's just like the "Ice Beer" fad of the early 90's. Instead of 6 or 7 it only takes 2-3 to get plastered! If that's a "Great Beer" so be it.

 

There is a tone often repeated on BA that is really beginning to tire me, as it is perhaps the most egotistical, condescending approach to conversation. Those that feel their Euro beers are not fully appreciated make claims that they and their kin somehow appreciate nuance in ways that the "typical BA" or "Americans" simply cannot. They use subjective reasoning to attempt to dismantle the subjective reasoning they so hate. It is quite the paradox. Robust and flavorful beers can be just as nuanced as any of the more subtle brews, and one could even argue (I don't care for the approach) that it takes a more sophisticated palate to look past the bold flavors and see how they play with those in the background. Please stop trying to use your not-so-thinly-veiled elitism as a way to undermine dissenting opinion on a topic as subjective as taste.

Stating your likes, dislikes, and opinions is one thing. Trashing other views in an attempt to substantiate claims that are actually coming from the same analysis with no unique insights is something else entirely. Talking in this manner deters intellectual exchange and becomes more about ego than finding truth and connecting with people, I really hope we can get away from it sometime soon.

 

While your reviews follow your said preference, you still only have 3 beers rated above a 4 out of 150.

 

Explain the reaction to Rauchbiers to me. Big flavor, love hate reaction.

 

There is another paradox at work here: that the highest-rated beers on BA are, frequently, the least readily available to the general public. So the claims you make about elitism around subtle, traditional beers -- that are readily available to anyone, antime they choose to seek them out -- are, in many ways, misplaced. Rather it seems that rarity (and the story that comes with successfully obtaining rare beers) coupled with big, bold flavors (and the conversation they engender in forums such as this) strikes more of a note with the primary BA demographic than stories of traveling to and simply drinking (as opposed to tasting and rating and discussing) readily available, traditional beers. All of which is well and good; but so is the occasional dissenting perspective, right?

 

Firstly a BIG Cheers shout out to @Nick_Bousquet for another thoughtful post.

It has already been mentioned but: BAs tend to prefer big beers with big flavors.

I agree with the discussion topic espoused by Nick of: “Robust and flavorful beers can be just as nuanced as any of the more subtle brews, and one could even argue (I don't care for the approach) that it takes a more sophisticated palate to look past the bold flavors and see how they play with those in the background.”

Cheers to Nick!!

P.S. For transparency I should mention that I also like beer styles like Hefeweizen, Kolsch, etc. In fact I have a bottle of New Glarus Two Women (a Landbier) in the fridge that I will be drinking later today.

 

Things with complex flavors will always be rated higher than things with simple flavors.
Exotic tropical fruits will always be more interesting than an apple, even if it's the perfect example of everything an apple should strive to be.
Single-malt scotch aged for decades will always surpass Jack Daniels, even if Jack Daniels is exactly what it intends to be.
A 5-course gourmet dinner from a 5* restaurant will always be deemed fancier than a grilled cheese, even if it's the best grilled cheese you've ever had.

Sorry, I love analogies. My point is that even if a beer like a lager or a hefeweizen is perfect and to-style, it still pales in comparison to the massive flavor profile of a barrel-aged stout, double IPA, barleywine, quadrupel, sour, etc..
BA stouts and DIPAs may make up the majority of the list because they are popular styles, but if you include the other beers in the list, it's obvious that huge and complex flavors win out over simple.
We all enjoy other styles, but even if they were absolutely perfect, I don't think anyone has ever had their mind blown by a golden lager. Simple beers, even when perfect, just aren't impressive, so they don't get rated as highly.

 

It can be as simple as people like them without a bunch of hand wringing.

 

I don't understand it either, they're both equally terrible in different ways.

 

OK.

 

someone should do an analysis on how gaudy label art factors into the mix

 

But there is no way to filter out the ratings from those who rated them low because they were "boring"... i.e. not an IPA et al.

 

You mean combine two of the most reoccurring thread topics into one?

 

oh yes i did

 

I think one of the reasons is that, with the growth in popularity of craft beer, the booze bombs and taste bud-ripping hop monsters are easier for a newcomer to grasp. "Oh wow! Tastes like Bourbon! How unique!", and then their scores reflect that. Whereas if they're coming from AALs, trying a well-made Pils or Kolsch isn't that different than what they're used to, so there's no "wow factor".

When people have a new experience, if they enjoy it, they seem to tend to think it's "better" than what they're used to. I grew up near Niagara Falls, and have been there hundreds of times. Yet, the first time I saw Nooksack Falls here in Whatcom County, I was truly blown away, even though there's no real comparison.