Do you drink 'Outstanding' beers on average?

I find this is the case with most rating sites that are based on things I actively seek out (as opposed to what’s set before me). I’m not going to buy (and therefore rate) a beer that I think isn’t going to be very good. Same with rating restaurants on Yelp -- I normally am not going to go to a restaurant that I don’t think is very good, so I’m not going to rate it. Nor am I going to buy a CD from a band I don’t like. This causes my ratings on Yelp to be more 4-5 and beer apps to be 3.5-4.5. There are occasions in which I’m dragged to a restaurant I don’t like, or I’m at a party and only standard beers are available, but more often I try a beer or a restaurant because I picked it.

 

I don't rate a lot of stuff low either, I would say most of what I drink is outstanding to me. In my fridge right now, I have Heady, zombie dust, BCBS, BCBBW, Enjoy By, some florida cracker, a few DFH brews(pils and beer 1000), a few terrapin wake n bake and some extras I received in a trade, all of which rate above a 4 here(though I haven't had). Most of what I drink is outstanding, because otherwise, I probably wouldn't drink it. Too many great beers out there to drink average stuff.

 

I am basically too cheap to always be drinking outstanding beer. Although this time of year I probably do. Thank you Celebration.

 

Since I got into drinking good beer, I'm still trying to find an affordable way to do it. I've found that I have to mix in a few mediocre beers here and there.

 

This is my argument for the "drink local" lobbyist who chastises those of us who who seek pours from other regions sometimes.

 

I drink mostly good to great beers, so my ratings (as of late anyway) have ranged from 3.5-4.5. I seldom breach that top .5 anymore (and I'm way behind on publishing ratings and in dire need of rerating many beers).

Celebration is definitely worth that rating. That's almost exactly where I'd put it, rated against other IPAs. It's got a great hoppy profile mixed with a unique tasting malt bill (part of which may be me incorrectly attributing to malt instead of yeast). Awesome beer and highly praised for a reason. Just because something's not rare doesn't mean it can't be outstanding.

I rate largely to style, so it will take a truly reprehensible beer to make me rate a 1. I don't believe beers should all be rated against one another (which would mean greats like Heady would be 5s but mediocre IIPAs would rate 1 in comparison). 1s should be reserved for beers that have actual issues like infection or those that completely miss the style they're in, and even in the case of the latter if they taste good they still won't get a 1 even if they fall outside their style. By this token, I wouldn't even rate many (if any) American adjunct lagers a 1; quality-wise they're objectively very good.

 

I like to think my quality of beer has gone up since reading on here.

And BTW, the low score for Aussie beer is because Aussie beer is very mediocre!

 

Man, is that ever the truth. I want my local beers to be great, I truly do, but they suck. Some of them I downright loathe. So, I rarely if ever drink local, for the same reason I said- too many great beers to drink average ones. I don't care where it comes from, as long as it's great.

 

At beer stores, I tend to look at BA scores more often than not and brush off "average" beers when my beer money is in competition for something better.. So yes, I tend to try to drink only the best, or what people deem as the best. A few exceptions are beers that are brand new to the scene (new seasonals with low # of ratings), seasonals I don't remember from the year prior that have a couple of hundred ratings but not enough to really establish itself, local beers that have a low total # of BA ratings even after being out for 10 years, or locals that are rated bad but I'm familiar with and actually like.. For the most part, I think I'm at a 70/30 split of looking at BA scores vs. trying new stuff/trying beers with a low # of ratings/liking the "average" beers

Locally though, I think I'm an open book to draft pours (@ $4.50/pint), which can lead to much more variation in quality. Which may lead to my overall # much close to 60/40, with 60% going towards drinking "known" outstanding beers.

 

One man's trash is another man's treasure of course, but I tend to rely a lot on the BA ratings when I am making a decision to try something new. And honestly, anything below an 85 and I am thinking twice. A recent example is the aforementioned DFH beer thousand. It rates an 85 and was a little on the pricey side, but I love GBV and the brewery, so I was trying that without hesitation(and I very much enjoyed it). On the flip side, I recently passed on an IPA I never saw before(can't remember which) that had a rating of 79. I am sure it would have been drinkable at least, but is trying something new and being potentially disappointed worth it versus grabbing something I know I love? Sounds cowardly, but i don't think it is.

 

Usually if I'm buying something that I have not had, it is a style that I already know and by a company that I know I like already, so chances are pretty good that I will rate it fairly well. The only real exceptions for me are doing tastings while at different breweries or tap takeover nights. I have gotten way past needing to try anything and everything and generally stick with what I know these days.

 

If I am, it is because I have been lucky. Right now, I am focused on simply trying new beers, so they'll be plenty of misses, I reckon.

 

I would say so, I sometimes try some new stuff that I don't rate a 4 or higher...but I usually keep 4+ beers on hand

 

On average no, just a lot of okay beer or 3's.

 

I think I drink awesome beer all the time but you might disagree.

I pay zero attention to the ratings here when shopping for beer.

Nothing personal, folks.

 

^This! I primarily drink beers that I buy, trade for, or are at tastings, and therefore almost all the beers I try are well "above average". I try to be very fair and as unbiased as possible, but it's going to happen from time to time.

 

To add a bit more and the beer nerd in me I look at the ingredients and see what's in the beer what yeast and etc is used normally this tells me if I might like it or not I also use ba reviews as well and factor the two in together

 

A lot of stores are now posting the BA rating on the shelf, and I have to admit, it's hard to ignore it and is a good way to find good beers to buy. So, I end up grabbing sought after beers or highly rated beers and haven't been too disappointed yet.