Do you review to style?

I try my hardest to review to style, but I find it difficult sometimes to set aside personal biases. For example, I have reviewed a beer lower than I thought I should because, even though I liked it, it wasn't anywhere near the style. I have also reviewed beers higher than I thought I should because I knew that I didn't like the style. I get kinda ticked off reading super-low reviews about shitty styles, the biggest victim is American Adjunct Lager. "If you think figure skating is stupid, you have no business being a judge."

 

Untappd is also my go to rating system and I used to rate beers against all others but have recently found myself rating to the style, I'm not sure what has caused this shift in my thinking but I find your question relevant given my new thought process and I find myself having to think less about "This is supposed to be an awesome beer with a lot of hype, how should I rate this?" and more about the beer itself. I do find now when I drink beers that I haven't had in a while that I am often re-rating them at a higher mark which is always a plus!

 

Most people here rate to rarity.

I think about style when reviewing, but I don't have a broad enough perspective to truly review to style.

 

So many brewers are stretching, ignoring, & maiming "styles" that it is sometimes an exercise in futility.

That said, I review for my own amusement & to keep track of what I've had & what I like. I'll think about styles (for example, all kolsch are now judged against the beers I had in Cologne) but realistically, I'm not BJCP certified, nor do I care to be. For the most part it's about how the beer is in my mouth. If it's good it gets high ratings, if not, then no.

Review how you want, enjoy the process, & don't let anyone tell you you're "doing it wrong".

 

Nah, rating to style is bollocks.

 

I try to rate to style. It's what gives the review meaning. I think that as you get more beer under your belt that you automatically compare against other beer you have had. That is how you learn styles and why i think your first review in any style is bound to be too high or too low. Once you get some experience all those words in the guidelines start to take on more meaining.

 

I rate it against all beers and take style into consideration.

 

I rate to style as much as I can. That is to say, I compare it to other good examples that I have had and what it says in the BJCP guide. However, since I have not had everything under the sun or tried all of the textbook examples in every style I might not do the best job possible.
I voted other since my personal preference obviously comes into it since I am not a judge in competition or anything. As long as you are conscious of the style I think that your reviews are helpful. It's the people that give something straight fives and gush about how it is the best thing ever conceived by man that get an eyeroll from me (although among people that review on here, I would say that those are in the minority).

 

Linguistically speaking, I think that the fact that for rarity you say rate and for style you say review says it all as far as critiquing how certain people talk (or in this case, type) about beer.

 

There is no reason not to rate to style. Also being human I know it is harder to review styles that are not in my wheel house.

 

Hard to say? To many variations.

 

I try to rate to style a little bit. I think as a whole the craft beer community gravitates to intense flavors. So Imperial Stouts, Barrel Aged Doublle porters, IPA and double IPA seem to garner the highest ratings. But that doesn't mean those beers are superior to all the others (okay, maybe they are?). But in any case, is there a 5/5 Heffeweizen, Boch, or Lager out there? There has to be. It's just hard for me to give that high of a rating to a light, moderately flavored beer. I recently gave a pretty good rating to an Oktoberfest beer because I felt the malt and hops were totally nailed per the style. Other Oktoberfest beers I've had were lacking.

 

This is why I feel confident in rating styles that I am not fond of. Take sours for instance. I don't necessarily enjoy them but before I drink one I will first review the trademarks of the style. Then, I will read whatever limited information on the particular beer as stated by the brewer (if possible). Finally, I will go through reviews in order to see what others found in it to make sure I am at least getting the same sensation, aroma and flavors as to give an honest impression of the beer regardless of personal preference. So what I come up with is judgments like, Duchesse de Bourgogne = very spot on stylistically but not my thing. King of Hop (Starr Hill) = Swing and a miss stylistically despite being one of my favorite styles.

Being able to make the distinction is what matters to me in rating to style.

 

Well.. I sort of do.. but what does that mean exactly? Like beer judges, they can get beers that don't really fit to style.. that doesn't mean the beer is bad?

You can use styles as guides, gives you an idea of what to look for but is the beer good? Do you enjoy it?

That's what really matters.

 

That's the point of the exercise. If said brewer (whether professional or home-brewer) is telling me "This is my interpretation of XXX beer." I'm going to expect XXX. If it ends up tasting more like YYY, I consider that bad.

That's where "overall" comes into play. Damn, this is a really well-made, tasty beer -- points given. Now, let's work on interpretations.

I had a couple home-brew mentors who gave me great competition advice: Brew a beer to the style you want, but be sure to recognize what it actually tastes like. If your Munich Dunkel is more Imperial Stout, enter it as an Imperial Stout.

 

I try to but its tough. I don't think i've been in the craft game long enough. I mean I know IPAs and Stouts...but there's a lot of other styles. Also, i try not to rate a beer of a style i'm not particularly fond of.

 

Nowadays I always rate to-style, but some of my earliest reviews here (I don't use other sites or apps) betray a tendency to rate based upon my of-the-moment impression.

This was largely due to the fact that these beer were imported brands which were new to the area, and to me. But take a look at my rDev for the past two hundred or so reviews -- my ratings are not very generous.

 

I don't care jack how it fits within a style, I'm not a judge, I'm a drinker
I don't review for others, I review for me
cheers