Are beer ratings biased?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by BeerPugz, Apr 21, 2017.

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  1. colts9016

    colts9016 Pooh-Bah (2,997) Jul 2, 2007 Idaho
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I have some bias in my reviews but I generally review beer on the style. Some beer just comes across better than others. Most of the time I use my review for my personal gain.
     
  2. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,656) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    There is also brewery bias in peoples ratings. That really sucks IMO. I have no problem rating an In-Bev owned craft beer, Sam Adams etc, very very high if its excellent, and no problem bashing a Hill Farmstead or Tree House beer if it seems quite off, but clearly some people on hear are biased on the floor/ceiling of rating a beer by 'said" brewery before they even take their first sip. Just shows insecurity IMO.
     
  3. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,656) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The best way to fully eliminate pre-judgement or bias, is to do it blind, and also no idea what beers/breweries you are drinking either. If I'm drinking several pale ales for instance and know what they are and have had several times before, I'll already be able to have some detection of that beer and thus some biases could creep in.
     
  4. Squire

    Squire Grand Pooh-Bah (4,081) Jul 16, 2015 Mississippi
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Generally speaking if it's beer I'll drink it and that's my bias.
     
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  5. HopHead89

    HopHead89 Pundit (752) Oct 20, 2016 California

    agreed
     
  6. LuskusDelph

    LuskusDelph Initiate (0) May 1, 2008 New Jersey

    ...and remember, that in the end, it's all only beer.
     
  7. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Biased?

    Maybe.

    Inconsistent because of natural variations in people's palates and levels of experience?

    Definitely.
     
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  8. ShetlandJon

    ShetlandJon Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2017 Scotland

    And I suppose that's bringing in the question of whether people are intentionally biased or not, isn't it?
     
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  9. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    Of course it's biased by style. A great IPA if it's not 100 it's damn close. Most average IPAs are at least 90 , most push a bit higher. Now if you look at Lagers and Pils it takes what consensus would say was a great beer and perhaps it hits 90, most don't quite make it. There's some great beers here rated 85 or so.

    So what I take away is ; An IPA rated 90 is probably a good beer, but it certinly won't blow your mind, you might want to try it before you buy a six. A 90 Pils is most likely world class and well worth buying. Sure they're exceptions, but generally speaking this is more true than not. So if I'm looking at ratings and beer I know to slide my scale.
     
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  10. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Intentional/conscious bias is certainly an issue as people do prefer some styles of beer and some breweries. Although that is not a good thing in reference to being objective, I'd be more concerned with things that are less than intentional, like label bias, because the person is not actively aware of the fact that the container/tap handle is skewing their perception, even if it is a beer that is a style that they like from a brewery that they also prefer.
     
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  11. Ranbot

    Ranbot Pooh-Bah (2,389) Nov 27, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    The exception is the pilsners that are hopped up like IPAs; the India Pale Lagers (IPLs) that get high ratings because they are IPAs in disguise, but those ratings don't help anyone who prefers a traditional pilsner.
     
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  12. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,848) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    That may be how it is, but it's not how it should be. That's the very definition of style bias at work.
     
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  13. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    You
    Your absolutely right, a 100 beer should be a 100 beer it should represent the very best in that style. But we all know it exists if you look at the ratings. It's not fair to rate a Pils vs a Dipa, or vice versa, there's guys here who don't like hoppy beers.
     
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  14. PittBeerGirl

    PittBeerGirl Pooh-Bah (2,299) Feb 27, 2007 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I rate mostly to my own personal tastes. I don't really rate to style. I really do enjoy the best from most craft beer styles though so this works for me. There are 29 beer styles represented in my top 100...but some occur a lot more than others.
    I think you will be hard pressed to find someone that gives a 4.5 to the best American Adjunct lager.
     
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  15. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,848) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    You will often see stuff like this in the reviews:
    best Pils out there, can't get any better: 3.65 :rolling_eyes:
     
  16. rgordon

    rgordon Pooh-Bah (2,677) Apr 26, 2012 North Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    That does read like a nice syllogism, doesn't it?
     
  17. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    But that's whst it supposed to happen, and I agree with you.
     
  18. JuicesFlowing

    JuicesFlowing Initiate (0) Jul 5, 2009 Kansas

    To me, ratings mean nothing. Of the almost 1,300 beers I've rated, 95% of them are between a 3.5 to 4.00. In other words, sometimes I have a good beer, sometimes I have a great beer, rarely do I have a terrible beer. Maybe I need to use a 1-100 scale or something, I don't know. I'm more concerned about my overall impression or something that stands out about the beer, not an actual number.
     
  19. Phoodcritic

    Phoodcritic Pooh-Bah (1,868) Jul 3, 2014 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I think this is especially important. When you are drinking your first beer in a style, say a faro, how are you supposed to rate to style? From the written description? Seriously?

    I rate beers based on my personal taste, keeping style in mind.
     
  20. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    I pretty much stopped reviewing stuff, and overall I've rated very few over the years. I rate on the 1-5 scoring, and looking back on it I'm a biased reviewer, I would never ever rate the best AAL in the world a 5, but in reality the best in class should be rated very highly if we're looking to the category. This should be true across the board. PBR might be a 4.85 compared to every other AAL out there. It's one reason why I stopped reviewing beers, I don't feel qualified, I'm more a thumbs up or down guy. Looking at the ratings an AAL scoring 80 might be as good as it gets, you wouldn't touch an 80 IPA unless it was free,
     
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