Do you review a beer the first time you try it?

If I have a 6 or 4 pack of a new beer I generally wait until about the 3rd beer to review. That way any novelty effect is gone and I still have at least 1 bottle left to use in re-evaluating and/or editing my review.

However, if I have only one bottle or its on draught and I don't know that I'll ever see the beer again in either serving, I will review it, but make sure that the review is what I'm concentrating on for the half hour or more that I'll spend with the beer.

 

^this.

 

I try to do as drtth said above, and will add I no longer review beers in social settings, even with large pours. I review at a time I can really focus on the beer's attributes, with a clean palate and sober mind, and I hope all those whose reviews I read and use have done the same.

 

I hear ya. At a recent mini tasting in Laramie, I met up with 2 BAs and these were on the table:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/287/37265
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/14936/75623
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/179/58574

3 fantastic beers and I didn't review them, no regrets. The sharing and the awesome yacking with pokesbeerdude and mkorpal was the icing on top of the cake.

 

When I first joined BA I would, now I never review a beer unless I can have at least two where possible.

Some beers like CBS didn't afford me that opportunity, but that's the goal.

Also, when I review it has to be from a minimum of half a bomber so I can have enough beer to see how it changes as it warms.

 

Wow, how come I wasn't invited?

Back in the day I would have been grabbing big pours and always had my notebook with me. This last tasting I just enjoyed tastes of as many fine beers as I could and the friendship of fellow BA's
http://beeradvocate.com/community/posts/559089/

 

Generally, yes. But I buy a lot of single bottles so that's a necessity. And my initial reaction to a beer also usually holds up pretty well over time.

To provide an analogy, think about movie or book reviews. Most people are going to watch a movie or read a book only once. So a review should be geared toward that audience. What's your gut reaction to it? What did you like? What didn't you like? Did it succeed or fail as a work of art?

If you're writing a thesis paper then sure, drink 3 or 4 glasses of the same beer before taking notes and then really analyze the hell out of it (if you can afford to do that). But I believe a review should be more "from the hip," capturing in words the experience of tasting a given beer for the very first time.

You only have one chance to make a first impression.

 

Uh, what draheim said. I'll add that so many beers come in the hated 22oz format that there's no way I'm buying 2-3 22s. Honestly, anything I'm going to discover about a beer, I generally find within the first 6-10 ounces. The rest is just drinking. And remember, judges in competitions are judging off of 2-4 oz pours.

 

I do.

I will update my reviews if my opinion continues to evolve with subsequent tries.

 

There's nothing like a first impression.

 

And remember that the judges in competition have mostly gone through a training course in how to evaluate a beer and what to "look for" in they style they are judging at any given competition. Something that most folks on here have not done.

 

I read reviews, but I don't write any.

 

Actually drink a beer more than once? That is so 1998.

Many reviews lead me to believe the reviewer didn't try the beer at all.

 

I always review my beers the first time I have them, but I totally get what you're saying. I look at other reviews and notice that the (I think; statistically*) top reviewer, northyorksammy, is usually below the average rating for the beer, whereas I am often a little over it. Makes me think I'm too overzealous, right?

But I think I'm just a "glass half-full" guy when it comes to beer. I mean, what's not to love? Celebrate the drink, you know? I have some beers that I'm lukewarm about, and some that really disappointed me, but generally speaking, I seem to pick good beers to try and I want to promote them. My message is usually, "try it, it's worth it." But I am a real advocate for learning about beer, and the best way to learn "it" is by drinking.

I do go back to my review when I have a beer a second time. I've noticed that I usually agree with my initial review, and have often come to have a greater appreciation for it the second time. I've bumped reviews up as much as left them alone (I also notice an appalling number of typos - how embarrassing... Bah! I blame the alcohol, eh?); I have only downgraded my review a couple of times. I've gotten better at being style-specific in my reviews, and honest about it when I can't.

I think what's happened is that I've gotten a pretty good feel for about, oh, a dozen-or-so styles, and have a good intuition when it comes to the styles I sample less frequently. I just think it's important to be descriptive, honest, and open-minded in reviews.

And I do believe in the importance of first impressions.




*anything he's reviewed, he's the top reviewer

 

They also don't have to pay for the beer they're judging. If someone else wants to buy me a bunch of rounds of the same beer to make sure I'm reviewing it accurately and thoroughly, that will be just fine with me.

This is a consumer-oriented beer site and we should all approach the reviews we find here with that in mind.

 

90% of the time, yes I do. When I'm in a situation where I can't, I don't really sweat it.

 

Im usually pretty lazy about reviewing a beer so only if certain conditions are met do I actually sit down and review one. I haven't even marked all my "hads" yet so you can tell I am lazy