Posting reviews without text to back it up

I am a bit puzzled by those who don't write a review and only post a rating, because, due to circumstances, it is unfair to the beer.

You do realize the ratings figure into the overall just like a review does, right?

So, if the circumstances are such that a review is unfair, then a rating also unfair, right?

 

I would like an option to post a few words but no score. This would be great for beers I am not really sure what they should be like and I don’t want to give it a score but do want to share my tastes.

Many years ago I tried a kolsch and thought it was horrible, basing this on Being a huge IPA drinker the subtle ness of the kolsch to me was just a flavorless nothing. I had nothing to compare to and did not rate or review.

Enjoy

 

Just to tag on to my post above.

I use Untappd much more because I can add a photo, give a quick number score and add a few words. I use untappd for myself.

I try to be very honest and would rather do place reviews than beers. For me they are for all to see and help guide. While beer and places are subjective I feel places are easier to get a feel for in print. When I go away and look for places to go for beer/food I look at reviews here. A place with 100 four Rates but no words won’t get me there most times. I read place reviews and imagine myself there.

For me I can tell you about the service , atmosphere and menu but might have a tough time telling you more than I like/dislike the beer because I’m not great at that.

Enjoy

 

If I am a beer drinker who reads reviews to help me decide whether to purchase a beer, I'd review them just to give back some of what I take away. But I'm one who purchases beer or orders it at a brewery/bar with no preconceived notion of what I'm going to get other than style and abv (if it's on the beer menu). So I don't review beers because I don't use reviews.

However, I do rate the beers that I add to a new brewery's page IF I added that brewery. Those beers are added/rated just to get that brewery's page jump-started. (I do write place reviews, although I'm a bit behind on doing that.) I'll usually rate each beer's characteristics across the board for the score that I think the beer deserves overall based on rating to style. If there is something notable that is bad about the beer, I might downgrade that characteristic in the score, and I'll add a brief comment about whatever it is that changed that score. If you are a reviewer and want to read a review to help you decide if you want to purchase one of those beers, I've given you what you want, and that's good enough for me.

 

You can enter just a few words if you want, it just doesn't count as a review unless it's at least 151 characters. There might be a minimum, perhaps 25, not sure. In the case of the Kölsch you mentioned, you could still have given your impressions - such as whether it was salty, sweet, bitter, refreshing, etc - and overall if you liked it. And you could caveat it by saying it's your first, or you mostly drink IPA's - puts it in perspective. Still your opinion.

 

Ok, thanks

I thought the choice was add a number score or a full review. Was not aware you could add a few words and no score number.

Enjoy

 

You do have to enter a score. You just don't have to make it a full review. I missed your point about no score.

 

I feel for some people its easier to just submit a number than to write an opinion and have someone come after them for it in some capacity. I save reviews for beers I feel are "must try" beers or "I'm warning others from making the same mistakes I did" beers. The rest can be summed up as a number value for me, unless you really care what a million people think about one beer. I don't. Aggregate scores are a good way to get a census on a beer without sifting through a lot of chatter on nuance and subtlety, I save that for the beer shares.

 

How do I use this number? Or is it not intended to be a number that has a use for others?

 

Care to clarify? What number?

 

Either an aggregate number without any reviews or a number rating left without a review. You spoke of both, and seemed to be in favor of both, so take your pick. How am I supposed to use that number? Is it not intended for others to use?

 

I have to tend to agree. Here's hoping a number without a review are not aggregated on a par with those where people bothered to make a comment.

 

I completely disagree with the OP. I have rated around 25 beers on here and believe I have only written a review for one of them. Some of the reviews I have read are people going so deep into descriptions that I don't even believe half of what they are describing. For example, that a specific beer tastes like a ton of different things - "I taste melon, pineapple, lime, bacon, leather, caramel, chocolate, and coffee". That's why I prefer and use Untappd more when it comes to ratings.

I will say, the ones that I do enjoy reading are usually the vets on this site. But they're far and few between.

 

I guess since joining BA relatively recently, I expect Untappd to be more of a “keeping track of what I do or don’t like” versus BA which I reference for the more involved consumer reviews. I can understand what OP is going for, there’s other outlets geared more for wordless ratings now.

 

If I post a beer I’m drinking and say its a ipa of whatever flavor, and I give a simple about its a 3.0 kinda beer what more really needs to be said? Do I need to actually say it’s a middling ipa at best when a 3.0 beer certainly isn't impressive. If I’m drinking another beer and simply say it’s a 4.75 kinda beer the number says it’s outstanding, what more could I add. IMO it’s good enough impression of my thoughts on a beer with one simple number. I don’t fully rate beers anymore, I’m not lazy, I really don’t feel a personal need for in depth analysis, that’s a me hang up, but I do enjoy reading others review their beers.

 

I'm just going to say it. I think the idea that a full, written rating is somehow more "accurate" or "worth" more than a quick rating is ludicrous and arrogant. Written reviews are more detailed, more thoughtful, sure--but more accurate? I don't necessarily buy it.

I personally like to know how many of the top 250 beers I've had, so every now and then I'll do a quick rating of those beers on here. For me. If that "messes up" your precious scores, well I don't know what to tell you.

 

You might as well be on Untapped if that is the way you approach looking at beer. For the first few months I was on this site, I limited myself to numbers. Since them, I exclusively reviewed, not rated. I've been trying to "catch up" on the ratings I failed to review ever since.

 

Just so we're clear. A number is more accurate, because we who read it have no idea what it means in terms of is the beer something we will like? A number is worth more because we get no clues about the person who left it? So if I say nothing at all it is more accurate and worth more than describing something? Or did I not understand your point?

Since we have no idea what the guy who left that number without a review had in mind when he loved or hated the beer, how are we supposed to use that number? Or, are we not supposed to use that number for anything?

 

Am I the only one who gets the feeling many of the people who are against reviews are the same ones who reply tl;dr to posts with more than twenty words in them?

 

People are suggesting quick scores shouldn't count as much as full written reviews and I disagree with that. What's so hard to understand about that?