Your rating tiers

I tend to think of them as letter grades, kinda makes it simplified and easy to approach it that way. With style and context in mind the brackets are:
Excellent range:
A+ (4.6 to 5)
A (4.3 to 4.6)
A- (4 to 4.3)

Good Range:
B+ (3.6 to 4)
B (3.3 to 3.6)
B- (3 to 3.3)

Satisfactory range:
C+ (2.6 to 3)
C (2.3 to 2.6)
C- (2 to 2.3)

Unsatisfactory:
D (below 2)

It pretty much tracks with the BA way, except when you get to the 2s, which is rare for me anyway.

 

If I have to force down a 3.75 I would adjust my rating scale. It is rare for me to come across a beer that is below 3.50 for me, meaning that there are not many flaws detracting from a beer as compared to other beers of the same style. If a pilsner has DMS, it gets docked. If it's over hopped with American hops, it gets docked. If a stout lacks mouthfeel it gets docked. Most brewers these days don't put out flawed beer. If it is something that I am subjectively opposed to I tend to dial back my rating but if it isnt an objective fault I don't fault the beer as much. As such, I steer clear of beers I don't like.

 

A+ world class 4.51 - 5.00
A outstanding 4.26 - 4.50
A- excellent 4.01 - 4.25
B+ very good 3.76 - 4.00
B good 3.51 - 3.75
B- pretty good 3.26 - 3.50
C+ decent 3.01 - 3.25
C mediocre 2.76 - 3.00
C- not worthy 2.51 - 2.75
D+ avoid 2.26 - 2.50
D blech 2.01 - 2.25
D- drain won't take 1.76 - 2.00
F sucks ass 1.75 or lower

I tend to rate lower than the average rater around here. Why? I'm old, grumpy, & if I pay good money for a dull or below average beer, I'm going to rate it as such. 3.0 is what I use for average, not good, but I also believe rating is a personal thing, & people should do so as they see fit. However, on the rare occasions that I look, I'll rarely buy a beer that's under a "4.0" rating on BA, as a 3.75 is often a beer that's just awful.

 

I agree... there are some in the mid 3’s that I’d drink in the right circumstance, just not an every day drinker. 55% of my ratings are 4+, and 86% I rated 3.5+, I generally try to to drink good beer

 

I thought we did this thread not to long ago, but nothing wrong with a rerun/updating...

Here is mine:
5.00 - Exceptional - A standout amongst excellent peers
4.75 - Solidly Excellent
4.50 - More Excellent then Very Good ( with qualities of both )
4.25 - More Very Good then Excellent ( with qualities of both )
4.00 - Solidly Very Good
3.75 - More Very Good then Good ( with qualities of both )
3.50 - More Good then Very Good ( with qualities of both )
3.25 - Solidly Good
3.00 - More Good then Not Good ( minor flaws )
2.75 - 2.00 Not Good - Obvious flaws
1.75 - 1.00 Poor - No redeeming qualities

 

• Beers I'll buy
• Beers I'll drink (that someone else bought)
• Beers I won't buy or drink

 

You're ether an excessively generous rater or 2k of those beers are repeats.

 

Way back when there used to be a 2 point homebrew scale: 1 if you could get it down, 2 if you could keep it down .

But in all honesty, things in general have very much improved since then.

 

Maybe I'm a tougher rater than I think, because a beer in the mid 3's is a beer I'd be perfectly content with. Especially if it's a cheapie like DAB or Radeberger, which I'd put in the B to B+ range.

 

World class probably 4.75 plus
Seriously Outstanding 4.50
Great beer 4.25
Pretty good beer well worth trying 4.0
Average beer 3.75
Eh kinda beers 3.5

 

Without writing a novel, mine could probably be simplified like this:

4.4+ - the best, most memorable beers I've ever had, based on a combination of quality and preference (I use 4.4 instead of 4.5 as I find it's too rare that a final rating ever hits 4.5 or above for me)

4.25-4.39 - excellent, verging on highest quality, that for whatever reason falls a shade below the personal pantheon of suds; always a pleasure to revisit.

4-4.24 - upper-tier, high quality stuff I'd have no qualms drinking again.

3.5-3.99 - well-made, good beer missing a minor something here or there that'd take it to the next level.

3-3.49 - likely a beer with some redeeming factors that I'll forget about because the overall product didn't come together; drinkable, if unspectacular in most ways.

2.5-2.99 - generally a beer I couldn't care less if I drank again or otherwise; 2.5 is the bottom point for unremarkable/forgettable beer, any lower and it ranges into 'bad/offensive' territory.

2.49 & below - anywhere from 'I'd prefer not' to 'why was this ever made'

I still haven't decided if I believe in '5's yet...

 

I don't get it.

You're using a majority of your available range just for "horrible." 5 is your ceiling and you're using a 3 for a beer with "literally no redeeming qualities" that you're dumping in the sink.

Have you added about 3 thousand ratings to the database using your own scale that is different from the BeerAdvocate one? If so, that seems like a bad approach. If not, are you rating them according to your own system and then translating them? If so, that seems like a lot of unnecessary work on your end. If you have your own system, why use the BeerAdvocate framework (1.00-5.00) as opposed to something different (like @TongoRad using a letter grade)?

I mean the above respectfully. Apologies if your first post explains this and I just couldn't understand it. I do not assign numerical scores to beers so it's possible I just can't relate.

 

I have always gone by the classic BA rating tiers because to do otherwise would create discontinuity between my reviews and others. I don't use the .25 markers because they didn't exist when I started reviewing beers and I never thought it would be fair to the older reviews if I started using them in the newer ones.

 

Lol, some the worst beers I’ve ever had was home brews, seriously bad stuff that might be hazardous to your health.

 

The BA composite doesn’t always reflect my personal opinion on a beer, but doesn’t drastically misrepresent it 90+% of the time, either.

Note: I will also say I have become an easier rater since I started, though more recently I’ve gotten a bit tougher (mostly applies to local brewers now that there are so many).

My approximations:
4.8+ - limited myself out of this category so far. Nothing has made me... have to change my pants (I know, nothing probably ever will)

4.5 - 4.8 - World class, get whenever I can
4.3 - 4.5 - Well-made and enjoyable with something that sets it apart from...
4.1 - 4.3 - ...great representations of a style that I really enjoy

3.85 - 4.1 - really good beers, might tell someone to try or order one
3.7 - 3.85 - good beers where I won’t be disappointed, and figure most others won’t either

3.5 - 3.7 - some good points, some bad, but they neutralize each other
3.2 - 3.5 - more bad than good

2.7 - 3.2 - not really good or significant flaw(s)
1-2.7 - rare encounters - most are of macro beers I probably didn’t analyze closely

 

1-1.99 Terrible
2-2.5 Poor
2.51-2.99 Below Average
3-3.5 Average
3.51-3.99 Above Average
4-4.5 Outstanding
4.51-4.99 World Class
5 Guinness

 

Yeah, me too. I used to judge homebrewing competitions in the 90s .

 

Ewwwww, I bet that was hairy every now and then. You really have to be a good sport to do that.