Do beers awards influence your purchasing?

I know a lot of people don't seek it out, but for me, it's a chance to try smaller less hype-worthy breweries who on occasion make some real outstanding stuff. A couple years ago I tried to try all the GABF winners from Colorado but it was not possible.

Another thing medals (can) do is certain beers are very well made but don't get a lot of notice. One example is Grimm Brothers in Loveland, CO makes an alt ale that is really good and true to the style- but alt ales are not something hardly anyone seeks out. They continue to win with that beer- also to me points out consistency and quality.

 

Absolutely not

 

I like the calibrate my understanding of beer styles to well received examples. When opportunities to purchase medal winning products present themselves, it has some influence on my purchases.

 

It's not an exclusive point that makes me want to try it more, there are other factors but an award certainly does peek my interest.

I have tried several "awarded" beers at times, sometimes they are great and sometimes they also just did nothing for me.

 

When I come across a new beer that interests me I buy it and if I like it I buy more. Whether it has won awards isn't something I really think about.

 

My beer purchases are typically made with the following in mind, usually in this order :
1) what's available
2) what I'm in the mood for
3) what I'm willing to pay.

I will say that I enjoy it when beers I already like win awards. Feels like a tiny compliment to my taste in brews.

 

no effect whatsoever

 

It would not hurt! If a beer has won an award it must have something going for it. I probably would be more likely to give it a shot but I would also look at the rest of the lineup from the brewery to see how the other items stack up. If the brewery is solid, their other beers the same quality then I would be all in.

I guess how else can you know if something is good? Using reviews, awards, word of mouth is how most beers get known no?


Cheers

 

Is it the first thing? Probably not. However, I moved to Virginia last year and don't know half of the breweries here. If a VA brewery wins a category I'm interested in, would I be more interested/want to try? Yeah. If such and such brewery in Vienna, VA won a gold medal, that alone wouldn't get me over there. The style would have to be important.

 

Definitely not a primary motivation for trying, but occasionally if I'm torn between a few and one has won awards I might choose that one.

 

Me too.

 

No

 

No. Happy with my weekly Alchemist Focal Banger and Frost Shush/Lush and throw in an occasional La Fin du Monde. Lucky to have two or three week old versions of these in our local foody store. Not to mention all the crazy good Burlington Beer Co variations to dabble with.
Cheers!

 

Of course. Why not? It won an award, so it is worth trying. Doesn't mean it's going to be a great beer. That's why you're evaluating it for yourself. Of the thousands of beers that exist, any that you can find with an award I'd say it at least worth trying. Doesn't mean you have to agree with the rating after drinking it.

 

Could care less.

 

GABF awards or World Beer Cup awards mean more to me than Beeradvocate ratings. At least for more traditional styles.

I know the beers in those competitions are judged to a certain set of guidelines, and judged by people who are experienced.

Without spending exorbitant amounts of time I don't know why everyone chose to give their rating to a certain beer on this website.

I went to Bankhead Brewing across the Metroplex because they won a medal at GABF for their Hefeweizen. This is a style that I love the good traditional examples but really dislike 90% of the examples that I try from American breweries. So for a brewery I had barely known to win in this category made me want to go try it and their other German styles.

I also went back to ABGB after years of not going there because of the medals they've won for their Pilsners and how I was surprised they didn't win anything this year.

But I don't give a crap about IPA medals even though I do like those styles.

 

No.

 

If I’m in the mood for a new to me beer, an award designation is a good indicator that people who like beer thought it was pretty good.

 

Ain't nobody got time for that

 

Do beer awards influence my purchasing? Would say yes if they are shelf beers in my local stores. Would steer me to try a beer without going out of the way.