Stayers and Leavers

Why am I here and why do I stay? Because I love beer and there's no B.S. on this site. Are you Democrat? Republican? Liberal? Conservative? Who cares? Are you white? Black? Hispanic? Asian? Who cares? Are you male? Female? Gender neutral? Who cares? Are you straight? Gay? Bisexual? Who cares? The only thing that matters is we all love beer. Whenever I have a question, someone is always willing to help. I could write a book explaining why I'm here. This is the basics.

 

To the OP

Not here much anymore, but I've "been here" for a long time. I'm not a big forum poster anymore so I mostly come back to just kind of keep up on what's going on in this crazy beer world and to post trades once in a while.

 

I joined because at the time I was a serious homebrewer, and at the time(still today) this site had some of the best homebrewers I've run across, the vast majority vey eager to help others learn the hobby. At one point I think I was in the top 10 posters on BA. But then I gave the wrong answer in a thread about how important reviews are when choosing whether to buy a particular beer or not, my answer was that I don't read reviews because I didn't care about other people's opinions about a beer. I got trashed for ignoring the groupspeak, about not following the obviously smarter crowd, "who are you to go against the opinions of almost everybody in the group". So I spent several years as just a casual lurker. I didn't leave, but I didn't visit very often at all. I'm posting occasionally, but not as often. And I still don't care how many of you think that only doubled barrel aged Imperial Stouts (or whatever is popular these days)are the only beers that are worth drinking, I will still drink whatever I want.

 

Wouldn’t they be shocked to answer their door and have some irate guy from Kiribati standing on his porch asking him to come outside and talk. Lol.

 

I joined in 2009, and came over from a “generic brand” sort of site called Beer Pal or something like that. Back then, BeerAdvocate was one of the best and most popular online beer sites, with Ratebeer as the only real competitor as I recall. I found the grading system to be a little more intuitive, and as a fledgling beer geek I really valued the learning resources and forums here. Once I got a little more comfortable, I got into trading for a few years too. I liked the sub culture sort of feel of the site as a whole. Flash forward to now, and I stick around mostly because I personally never vibed with Untappd. I hate the gamification aspects of it, and I find it better suited to tickers, neophytes, and people who would rather approach beer drinking more casually. It doesn’t really seem to encourage any real learning or development either. That’s all fine too, I’m not knocking it. Not everyone has to geek out about beer as hard as we do, but I’ve been a beer industry professional for a decade now and I need a little something more to chew on than untappd can offer. I like the more heady threads in these forums, and personally I use the review features here to stay sharp and be a little more critical and analytical when I’m drinking beer. My activity and thread engagement on here has seen some definite ebb and flow over the past year or so, but I still check in and post reviews at least semi-regularly.

 

Staying (er) because there is depth of content, great personalities,
WBAYDN, NBS/NBW , and the Homebrewers thread is a great resource.
"Met" many interesting people in these forums and that is the real strength, The moderators are polite if things go astray.
Love the focus miss the Cyclorama events.
Joined in 07 and wont be going anywhere.
Cheer BA

 

I've been thinking about this for a while now. I don't remember how I discovered BeerAdvocate. At one of our Wine Club tastings a few years ago, we had a chance to sample some craft beers and other stuff as a sneak preview of the store's holiday show. One of those beers was Deschutes Fresh Squeezed, and I was hooked. I probably found this site as I was researching that particular beer. I started following WBAYDN? shortly thereafter, then signed up for a PhotoSuckIt account and that was the end of life as I knew it. I started ticking, then reviewing, always posting pics of whatever I was drinking. I had way too much fun with @Lingenbrau's GotD (which may yet get me a reality gig with TLC if they ever decide to do a glassware hoarder series ). I've had to cut back on my alcohol consumption the last couple of years, but I still remain active with the forums and reviews.

Why do I stay? BA and Untappd are my only social media vices. I've gotten to know a lot of great BA's during my time here. I've learned a lot about beer, and I appreciate the great photography I see in the forums here. Also, Christmas. As long as there are Twelve Days of Christmas, I'll be here each day with a beer and a song.

My only regret is that my friend, former coworker, and fellow BA @Strike00 and I never made our IP trades official. Damn, we had some good ones!

 

I joined to learn more about beer. I also enjoyed being able to track my beer consumption through reviews. I really enjoyed trading with people all across the country but family happened and it became too expensive. I travel quite a bit for work so I get a ton of value from the Places function. Still here learning about beer and home brewing and highly enjoying it.

 

I am going on my ten year anniversary here. I joined because I figured there had to be a way to keep track of beers i had tried and a like-minded community in which to participate. I have not been disappointed. Even ten years ago, there were more beers available that I could ever possibly drink and for the most part BA has helped me be more selective when shopping. I am not as active on a daily basis as I used to be and my beer consumption is pretty low, but the discussion topics are pretty wide-ranging and often interesting. The regional forums are really useful for travelling and I rely heavily on the place reviews a lot when visiting different areas.

Today there are SO many more breweries and more than enough beer that it is truly overwhelming. I do think we are at a point where the landscape will undergo some seismic shift(s) - I've thought that for quite some time. There are so many active participants on the site that there's always some "news" of interest, so where better to stay on top of what's going on in the beer world?

This site is extremely well-moderated and if the mods don't give someone the boot for being a dick, self-policing and peer pressure works, too. It seems in general we don't tolerate the behaviors I have experienced on other so-called "friendly forums" that make them less enjoyable. Here and a cooking group are the only places I play at all these days. The people here are great and you do get the feeling like you "know" people you've never actually met.

So I will continue to review beers, participate in NBW as regularly as possible, and contribute when possible. I read a lot more than I "talk" these days. Like others have said, it also provides a distraction when things at work and sometimes at home get stressful.

 

I can’t remember as well how I found this site, but I found it just as I was discovering IPAs. Right after I joined I got a bottle of the first CBS bottled and posted a FT. Lol, worst trade ever being a rookie, I traded it for my wants, Pliny and Blind Pig and whatever else. Must have had 50 trade offers. Looking back I did ok on that trade I’d rather have the Cali beers, if I had a do over now I’d do it again.

 

I built myself a beer fort in the basement. After being trapped for two days, I wondered if there was anyone around to help me drink it all.

 

I just have always sort of liked the place...

 

With a big tv sounds like heaven.

 

Mainly to connect with traders not on Facebook and second to find some interesting reads and reviews.

 

I agree with that 100%. I've seen a lot of name calling and have been called a few names myself on other forums simply because someone doesn't like my opinion.
Hats off to the mods! We all appreciate the work you do.

 

I agree, better tight than loose, I’ve been on sites that were unregulated and it sucked. Even though I’ve been reeled in a few times, it was justified.

 

I review a beer for the hell of it- or to give a boost to a small brewer I like, and I refer to the reviews of others if I need advice, but tell me, what is the purpose of your own reviews?
What does it matter? I think BA threw out many of the passionate beer drinkers for one reason or another. I got banned for standing up to a admin who was unfairly going after another BA. I stick around because I've been with the brothers since the late 90's.

 

Why am I still here?

Probably worth running through my history here

When the site started in the 1990's I found it to be a great resource for detailed information on beer. I would use the site to put together my beer menu's when I hosted what was a precursor to what would be called a "bottle share" today. Although back then it was more of an open cellar event, where friends may or may not bring beer, and the group would rotate the hosting.

Never got involved in the forums, because the site was very Boston centric in the early days, nor did I review, mostly because I didn't feel qualified.

I little over ten years ago, another BA convinced me to get involved. So I started posting and reviewing.

I few years back, I had the privilege of meeting Todd, as he helped kick off a share group here in LA, that I participated in. That led to much greater involvement on my part with local beer enthusiasts.

In the end, I stay because I feel like I've gotten a lot out of this site over the years and participation is a way to give back and be supportive.

Why do people leave?

Of the people I know that have left or have mostly left, there is a common theme. They enjoy ticking and all that surrounds it? Hunting, trading, exploring new beers, sharing with friends, tracking what you've had, seeing what your friends have had, quick ticks, easy pictures. Untapped simply works better for this..

---------------Edit-----------------------------------

I should add, that I am still getting a lot out of the site.

I enjoy the forums, like to weight in on a beer now and then with a review, and enjoy the fests that I have attended.

 

I guess I am both a stayer and a leaver, depending on what month/year you catch me...

I joined because I ended up in Germany, and in 2013 the craft beer scene here was, well, quite minimal. Being part of the community here allowed (and continues to allow...) me to be a part of discussions about craft beer that could never, ever happen in my social circle here in Germany. Put simply, in 2013 being a craft beer nerd (and part-time ticker) was a very lonely hobby. In BA, I found a group of like-minded people, with advice and tips on exploring European beers (which none of my German friends even knew existed). I distinctly remember trying to explain to a German work colleague why I had driven 6 hours to Belgium just to buy beer. He was, to say the least, perplexed. People on BA not only understood, they approved!

Having said all of that, I tend to drift away for months at a time, for different reasons. Sometimes it is health-related, mostly it is just a lack of time to engage. Work, kids, etc... I still check back in to see what is new, but posting is a luxury, sadly, I cannot often afford. And since I don't use the site to review beers (I started on my own well before I discovered BA...), the forums are my only connection.