How has BeerAdvocate impacted your life?

Initially I came here in search of other people's opinions about how a beer tastes in order to hopefully not buy a beer I didn't like. The reviews were very helpful so I just started out reviewing beers myself, now I am trying to engage more in the online BA community. I have learned a lot from BA forums, articles, etc... Really changed the way I look, taste, & appreciate beer. The coolest thing so far though is connecting with some really solid people on BA that share our common love of beer.

 

Taught me almost everything I know about beer, introduced me to a 5-year trading partner and trading in general, allowed me to track all of beers.. It's my homepage, for god's sake. 8.5 years strong!!

 

Man, I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it. I'd probably be in prison right now if it wasn't for Beer Advocate. I'd be drowning in shit beer w no flavor and domestic violence charges living in my truck down by the river with my toothless methwhore girlfriend and 2 year old diaperless kid shitting all over my back seat. Thank God for BA, CHEERS ALL !!!

 

It's actually pretty amazing. I've met more than a dozen friends I'll have for the rest of my life via BA. I was given some fantastic travel advice for a Germany trip that I've repeated a half dozen times and passed on to countless others. I've simply learned more about beer than I ever thought I would, too.

 

It's comforting knowing that it's there.
Thanx.

 

This is the only beer joint I frequent.

 

"Affected my life" is a bit overstated, but the BA has provided some virtual comradery, and provided some leads onto some beer and/or ales I might not have otherwise tried.

 

I finally learned that @FBarber uses his driver’s license pic* as his avatar!

But seriously, BA has been a great place to learn about beer and kill off several hours in a (mostly) relaxing way. The Great Lak—whoops, I mean Midwest forum has some awesome regulars and we have in-jokes, our own style of banter, and it’s (again, mostly) never boring.

On the drinking side of the fence, I’ve had a few BAs introduce me to beers that I never would have found on my own. And I’m not talking about the hype monsters or whales. I’m talking about stuff like Westbrook Gose, Russian River lagers, and a cellared Weyerbacher Tiny. Stuff that people take for granted but wound up being great experiences for me.

There’s a palpable sense of camaraderie and a spirit of generosity in folks’ willingness to share beers, knowledge, and advice. It’s one of the things I value most about this site and I wish all discussions were approached with the same level of empathy.**

* For reals!
**I know I’m a sarcastic/snarky clown at times, but I hope that I haven’t truly offended anyone. If I have, lemme know and I’ll make amends.

 

Well, Todd, it's upped my review skills, applied from reviewing concerts, albums, movies to beer. Basically, as in journalism, as long as you can back up your opinion, write it. Part of this is reading others' reviews. At the same time, I only can express my impressions. I'm getting better at it.

 

BA has been the first and the only place for me to hang out, talk, read and write about beers. BA has everything it takes to be the one and only place you as a beer lover will ever need. And its community is very much like a family, you get to know people and you see them around and you’re glad about it. It brings people and beer closer to you. You want to come back again and again, because there’s always so much to do here.
I love BA and here I’m gonna stay. I feel that I belong here.

 

Beer advocate was my introduction into the world of Craft Beer! It was where I'd so passionately search out beer reviews of the next few beers I wanted to try next and review them myself. It was a whole new world to become immersed in. I loved the community and I've made some friends along the way. There isn't a season that I don't enjoy coming to this site to read and find different forum posts along with beer reviews when I have some down time. Time to really enjoy a beer. It also sparked my interest in home brewing where I've grown leaps and bounds over the last couple of years. Even now, when I look for reviews, it brings about the most wonderful nostalgic feeling from when I first started here. Thank you to BA, I enjoy it immensely.

 

Ya know, sometimes we don't appreciate the "little" things until something unpredictable happens; enter Covid!
While I and just about everyone else on planet earth was dealing with this beast, simple things like having BeerAdvocate around suddenly didn't seem so "little" anymore.
It was good entertainment on many, many days during the height of these crazy days, and allowed many of us with something in common namely; the love of good beer, to stay in touch, and enjoy all the articles and posts.
In closing, tossing out a big "Thank You" to everyone making this site possible. And let's lift a big one (make it a litre) to toast us seeing the back end of this miserable disease very, very soon!

 

As I felt I had to quit my whisky hobby about three years ago I needed something new, and it became my first love beer, without that one ingredient.

Felt really welcome on BA with the NA beer, which at the time just was getting momentum. Thanks to you all. Have already learned tons, and looking forward to more!

 

I have had myself a great time. I have looked for beers simply to review on this site and I have had a great time in the forums learning from others and meeting some interesting fellow craft brew lovers along the way. Many people swear by other craft beer apps, I swear by this one.

(And I have the t-shirts - yes, plural - to prove it.)

SKOL! (My son and I have been watching Vikings lately, great show BTW...)

 

Loved the beer world here. Separated me from my money in the early trading days. Left me wanting in my seeking of "Places" info. Pried a beloved magazine from my old steadfast, need something in my hand, old man ways. Just love the old things, 22oz bottles, print literature and more easy access to non social media activity. BA was as far into social media as I wanted to get. Still linger

 

Linger longer and enjoy the comraderie with the rest of us old men.

 

Met a now good friend on here (Bluejacket74) and his friend
Laura. They treated us great the first time we met and took us
to I think 8 breweries in Columbus. Great people, or as Hunter S
Thompson once said, "Good people drink good beer". We have also
enjoyed having them down here in Cincy to show them the local scene.
Other than that the amount of knowledge of the industry has made me
a better consumer and widened my palate by miles.

Cheers

 

First came here to discover more about where to find good craft beer away from home, especially other countries.
Began a journey I never knew was there to be had.
I'm an introvert and a horrible reviewer so I haven't contributed much, but I hope to improve.
Thanks to you all.

 

How has BA impacted my life? I have been a member since 2008 and I had been a craft beer fan for over 20 years at that point.

With over 4,100 reviews, I like to use it as a resource when I'm in a beer store to determine if I've had something before or not. I have my favorites but I still want to try something new every week.

BA allows me to express myself by writing short reviews with the hope someone might read one of them and be influenced to support a craft brewery that I support I also enjoy reading reviews by other members of beers that I have reviewed. To see if I missed something or had a different opinion.

 

For me, it has largely circulated around the beer reviews. What started as a method of tracking what I've had quickly turned into a playground for flavor. I have used BeerAdvocate as a platform for exploring the words behind what I'm tasting. It's allowed me to gain a comfort level in talking about beer while using my own words, my own tasting techniques and my own rationale. That confidence allowed me to take a beer hobby into the beer profession. I look forward to reviewing beers almost every day as its an escape from the other things in life and allows me to express some creativity in writing. Thank you Todd!