Poll: can a beer be "the best"?

The difference between British beer competitions and American. I try to find a happy medium when reviewing a beer. If it's a style I'm not that familiar with, or isn't my thing, I lean toward "to style". If it's something I tend to favor, I'm going towards my preferences.

 

I agree “experts” shouldn’t have any more say or weighting than everyone else.

However, I believe it would be interesting to have a “Top 250” list or all beers presented with a weighted Bayesian score, to even out the over/under beer rating scores impacted by the style of a beer.

A 4.2 BA average scored Amber Ale is a stronger score / higher rated given the average Amber Ale score when compared to a pastry stout or NEIPA with a 4.4 BA average score. Would put all styles across equal footing, and would better permit a comparison across all styles.

 

Yes, I can pick out my favorite/best beers, quantifying the best as my favorite knowing others will have different reasons for their selections. Rochefort 10 (Europe and Overall) and Pliny the Elder (North America) are my favorites and what I consider to be the best, even though I have other beers with higher overall beer scores.

Until a new tournament is hosted with a broader number of participants is held, the best beer per Beer Advocate is North Coast Old Rasputin.



https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...discussion-april-3.672209/page-7#post-7743127

Contrary to what some have posted, we did cover 16 beers each from Europe, and in North America the East, Central and West regions, across 64 top breweries and overall rated beers (by score and number of raters) so about 98%+ of BA’s audience.

• 68 Competing Unique Beers & Breweries
• 29 Competing Beer Styles
  
• 9 Top Ranked Beers Within A Style
• 23 Top Five Ranked Beers Within A Style
  
• 6 Nations
• 23 States
• 28 of the Top 43 Most Popular Beers as rated on BA

@DoctorZombies @Resistance88
@Qu3st

 

What even is CTZ? Next you'll tell me Falconer's Flight is a hop blend, right?

/sarcasm.
Agreed 100% ,and I'll add that tastes evolve. There are beer experiences that are perfect and transcendent, but I'm not so sure about beers themselves.

 

Given the title of the thread, I am pretty sure it should be taken as "best beer by a brewery" and that's how I took it. I wanted to do what @jonphisher indicated in his opening post (though on different criteria - choose two options. If forced, I'd be willing to use the term best within a given context, i.e. a brewery's best beer.

Even then, I couldn't necessarily always apply that to, say, all breweries. Personally, if not specifically asked my opinion, I would take in multiple factors, including ratings and conversation on beer sites, sales, and (of course) personal preference. For example, "from what I've read, people tend to consider X to be the best [in style] from Virginia, but I think Y is on par with it, but it isn't as widely distributed."

It seems a wide agreement by the people here using a generic "best" is not the best thing to do. Maybe the internet recipe writers of the world should read this thread before titling their posts

 

There has been a little bit of discussion about Pilsner Urquell in this thread so I thought some folks might be interested in the three-way tasting by Nate Lanier (Tree House) as regards packaged Pilsner Urquell.

As a 'reminder' in post #24 I asked about Pilsner Urquell on the variation of diacetyl (i.e., buttery flavor) of Pilsner Urquell:

Have you noticed any correlation for when you perceive diacetyl vs. when you don’t? For examples:

· Bottled vs. canned?

· Fresh vs. less fresh?

· Other?

Below is the video.

Na Zdravi

@seakayak @Providence @Domingo

 

Yes - there can be a best beer overall of all time.



and it’s Spotted Cow by New Glarus

 

By style. I reject the notion of an overall out of respect for subjective tastes. I view it in an almost spiritual manner rather than logically subjective.

Recently learned that I enjoy Wheat beers disproportionately more than all other styles. So while Allagash White is a flawless brew within its style, I mean that in a very different sense than with their North Sky.

I recall a Q&A with Regular Car Reviews where someone asked if he should go with a Mazda Miata or an entry level Sports bike. RCR finds the comparison asinine, and drops the question entirely. I see what the guy was going for logically, but intent, usage, and associated risks with both options are very very different. With that said, I find a good stout and a good wheat ale are trying to solve two very different problems, only brought together in logic as "Beer" the collective term.

When we scale up to "Best" it really starts to show the differences. My best wheal ale is the above mentioned Allagash White, the best imperial stout I've had is Fremont's The Rusty Nail. You might as well compare Jupiter to the Moon.

 

Sure, i have said it many times over the years on the new beer or ale I was drinking. Then time goes on and sometime down the road there’s another that is best, hahahahaaa.

seriously, some folks love judging stuff in general. Me, well it’s like who is the best guitar player. In the early 70s, Jim I Hendrix was best, fast forward 50 years, thousands of songs by hundreds of bands known and unknown ,,,,, well I just can’t say anymore cause there are so many. Just like beers. Ya never know what the next “best” beer is,, and that for me is fun.

 

Yeah, that's the best Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial stout......
Yeah, that's the best Barrel-Aged American Imperial stout......
Yeah, that's the best TIPA......
Yeah, that's the best DIPA.....

 

I have my favorites in multiple styles…and couldn’t say any of them were the “best”.

Cheers!

 

I am the World's Greatest Expert on what I like and me, myself and I are unanimous in that.

 

Yeah.

 

All beers are simultaneously best and not best until outside forces are enacted upon them. -AleBert Beerstein

 

George Best drank a bit too much,

 

The "best" beer can change day to day. It's like when I'm asked what my favorite band/record is: depends on what I'm listening to at any given moment.