Do you care about beer awards?

No.

 

Not really. I select beers from new/unfamiliar breweries and old high quality favorites. I avoid styles I am not crazy about (Milkshake IPAs, kettle sours etc.) and like to sample beers from less common styles. Awards are nice, Hampton Roads VA has many fine brewers and I wish them well on the awards circuit but awards are not something I follow.

 

It could be fixed... So, not really.

 

I'm semi-interested depending on how the judging occurs. If it is double-blind judging, I am far more likely to trust the results and then seek out the winners. If it is more of an aesthetic evaluation or the brewers' offerings are known ahead of time, I probably won't care so much.

When a beer is highly regarded and I can get my hands on it easily, I'll admit to being excited. I must admit that I do root for the New England entries to do well.

 

Decided to have a quick look at the list of winners because of the forum, but I don't really care much about awards because:

1. I don't know which beers were entered in each category.
2. I suspect most of the beers with big reputations are not entered, as there is no upside.
3. I don't have access to most of the beers.
4. I have more faith in the BA score.

That said, it is good to see an Australian or New Zealand brewery get recognised occasionally.

 

alright I’ll play devil’s advocate…

Yeah, I like some competitions. A lot of winners are breweries that weren’t on my radar, or brews that I looked past for one reason or another.

I‘ll always be curious about the results of any blind taste test, especially when there are repeat winners. Does that make the gold medal winning (whatever) the best in its style in the world? no. But a panel of people who know a lot more about beer than me appreciated it enough, so why shouldn’t I give it a try.

 

I check the results to get ideas for brews I might like but realize the ratings are not necessarily ironclad.

 

Might help me make a decision along with BA recommendations, the weather, my style preferences, etc. Can be a helpful guide when traveling. When visiting Denver I made sure to visit Comrade because of More Dodge Less Ram’s medals but I visited a number of others because of BA user recommendations.

When a local brewery took bronze for German-style Pilsener in year one of its existence in 2022 I assumed the brewery would consistently make good beer. That was true until Sierra Nevada snagged the head brewer.

Another local brewery has an owner that’s mentioned that medals don’t pay the bills. No doubt. Not really the point. They still win a national/international medal now and then and it obviously benefits them more than the consumer.

I think they’re fun and interesting and don’t need them to be anything other than that.

 

You know I did 20 years ago. More as a means to stay current. Too many beers and breweries to keep up with. Nice to see some old faves whether craft or import win. Always a good read but overall no. Mmmmmmmm beer…….

 

Occasionally
Nope
Not much

 

Nope... sorry very late

 

Yes

 

Sure, I want to know what the pros think.

 

No. There are just too many good craft breweries now. I tend to try out my local craft breweries regardless of whether they have won awards. Just remember: local beer is fresh beer and beer is best fresh (especially IPAs).