Beer Quality Factors

I don't believe all 7 factors truly address the "quality" of a beer but I'll play:

Boldness of flavor (I drink beer for flavor first and foremost)
Drinkability (almost got the first slot- who wants an undrinkable beer?!)
Unique nature compared to others (otherwise, why drink it?)
Craftsmanship (gotta appreciate a well made product)
Balance (I'm just fine with hop or malt bombs)
Affordability (not all expensive beers are good but my favorites tend to be pricey)
Widespread availabilty (that's what trading is for)

 

1. Boldness of flavor (I'm using this as just "flavor" here, because there are some beers that I appreciate for having impressive flavor while stile being subtle).

2. Craftsmanship (Pretty straightforward...I want a well-made beer over a poorly-made beer. I appreciate the attention to detail, creativity, and hard work that goes into good craft beer).

3. Balance (I love a balanced brew, but I also love extreme hops and extreme malt...but the extreme flavors still need to be supported. I don't want extract syrup and I don't want hop water).

4. Drinkability (Again, why drink an undrinkable beer? But, there are definitely some beers that I love that I absolutely wouldn't want more than a 10oz pour at any given time. I'd say those have low drinkability over a SNPA or something).

5. Unique nature compared to others of its style (This one ranks fairly low since I'd rather have a superb example of a plain ol true-to-style IPA rather than a barrel-aged with peaches and fairy dust quadruple IPA. Ultimately, uniqueness is only worth anything if it can be pulled off. Otherwise, I'd rather have something traditional but awesome).

6/7. Widespread availability and affordability are kind of on the same level for me, and neither one really is a measure of quality in my opinion. Being in Wyoming, I'm very limited on what beers I can get, but I certainly wouldn't say Hills Farmstead or Founders or any of the other amazing breweries put out bad beer because I can't obtain them easily. And affordability, anything is only worth what somebody will pay for it. A lot of good beer is expensive, some I'm willing to pay for, some I'm not. Some subpar beer is, in my opinion, overpriced. So I just don't buy it or drink it. Selling cans of Bud Light for $6 at an event doesn't make it better or worse. Selling $2 pitchers of Bud Light at a happy hour doesn't make it better or worse. Same with craft beer.

 

don't want to

 

1) Drinkability. To me, if it's drinkable, the rest of the pieces of the puzzle must be working together to make a good beer
2)Balance- most of my favorite beers (Little Sumpin Sumpin, Edmond Fitz, FBS, Eugene, SN, Old Brown Dog) are all well balanced. If the beer is balanced correctly, I think the brewer is able to get away with interesting details that might ruin a beer otherwise.
3)Boldness of flavor- who wants a flavorless beer? Plus, we all have flavor profiles that we look for in favorite beers. I like a bold grapefruit note in my IPAs for instance.
4) Craftmanship- isn't that why we drink craft? I want a beer that a real person, not a huge corporation, has put thought into. A good brewer is like a good chef. They know how to surprise you in unexpected ways.
5)Affordability- obviously I get to drink more of things I can afford, but if a beer is amazing, selling out a few extra $ is worth it. I do it for wine & spirits, why not beer?
6) Widespread Availability- In the best of all worlds, I'd be able to pick up any beer I want in the beer section of my local grocery store. But since that's not the case, I don't get limiting yourself to only easy to buy beers. Sometimes the hunt is part of the fun.
7) Unique nature of the beer- I don't really care if it's unique as long as it tastes good

 

4

 

1. Craftsmanship - I think that even as craft drinkers, we tend to kind of skimp over what constitutes a really well-made beer. I'm not necessarily a style ****, but I do appreciate when a brewer is able to make an example/standard for a category just by sticking to their guns. (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale comes to mind. I know they were pushing boundaries when they made the beer, but now, it is THE quintessential APA.) Quality control has a big part in this, I think. If a brewery is slack in its standards for what it is marketing, both the brewery and the consumers suffer.

2. Balance - I might be off the beaten path on this, but I'll take a well-balanced IPA over one that claims to be the hoppiest beer ever. A beer can be bold and assertive but still balanced - Stone's IPA is a great example of this. Balance contributes to drinkability, in my opinion.

3. Boldness of flavor - Self-explanatory, I think. If a beer looks sexy and smells sexy, it better darn well taste sexy.

4. Drinkability - As I'm not a really heavy drinker (truth be told, I really only drink on weekends anymore, and even minimally then), this doesn't have a huge influence, but it's always crushing to buy a sixer of a beer that tastes good on the first bottle or two and then loses its luster. Even a beer that doesn't necessarily go down easily can still taste great. (Fresh Bigfoot, methinks. A little too hot and hoppy when fresh, but still delicious.)

5. Uniqueness - I've tended to skip out on some of the esoteric whales that many craft drinkers tend to seek out. There's a fine line between experimentation and novelty, but I can appreciate when a brewer tries something new and unorthodox - if it's done well and in good taste.

6. Affordability - Not a "make or break" issue to me. I'm not married yet, and I make a pretty respectable salary for the first year in my field, so money isn't a big issue. However, I'm also a tightwad, so I can't see myself spending extravagant amounts on something, especially when I know that a brewery/retailer has deliberately overpriced something.

7. Widespread availability - If I can't get it in KY, I can head across the river and get it easily. Or, better yet, explore my local options and find something just as good or better.

...Long post. Sorry. I get a little out of hand.