Beer Rating Curiosity

This always makes for a pretty interesting debate, because subjectivity is what drives so much of the discussion surrounding beer, and there isn't an element of beer that is much more subjective than ratings.

But it's a fine line to walk. On the one hand, the subjective interpretation of a beer is what makes ratings and evaluations useful. But on the other hand, if you hate stouts, I honestly don't have any interest in hearing what you think about Founders Imperial Stout. Your opinion, while not incorrect, is useless.

So for me, when you hear the phrase "rate to style", that doesn't mean that you have to be a competition judge-level quality of evaluator, it just means that you have to give an honest evaluation of the beer, but within context. You shouldn't be giving a rauchbier a 1/5 because you don't like smoke flavor in your beer. You shouldn't be giving a double IPA a 1/5 because you hate hops and bitterness.

A good rule of thumb is as follows: if your low rating of a given beer likely also applies (in your mind) to any other beer in that style, or even most other beers in that style, maybe don't bother providing a score on a rating site like this one or the other one. Another way to think about it is this: if you can't find any differentiation in your perception between various takes on a given style, then perhaps you shouldn't score that style, because your opinion of the style is clouding your ability to rate the individual beer.

But absolutely people should be rating based on their personal opinions of a beer. People, as a larger group/population are going to have certain styles that are favored over others. That's how human taste works. It's also why the individual style lists are more useful than the overall list--because at least on those lists, the rankings are normalized for individual stylistic preferences.

 

An excellent point, and a reason why even the individual style ranking lists must be taken with a grain of salt.

 

This actually reminded me of a poor review I gave not too long ago. For some reason, the Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche is classified as a doppelbock on here. It's a fantastic beer, I enjoy it, and would readily give it over a 4 rating. But it's a doppelbock in the same way that a filet mignon is a garlic breadstick - it's a rauchbier that has some slightly doppelbock-esque elements. Thus, I rated it according to what a doppelbock should taste like.

It's currently the #12 ranked doppelbock on the style-specific doppelbock list.

 

I think this is the at the core of the 'don't rate styles you don't like' guidance on the ratings page, but of course there isn't a 'tick' option where people can tick off a beer and not provide a rating (or put a personal 'I hated this' note). I think this drives people to rate everything they have because they want to keep a track and have notes / preferences for personal reference - totally fine to have your perception of a beer the way you want - but it is a limitation of the site, and not what the ratings system was designed for.

 

That sounds like a valid concern, but it seems like one that can be easily remedied by checking reviews. When I consult BA prior to a purchase, I am definitely focusing more on the reviews than the numbers so I can get a sense of the particular characteristics, which can vary widely within any given style. That seems like the much more practical thing to do if you are using this resource to make an educated decision on something you might find appealing.

 

Good point - I have often wondered about things like that - it says doppelbock on the label, but a lot of that producers beers should all be listed as rauchbiers.

 

Very true - the 'show only reviews' check box is super handy - use it all the time.

 

Yeah, I hear people criticize a lot of the Goose Island brewpub's beers as being "okay" or "boring." While they're not all my cup of tea either, a lot of them are more traditionally English than people are used to, and since they're not being blown away by Citra hops or designer malts, they think the beers suck.

 

Filet Mignon is the AAL of steaks.

 

You shouldn't take those classifications as gospel, and you especially shouldn't hold the beer responsible for the fact that it is mis-categorized here on BA. Whomever entered the beer in the first place (usually a user like you or me) chose the category. In this case it sounds like it should be re-classified, and doing that would also solve the issue of where it stands alongside other beers of its type.

 

If it weren't for the fact that it appears on the style-specific ranking, and there's enough bias on the overall rankings to force people looking for good beers of a specific type to those rankings, I wouldn't have. I did include language in the review that if it were not a lone smoked beer lumped into a sweet, malty, bready category, it would have scored much higher.

 

Most people just rate beer based on how much it makes them go "wow."

 

Tender but low in flavor. Skirt steak has more flavor, but is tougher. Beef cheeks have the most flavor due the high use of that muscle.

Brisket is pretty tough, but cooked low and slow over wood smoke it is one of my favorites. Waiting 3 hours before I sit down to eat at Franklin BBQ is something I have done a couple times, but never for a beer.

 

I betcha if you asked a bunch of chefs and butchers the best cut you wouldn't get any Filet Mignon responses, either. Probably quite a few hangar steaks, or other more flavorful ones. The general public, though, seems to be sold on the FM- kind of like a certain style of beer...

 

I just submitted a change request, so we'll see how it goes.

 

I'd propose that when this brewery puts the word "doppelbock" on the label then their wishes should be respected in how it is categorized on here.

 

All of the Schlenkerla beers have the 'sub-style' on the label, describing what the base beer is. They are still rauchbiers first and foremost, and it would be silly not to see them listed under the best of that style.

 

Eiche means Oak in German, so I think the beer label is actually saying it is an oaked or an oak smoked doppelbock. A number of the labels from that brewery say both Rauchbirr and the style - for example:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/263/727/

I might be totally wrong, but to a German brewer it wouldn't be a Rauchbier unless it used green malts smoked over beechwood - they would call something that was smoked but with a different method a 'XX type beer smoked with whatever' beer and use the underlying style of beer as well.

 

Ha, beat me to it!

 

Well, this is the big problem with beer rating sites.