Do you ding brewers for not including info on labels?

No, not putting the date on the bottle can cause me to review old beer docking the rating, but I judge the beer purely on the beer not the bottle.

 

no I don't personally.

If the beer is a style really dependent on dating and freshness such as an IPA for example, I'll make a note on dating being absent and that's reflected in the review.

 

No, I use appearance to rate how the beer looks. But I suppose you are free to take whatever approach you like!

 

Appearance is a dumb rating category. Pliny could look like toxic ooze for all I care- if it tastes like Pliny, better believe I'm drinking that.

 

Get out of my Mind!!

 

I don't.

The date missing is definitely a pet peeve of mine, but I never fault the quality of the beer itself because of what's absent on the label. If I come across a beer that I think might not be in top form because it's a few months old or without a proper date on the bottle, I'll make a point to call it out in my review.

 

I rate the beer, not the bottle.

Some brewers do leave alot to be desired in the artwork department and the bottle dating department.

And if I see something on the can or bottle that isn't related to what is inside said container, I might not even buy it. Looking at you Oskar Blues. Such sore losers they cry about it on their beer cans. Unprofessional...

 

For me the appearance is strictly about the beer. How are you going to rate the appearance of a beer based on packaging when there is no delineation between those that are on draft and those that are not? If there is no date code I make a comment about it before the rating process as a courtesy to those who might find it useful.

 

I "ding" brewers/beers for tasting bad, not tasting like their title or description, and for being infected. Nothing pissed me off like infected bottles. If you make a flavored beer (coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, fruit ect) then I think it should taste a little like the flavor.

 

Appearance means nothing to me.

I prefer as much info on a can/bottle as possible though

 

Nah, I personally don't. It's nice if the info is there but not a requirement for me

 

I ding them for no Bottling dates. I hate old beers...........

 

If by "ding" you mean "less likely to buy" then sure

 

Not when reviewing, but if I'm at a store and a beer I'm interested in doesn't list the style, abv, or other adjuncts listed, I will skip over it.

 

I've never considered a bottle as part of the beer's appearance when rating a beer. Never even thought of it. But have to say I'm not as willing to dismiss it as others may be. The bottle is part of the presentation. Considering how little weight appearance (rightfully) gets, adding bottle information as a factor is worth discussion.

I know many will cry blasphemy. And honestly I have to say I'll probably not include it in my rating, due to problems with things like, suppose its in a can ( which I have no issue with; which some might score lower for presentation, but others would score higher for protection against being light struck ) or your rating a growler pour (which always looks the same regardless of the contents )

But I think bottle presentation may have a place in a review. Things like wax, hand written bottle numbers, information about the beer ( taste description, pairing, what's in it, and yes PO's concern ABV ), might be worth noting in a review.

 

I try not to penalize the brewery because out of date beer is usually the distributors and retail stores fault.

I do add some points for can/label design, artwork, graphic concepts and originality though. Obviously the product inside counts the most, but many breweries put a lot of work into their marketing and packaging too, and I feel like they should get credit for that as well.

 

What? No.

 

when it comes down to it i'll buy what i want to buy, but it is a slap in the face to the consumer to put expensive beer on the shelf with no bottling date/abv %/description of the style. i mean how hard can that be? just fucking put the relevant info somewhere on the bottle.

 

They get dinged in the sense that the ones that put the date on there help me see its an old bottle and therefore I won't review. They don't got a date, I'll review as is. If it's old, its 100% on them.