Do you Rate or Review?

I find that by the time I'm done writing a review, my beer is almost gone and I've been too busy critiquing it to relax and have a beer, so now I just rate. I'd say I'm most likely to write a review if my opinion is strongly negative and I feel I have to defend why.

 

I generally review as it helps me remember what I've tried and liked/not liked. The actual process of recording my thoughts helps me encode better than just assigning a number. That said, I do rate when at Fests if it's a one-off or if it's something I want to try to try track down in the future.

 

I've never just rated a beer on this site. I've always reviewed.

That said, I've only reviewed a small portion of what I have drank over the last decade. Maybe a 5th if that.

The fact is, I don't take notes when I'm out or not home. So the only time I can review is if I'm having a brew with my laptop near by. I don't believe in reviewing from memory.

 

I always review unless I'm in a social situation where typing up a review on my phone would be rude or I simply don't have the time.

 

Review unless I loose my notes...

 

I review everything and refuse to look at any previous reviews or scores of the beer beforehand. I like writing about beer because I like writing in general, and because I find the different qualities of beer to be fascinating. After I write a review, I like to read what other people thought of the beer. I think the different perspectives are interesting, and I never balk at anyone's impression of something. We all have different palates, after all. I try to review to style--I'm not going to give a beer a poor review because I don't like that particular style as much as others. Looking back at my reviews also reminds me of what to buy, what to recommend, and shows me how my own tastes are changing as I learn more about beer. Just assigning a numerical rating to beer does nothing for me.

 

If I'm drinking a new beer at home then I'll almost always post a full review. Ratings are for when I'm drinking the beer in a social setting and have better things to do (like, well, interacting with other humans). That being said, if I just rate a beer, I'll usually repurchase it at a later time and do a full review, unless it's a limited batch/crazy expensive brew.

 

I enjoy reviewing, it makes me slow down and decide what I like or don't about a certain beer. I always try to review if I have time. If I don't have time I just quick rate it.

 

I review every beer I try for the first time. I am not particularly good at re-reviewing, I do try to add some blurb if I have picked up something new when I try it again or if the serving option or age differs.
I do this strictly for personal enjoyment. I like collecting things, this is what I am collecting currently.
The reviews I have posted on here are only a small part of my overall collection.

 

Sorry BA's. I rate and/or review brews for me. When I find the perfect beer, I'll be sure to let you all know. Yeah, sure I will. Enjoy your beer.

 

When I first joined this site, I reviewed a bunch in a short period to get to 20 reviews so that I could add beers that I had, but were not listed on the site. These days, unless I am drinking a beer by my laptop, I typically make a mental note on a rating and post it later.

 

Just review the way YOU want to review.

There are many reviews on here where I've zoned out after reading about the reviewers choice of glassware and where they picked up the glass from, where the bottle came from ... yawn !

Some folks fill up 2 para's before they even get on to the beer itself !

Each to their own - I'd never tell anyone how to review, but similarly don't feel compelled to follow the format of those 'elaborate' reviews that you refer to !

 

I don't review, but I rate almost every beer I try, and I try to keep my rating to style. I like to go through my ratings once in a while to see how my tastes change over time and I do make some adjustments, though never anything dramatic. I like to read reviews, but I find myself skimming most of it and focusing on the overall. The negative reviews tend to be the most entertaining.

 

I usually only review beers that absolutely do something that blows me away. I am guilty of being way more of a rater bc I'm lazy and want to just score what I think and move on to the next beer. I like to keep track of what I drink but just get lazy with writing a full review.

 

I review every new beer I drink, and really enjoy doing it. My wife thinks I'm crazy.

 

People bullshit flavors they "taste" in their beers to sound cooler than they actually are. If all you taste is tart-grapefruit and white wine, then that's all you taste. Just because some douche can pick out "fresh duck-billed platypus piss" in his DIPA and you can't, doesn't mean you're wrong. It means you're not a douche.

 

So far, I have only rated. I don't feel that I would be that great at expressing my thoughts on a beer in words. Anyway, my thoughts on a beer inevitably boil down to:
-This beer makes me drunk, and I respect that (ex: Miller Lite)
-This is a solid beer (ex: Sam Adams Boston Lager)
-I like this beer (ex: Alaskan Amber)
-I really like this beer (ex: Sam Adams Octoberfest)
-This beer is awesome! (ex: Lakefront IPA)
-I love this beer (ex: New Glarus Fat Squirrel)

I do wish that the "had" ratings would allow you to give a smaller interval than .25 because I invariably rate beers I like differently the same number

 

Rate, I don't feel I've developed my palate enough to pick out some of the finer flavors and I've had a persistent stuffy nose since moving to FL. Also, all the beers I have tried since joining BA have been reviewed alot. On the flip side I just found a local brewery that looks to have a good lineup that have not been touched on much on BA, so maybe my first reviews will be from them if I get the chance to stop by in the near future.