Do you review to style?

I will add that style is highly inconsistent in the U.S. craft world. Is Peak Fresh Cut a pilsner? Really? Dogfish Piercing Pils? Those are my favorites of the "style" precisely because the deviate from it.

We know Dales Pale Ale is an IPA. SNPA is pretty close to one. What about Sixpoint? Do they even mention style consistently? The goal of modern brewers, I hope, is to make a beer people like, not to make a perfect example of some style that was determined in Germany or England over 200 years ago. How are those styles...which came into being organically, somehow fixed in time and relevant today? It's the creativity and willingness to ignore style that makes craft beer great.

 

Yes.

And I'm probably an "overrater."

But I really enjoy beer. Guilty as charged, your honor.

 

So far, I've mostly been reviewing/rating based on how much I personally liked the beer... but that's mostly because I just haven't had enough beers in most styles to have a really good grasp of what's expected of the style. Considering that I'm not someone who throws out 1s and 5s too easily (haven't given a single 1 or 5 to anything yet, actually... most of my scores have been in the low 3-something to low 4-something range, though there have been some 2-ish and 4.5-ish scores), I figure that won't throw the ratings off too badly even if I'm reviewing beers with only a handful of previous reviews.

When I have had more than a couple beers in a style, though, I do try to compare them to each other rather than to completely different beers (for example -- any new American IPA that I try will probably be compared to Stone IPA, Ranger, etc. rather than to every other beer I've had.)

I figure that once I've had more of a style and get a better idea of what sort of beer it's supposed to be, my ratings for those beers will start to shift closer to being "rated to style," while still reflecting how much I liked the beer personally too (because that is part of the reason why I review beers -- to keep a good record of which beers I did/didn't like and why.)

 

Haha, don't let it drive you nuts. I shake my head when I see a review that includes some iteration of the phrase "not a fan of this style", but I think in the long run those types of reviews are outweighed by the more reasonable ones. The site's founders actually explicitly state to "keep style in mind" when reviewing. I think there's room to consider style expectations, as well as overall enjoyment, that's all.

 

And when hopped-to-hell versions of a style not known for or described as being hoppy start accumulating plenty of ratings saying they're one of the best examples of said style.

There's a reason I pretty much ignore score values, and only look through reviews on here for certain words and phrases.

 

I can't agree with that at all -- there are good and bad in all styles and a bad Imperial Stout will not taste as good a great Bavarian Weißbier (among many examples).

 

I "try" rate to style because its the accepted system, even though the BJCP is not perfect IMHO. I also rate to a standard in the so called style. in case of Saisons, no 1 knows what is the style for sure. So you pick a standard you can FIND now days. I judge all other saisons against Dupont.

You need time machine to know for sure. and we do not have 1....

But the key is my reviews are personal and I hope no 1 reads them to pick out a beer they like. I use short phrases that let me try to remember what it tasted like to me.

 

I only rate to style and make exceptions for cheaper macro lagers.
I review those in the context of what they are, using a point scale according to what I expect from that style.

 

Below is the description for AALs:

"Focus is less on flavor and more on mass-production and consumption, cutting flavor and sometimes costs with adjunct cereal grains, like rice and corn."

If people really rated to style, Bud Light and others would be scoring 5s all day in tastes because it fits the description of what it's supposed to be.

 

Style always has some bearing on how I rate the beer.

IE if it's an IPA that tastes like a porter ( which has happened ) I will likely dock it a bit. However, my overall enjoyment of the beer is what pulls most of the weight.

 

Exactly.

I will usually put a line in about the beers style and where it fits within that, but I'm primarily reviewing for myself-- to remind me what I like.

I gave Stella a 2. something. Style not withstanding.

 

I review in style, not to style, but with style I be stylin, and before I know it, completely out of...

 

Some brews simply transcend their stated style. In those instances, I'm inclined to rate with a bit more flexibility. Lagunitas Imperial Pils comes to mind, but I'm sure there's a few more...

 

I like to think I do but styles I love tend to score higher

 

Ummmmmmmmm NO! each beer is like a *********

 

I try to rate to style and I also try to have a broad sense of the style but that is difficult as there are many style variations.

 

I review most beers to style, but I don't review bottled beers that I bring home. I also don't put very many of my reviews here as individual beers on BA. I visit many breweries here in Michigan, and most of them are newly opened, thus sometimes very suspect regarding the quality of their initial beer offerings. I put a score on the beers from 1-5 (BA scoring) and I then average these scores to make a general comment about the beers in a Places review. The only way to rate these 'newish' beers is to style, thus that is what my vote was for this thread's poll. If I run into an unusual beer that has no exact defined style like a radish saison (had one last week) or a style that I don't drink very often, then I'll rate it on drinkability more than style.

 

Along this line, I'm a little shocked no one posted this yet: How To Review a Beer

In there it states the obvious:

I fell into "other". The basics of any style come into play. I wouldn't rate a Berliner Weissbier low for being "too sour", but would for being hoppy, regardless of how I enjoyed the beer. That said, I probably wouldn't enjoy the beer, because presumably I would be wanting something with a little sour/tartness. However, I can see me rating higher than I should "to style" if I happen to prefer a much more sour version than the style would indicate is "proper".

Side note: I know it's probably a different thread, but has anyone ever requested a style change on a beer due to someone entering it wrong - by mistake or by best [perhaps incorrect] guess without having guidance from the brewery? Or does the incorrect style affect others ratings that do as they are voting in this poll?

 

What is really happening here is that the people that would give BL a high score simply don't rate at all And people that do rate beers don't bother to rate BL.