Do you think most BAs rate beers too high?

There needs to be something very wrong about the beer for me to rate it below a 3. Fermentation defects, off favors, harshly boozy, etc.

 

There's a fundamental difference between rating something low for being "sub-par" and rating it low because you don't like it. If I read your review on something you didn't like and you graded it low, and nowhere did you mention "I don't like Style X" you are providing no constructive criticism towards the beer itself.

If I loved Stouts and hated Saisons, and reviewed a saison low and said "Don't like funk, needs more BA and chocolate notes" I have contributed nothing to how that beer rates as a saison.

 

I think you're doing a disservice to the ratings system if you come in with a preconceived notion of negativity towards a style. My opinion is you should try some of the "baseline" beers within said style and apply the same logic as you do in your OP. You may hate German Lagers, for example, but others may love them. It seems the best reviewers on this site take an objective look at everything they try with little to no preexisting bias. JMO

 

a) you could be right
b) there are a lot of really good beers out there

 

I think what you define as "Middle of the road" is where the differences lie. I have been rating just as the above post starting at 4 and go from there. Some people say that others rate too high, but even if I don't like a beer, I can usually tell if it's a good, quality made beer and don't want to slam it because it's not my style.
If the beer seems made with poor quality, then the score will drop below 4 based on how bad it seemed... Anything under a 3, for me, would have to be pretty miserable...

 

I am probably guilty of this. I usually rate by style and this normally pushes all of my beers down a bit.

 

Well said! This is exactly where I have been at on my rating scale.

 

I agree. A few of my only rating issues I have is when fellow BAs try a beer from a
style they clearly do NOT like and slam it OR my other favorite is (high ABV or Rare or $$$) MUST equal AMAZING!! This is not always the case. This is a fun community and I have learned a lot. Honestly, wish I could meet in person more Beer Advocates...most seem to be good people.

(P.S. krl2112/Original Poster) Nice motorcycle, no I do not ride, just appreciate fine things.

 

I rated New Albanian Hoptimus prety low last weekend because it's hoppy soul was gone and I was left with nothing more then way too sweet caramel. I did, however, make a mental note to go down I-64 and get some fresh then re-review.

So we have two things:
Don't like style; should it be reviewed or not?
Sitting on shelf too long, or not long enough; should it be reviewed or not?

Anyway, I think we are worrying entirely too much about this.
A good sample size will yield a result of the group's opinions, which is all a review is.

 

I rate them a little high just for good karma, I don't really want to potentially turn someone off of a beer they might have tried and liked. Also, I don't yet feel that I deserve to bash on anything too hard, as my taste buds have been constantly changing it seems.

 

Yes, it's in my opinion that most BAs rate beers too high, especially highly touted beers as I stated in a recent thread I created. Basically if you go by most BAs ratings, every beer is good or very good. Rarely do you see a score below 3 which should be considered average for the style.

 

Big and boozy with a high rating? Hmmmm? Ten Fidy?

 

I'll be the first to admit that I probably rate most beers too high. Part of this is because, being in my 40's, I remember a time in the USA when the beer pickings were extremely slim and most beers were blah. I guess I'm still just a bit overwhelmed by the explosion in the US beer scene the past several years and my ratings reflect a ``kid in a candy store'' excitement.

 

This^^. That's approximately how I rate. 3 = average/passable, 3.25 = decent, 3.5 = good, 3.75 = very good, 4 = exceptional, 4.25 = great, 4.5 = freaking delicious, 4.75 = mind-blowing, 5 = earth-shattering... Anything below 3 for me is something I would not want to drink again, and really I would only drink 3s to 3.25s if there isn't much else but BMC (for example I drink Yuengling/Guinness when out at one bar that I frequent for reasons other than beer because they are the only decent choices)...

 

I feel that I can usually only accurately review a beer I enjoy, that's why most of my reviews are pretty high. Generally if I disliked a beer, I'd feel like I wasn't accomplishing much by shit-talking it. Also, I enjoy beer and I have a bias, in that I WANT to like every beer I drink. So I'm with you, because if I used myself as an example, I'd say I overrate beers based on the fact that they're interesting craft beers. Ratings may be inaccurate, but at the end of the day, it's up to your palate to tell you what you like.

 

I do believe that hype has a lot to do with most ratings. I'll admit that after having a few, getting to try a "rare" beer for the first time, will probably get a half-drunken hyped rating as well.

I think BA's do a lot better than some of the RateBeer ratings though.

 

One quick thought about this. It is quite possible that with the amount of quality brewers increasing exponentially that there simply are going to be more and more highly rated beers. This is NOT a bad thing! If it tastes good then give it a good rating! Don't worry about the number of highly rated beers going off the charts. If they deserve the ratings then give it to them!

 

As mentioned it all depends on how you settle on an average score. I use 3.5 as the average score. Why you ask? Well because: Quadratic Equations

 

I do agree with you, and it really isn't a bad thing. But the better and better that these styles get as a whole, shouldn't we raise the bar as to expectations and overall quality? I'd hate to see a large quantity of the craft Imperial Stouts on here rated 100 for example, even if they were all world-class. Some have to be better than others and we would need a way to distinguish between them without a million "Which One is Better" threads.