Does proximity to a brewery affect your beer ratings?

Bootleggers and The Bruery are both about the same distance from me. Bootleggers is gutter water, while The Bruery is very good (albeit pricey). So, not so much.

 

Its hard not to root for the home team but I try to keep the bias beast tamed.

 

Golden Road sucks no matter how far away it is.

 

That's pretty good gutter water then--though, I've only had one beer from them: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/17271/54745

 

That's interesting. I've often wondered if I give an advantage to local brews, since I (mostly) feel like New England has eclipsed California in the big IPA dept. and many disagree. Yet, my highest rated beer is Kern River Citra... Overall, I don't think geography plays a big role for me.

 

I assume that you haven't had anything else by them. And in my opinion, there are a lot better IIPA's out there than Knuckle Sandwich - others also in which that are not branded as "the second coming," nor priced as such. They should focus on making a select few good beers rather than 40 average at best ones.

 

Yes, like I said, I have only had one beer from them. I liked it. It was not gutter water. That is all.

 

Oh I was thinking the opposite. As a huge proponent of local swill I feel my ratings might be positively influenced by my close proximity to those breweries, however unintentional.

 

Interesting, I would have figured it would have been the other way around with people having a hometown bias, and homers trying to jack up trade value.

 

I live a mile away from the Fat Heads brew pub. I'm as big of a Fat Heads fan boy as anyone.

 

I can throw rocks at flossmoor station. I like it tons. I'm also a bike ride away from Three Floyds, love them too. I figured I just lived near good beers.

 

I would admit to being biased toward ratings for DuClaw Brewing Co because I live like 3 miles from their original brew pub. They were what got me started on micros. Lots of good beer memories, so they naturally get more leeway in ratings.

 

I am most intrigued by the hatred for beer 750-1250 miles away. Too far to be local, too close to be exotic maybe? Or perhaps the fact that the majority of the population lives on the coasts and there isn't all that much great beer coming from "right down the middle" in this country.

 

Yes, in two ways.

Freshness matters and beer from nearby breweries is usually fresher than that shipped over long distances. Fresher beer is more likely to get higher ratings from me than older beer.

Also, the closer I live to the source of the beer the more likely I am to visit and try the beer or find it on tap. However not all easily visited Breweries/Brewpub produce beer that deserves high marks on the ratings. However they may get more often revisited for food or social reasons and so their beers are more likely to get trid and rated.

 

I think there is definitely a "grass is always greener" effect. I live less than 30 minutes from Flying Dog and work 5 minutes from Heavy Seas and their beers are typically not part of my usual rotation, especially not their year round offerings. Except Raging Bitch, my wife really digs that beer.

 

No in my case. But both of the local breweries are less than stellar. One makes yellow fizzy water, and contracts 'mikes hard....' and the other is so inconsistent that even in one sixer the beers are different. But somehow they always win best of show at our local beer fest. So yes?

 

Founders and Three Floyds would tend to shoot down the middle of the country stigma...