Help + Tips + Intro to BeerAdvocate?

Welcome!

1a. Go here: http://beeradvocate.com/help/index?topic=ratings. It will explain the "BA Score." It's basically a score based on all the reviews a beer has had. The "Bros score" should be self-explanatory - it's the score that one or both of the Bros (creators of the site) have given the beer if they have reviewed it.

1c. Reviews are sorted by latest by default. On a given beer's review, right under the information, there are tabs where you can change the sorting, eg. high, low, top reviewers, and Bros reviews. I tend to trust certain "top reviewers" the most if I'm looking at individual reviews, but I generally trust the overall score the most. Plus, you should make your own conclusions about the beer you drink. You will like some beers that have low overall ratings and you will not like some beers that have higher ratings. That's just how it goes. A lot depends on personal taste.

2a. There's lots of acronyms. I think someone has a list somewhere, but I don't. Are there any particular acronyms you're struggling with?

2b and c. That depends what you care about. If I'm reviewing a beer for the first time, I like a clean, dry glass to get the purest experience with the least amount of extraneous factors affecting the beer. If I've already had a given beer and I'm not reviewing it and I already have a glass that had some different beer in it, I'll usually rinse the glass thoroughly, shake off as much excess water as I can, and re-use it. The beer tastes exactly the same. If you're going to dry beer glasses, let them air dry. Wiping the inside down can leave residue behind that can affect head retention, clarity, carbonation, etc.

2d. On a given beer's page, this information is off to the right side along with what glass to use. All that information depends on the style of the beer and the same information can be found by looking at the specific page of the given style.

Cover everything?

 

There's no such thing as getting carried away with a review. Make it whatever you want it to be. And you're right, in order to get good at reviews, you just have to do some. Once you actually sit down and try, you'll be surprised at how much you can appreciate. Always remember that if you get something different from most other people who taste a given beer, it doesn't mean that you're wrong. Everyone's palate and tastes are different.

As far as food with different beers, different styles pair well with certain foods. These can also be found on a given beer's page/given style's page.

If you really want to get into tasting, reviewing, and appreciating different styles, I would recommend a few things:

1. Check out the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) style guidelines. You should be able to google them. It'll give you an extensive list of what to look for in a given style. I always try to keep the style guidelines in mind when I review beers. Example: Some of my favorite beers are DIPAs (double IPAs). Would I prefer a DIPA to a cream ale? Sure. But, when I'm reviewing cream ales, I keep in mind what a cream ale is supposed to be. If it fits the criteria, it gets a good score. If it adds to the style or is particularly tasty for that style, it gets a great score.

2. I highly, highly recommend buying and reading "Tasting Beer" by Randy Mosher. He talks about so many things having to do with tasting, reviewing, and appreciating beer, including food pairings. When I realized that I wanted to get into appreciating what different styles had to offer, I picked up this book and it helped IMMENSELY. It's a great read.

3. Home brewing, if you have the interest, time, money (it actually ends up saving you money in the long run), will teach you TONS about beer - anything from what different beer ingredients taste/smell/feel like to what's appropriate for different styles of beer to what certain "off" flavors taste like and what they're caused by when you inevitably make mistakes. I've brewed a couple of batches of beer and it's a great experience. If I had more time, I'd do it a lot more.

4. Try as many beers from as many different styles as you can and have fun with it! Find out what you like and what you don't like. If you don't like a certain style, that's ok! Even if everyone else in the world likes it, this is supposed to be enjoyable. Don't drink something you don't want to. On the other hand, don't write off a given style based on one beer. Try a few before you say, "I just don't like this style." As you journey through different beers of the same style, you'll begin to appreciate flavors that are specific to a given style, what is different about the particular beer that you're drinking, and if it adds or takes away from what the style is supposed to be. If you decide to taste multiple beers from a given brewery, you'll begin to appreciate certain appearances/aromas/flavors/feels that are constant no matter what the style happens to be. There is a HUGE world of beer out there and so much to appreciate. Enjoy it!