How do you use BA?

1. Check reviews to assist me in buying - particularly if a beer is pricey
2. Trade 2-5 times a year
3. Kill time at work

 

Mostly to complain about anything and everything in the beer world.

 

This. Like right now.

I also like to keep up with beer releases and whales and stuff.

 

Keeps me thinking and dreaming about beer 24/7.
Usually check my inbox and alerts first before cruisiing into the forum for the usual chit chat.

 

Gets me in the mood for the Friday - Sunday beer marathon. Don't really drink during the week.

 

Reading reviews
Setting up trades
Killing down time at work
Occasionally BS'ing with the late night crowd

 

1. Joined.
2. Tore through Beer 101 and other resource pages.
3. Getting ideas of what beers to look for and new styles to try.
4. Lurking.
5. Trying to get a feel for how to (a) have a better tasting experience (b) eventually review beers.
6. Points of reference for further research.
7. Getting my nerve up to eventually try home-brewing.

 

1. Beer releases
2. Read the words of the review, not the score
3. Post incessant humor posts about 23 1/2 hour old beer.
4. Burn time when I'm bored.

 

Usually when I open BA I immediately click the forums which opens a new tab for the forum page. I scour the Beer Talk and Great Lakes forums mostly. If anyone mentions a beer I havent had or a place I havent been I go to my first BA tab (the homepage) and use the search box to pull up the beer/store and read reviews. After I read all the new threads in those forums I may check out the trading, news, releases, and any other threads that look interesting to me. Thats about it unless I actually feel like reviewing something. Oh, i also (obviously) check on any convos or inbox messages I might have, periodically.

 

Check out the Beer Talk
Then Trading (mostly LIFs until I get my trading sea legs)
Then Cellaring

After that I check out reviews based on what I'm reading during the day to see what I should look out for

 

1. Check out reviews on beer I'm drinking
2. Read comments on forums
3. Write comments on forums
4. To look out for possible beer releases in my area
5. I don't have any friends!!! at least none that are obsessed with craft-beer

 

-IF's
Trading
Arguing
backfat (RIP)
.gifs about Jimmies
Masturbating to the "Post you Hauls Here" thread
Rabble Rabble about Adam Jackson and Mikesgroove
Waste time at work
TMTOBA
Digitally High-Fiving my best buddies, who I characterize and judge solely on their ability to properly insert images into threads, as well as the subject matter in their Avatars....

Oh, and beer. Lots about beer.

 

Same here.

 

I like to check for cool new beers, and I love to gripe about prices! I love this site!

 

1) Keeping track of my opinions/thoughts on beers, i.e. reviewing them.
2) Reading other (specific) user reviews to determine whether or not a beer I'm considering is worth purchasing or seeking out.
3) Occasionally I'll kill time on the forums (usually either the Canada one or this one), but 90% of that time is just lurking.

 

I really just use BA as an easy way to keep track of the beers I've tried, as well as my reviews of them. I don't know if my reviews will ever actually help anyone else to make a decision about trying a brew, but it's got a much better chance than if I were to keep it on a spreadsheet or some such. I sometimes use it to check the general consensus of opinion regarding whatever beer I'm feeling like trying, but for the most part I'll just pick something up that looks interesting.

Oh, and I like the regional sub-boards for the constant influx of local beer news. Without BA, I don't know how I'd find half of this stuff out.

 

I typically login (often while killing time at work) and check the US - New England forum to see what's going on close to home. I've found some great information about new releases and local brewery news. I then check out the Beer Talk, News, and Releases forums to see what's going on elsewhere. I then spend a fair amount of time on the Homebrewing forum to see what other people are doing and try to learn new methods and improve my technique.

If I'm looking for fun things do do, I usually check the events page for MA and New England events (who doesn't love a good beer based adventure). If I'm traveling somewhere, BA is usually my second stop in the planning process (right after Google maps). I'll check the reviews of places near where I'll be and check for what local beers I may be able to find.

 

To trick myself into thinking I have friends.