How Many Perfect 5s Have You Given?

Dragons Milk for real?????

 

Still looking

 

my 5's have been Square Grouper, Prop and BA Abraxas; tasted in that chronological order but my order of preference is from last to first. Each an amazing beer in its own right.

 

The following 6, I rated a 5;
Aventinus
St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Founders Backwoods Bastard
John Barleycorn BBA
Stone Espresso RIS
Great Lakes Blackout Stout

 

None... if i did the quest for a perfect beer would end

 

BCBS, Who's Your Daddy, this year's Assassin, Life is Like..., last year's BCBCS, Not Your Father's Root Beer (10%), PVW DL, and BA Abraxas.

 

It's a tough rating for sure. I tend to think of 5 ratings as being the best of a style overall, which I've yet to do. Though now thinking about it, I suppose one could also rate beers based on the execution of what the brewer was going for, merited by their own descriptions of said beers. In that mode of thinking, I could justify giving a beer a 5 rating.

 

I read somewhere that when taking an evaluation test people rarely will give the highest score on anything they are more likely to give something one step below but conversely people have a much easier time rating something an absolute zero. I have no problems handing out 5s some beers are just fantastic.

 

I've given a 5 to Duvel, simply because it has been a long time favorite of mine. To me it is perfection in a bottle. There are also some dog fish head beers, I believe 120 IPA, 90 IPA and Burton Baton, that get a 5 also because they are favorites of mine. I know it's not so scientific and objective to rate these beers this way, however, the fact that they continue to be sentimental favorites of mine makes it hard for me to find a flaw.

 

None. I guess I feel like if there's no room for improvement, there's no chance of beer getting better. And who doesn't want better beer, no matter how great the current beer is? I also have to admit that a bit of my beer judge mentality gets to me. Giving out a 50 at a beer competition is pretty much unheard of.

 

I've given 7 perfect 5's out of the 554 beers I've rated.

 

Using 1/4 point increments a "5" means >4.875 to me. I've given 5 of them out of 1000+ ratings.

Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
Rare Bourbon County Stout
King Henry
Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
Chimay Grande Réserve (Blue) - aged 3-4 years

 

I am pretty liberal with my ratings... I tend to rate more on the emotional experience than technical merits.

Having said that there are probably 5 that I have had that to me are beyond question solid 5s

Double Barrel Hunahpu
Pliny the Younger
Beatification
Westvleteran 12
Cantillon Gueuze

 

I ***** out 5's all the time, around 4 percent of the beers I have ticked. Alpine Nelson last night...yea that beer is perfect!

 

Never given a perfect 5 - come close with a few 4.9x. However, I'm of the opinion that there could (and likely will) be something better that I've yet to try, perhaps just around the corner. I also try to revisit my reviews just to see how beers stand up over time and how my palate has changed, and I've had a couple where my scores have gone up, and a couple that went down - but never had one make the jump from an initial score in the high 4s to a 5 on a revisit. I know eventually I'll have something so good that it gets full 5s - I've got a bottle in my cellar that might have a shot, and Holy Grale always has rare stuff pop up on their tap/bottle list, so it is bound to happen...

Bible Belt was the closest so far, and I think that but for the fact it was a one-off collab that I'll probably never see on draft again, it would have earned my first full 5. For me, availability/ease of access makes a difference in my overall score (and thus getting that final 5 on the attribute rating). If I could have a snifter of it any time I wanted, then by all means a 5. In the same way I think other beers I've had got the benefit of the doubt (and thus a slightly higher score) thanks to their availability even when there are equally as impressive peers in the same style category that are just harder to find. After all, I can't rate a beer I can't get my hands on.

 

None, and I never will, because perfection is unattainable. There will always be some attribute of a beer, no matter how minor, that I will have preferred in a different beer. I'd be happy to give a 4.99 but I could never give a 5.

 

The beers I've given perfect 5s to are Belgian Trappist ales. IMO, there are not many beers that can top a good Orval or Westmalle.

 

Actually reviewing from the attribute scale, I've had 0. I don't see that changing anytime soon because getting 5's in every category seems almost impossible.

 

3, and they're easily attainable, too! Funny how that works, sometimes .

I also get Schlenkerla on the regular, and my opinion of it doesn't seem to be budging, either.