How would the beer world be different without BeerAdvocate?

AMEN!!!!!

 

To be honest I find simple labels like the ones Maine Beer Co and most of Goose islands stick out more in a crowd of beers that have over the top label art. While I appreciate creative artistic labels some times the most effective marketing is simplistic

 

I dig the Goose Island labels. I think it has an air of sophistication and accurately represents their brand. And their beers carry enough weight that they don't need to "pop" on shelves, they sell themselves. Maine Beers just don't do it for me, though. Seems like an afterthought.

I see your point, though. Maybe my example was poor. Weyerbacher (before they redid their labels) is a better example. Their labels used to look like a 13 year old's MS Paint project. It was years before I tried their beers, just because I couldn't get behind the packaging... But I also work in Marketing/Advertising for a living, so I'm biased. It's something that jumps out to me.

 

Well, apparently he also told the person I linked to that without sales in foreign countries Cantillon would be out of business. I think what he told you is a case of "thou dost protest too much". Unless he means he wanted to retire and the fame his beers, and by extension he himself, have received has kept him from doing so. I have a tendency not to trust those who protest that they would rather not be successful, because what is stopping them from accomplishing that if it is true?

 

Maybe it is just you, maybe not. But being the nature of this thread, I think this is an appropriate forum to discuss both the good AND bad effects BA has had on the craft 'community'.

 

1. I would have more $$$ since there wouldn't be a Beers of Fame to chase.
2. I would have never known about Flower Power.

 

I've enjoyed chatting and trading homebrewing tips with a lot of the people on this site, but if there was no BA it really wouldn't change my drinking habits in any way. I got flamed here once for daring to say that I don't read BA reviews before I buy any beer because what everybody else here likes has absolutely no bearing on what I like. One guy kept hammering me as being elitist and thinking my palette is more refined than thousands of reviewers on BA. I'm an old guy and don't buy into the hype(good or bad) that I see here and I'll continue to drink what I want regardless of whether it's a BA top 100 or has less than a 1.00 rating.
Having said that I enjoy the time I spend here, people like jesskidden and pattorio have gibven me quite an education into the history of beer, I've learned some useful hints for my own homebrewing and I enjoy reading a lot of the other general beer related posts. Most of the threads on his site have become silly arguments about which beer is best and rants against particular brewers.

 

This website is still a niche within a niche. The "whale hunters" are a huge vocal minority here, and I would say a niche within this community. While I think that breweries do pay attention to this website, they are not basing their business practice on our input alone. Well maybe outside of The Bruery and Nebraska.

 

There would be less hate for other people and their beer.

 

Without BA, I'd probably replace the time with even more time looking at **** on the computer...wait, what?

 

There would be rare beer in Washington.

 

If BA didn't exist, the best beer I probably ever would have bought myself would be Newcastle. Without my friend's (who really knows very little, just enough to refer me here) referral to this site I would know pretty much nothing about craft beer. Thanks friend!

 

I would have a lot more time to do productive things.

 

Has anyone said way fewer beer snobs?

 

My first thought is that another site would be doing the same thing, as a previous poster said. If "NO" sites like this existed, than the craft beer scene would be much more localized, and the BMC companies would still own 99% market share. But that's not possible because everyone knows that the internet is good for nothing but ****, beer info and online auctions, hahaha

 

Based on what I've seen in other places, people wouldn't question the "Bros Say" ratings as being advertisement driven.

 

Well, at this point in time, Italian craft would not be as known if not for the brave few who dared to try it. And when I say I do not want to be egotistical about it, how many BA's can say there is someone like me to advocate Italian craft beer? I will stand for it as long as the product is great!

 

I don't know how different things would be overall for the craft beer community, but it may be a lot different for me.

Two years ago, drinking my then favorite beer, Yuengling Lager, I thought to myself "There must be something better". I had long been a fan of lesser known music and movies, and naturally assumed beer might have the same scene.

Typing into google "Beers like yuengling", I came up with Brooklyn Lager. From this site. So, naturally, I tried to find the top beers on this site. Hmph, my local store doesn't have any of this "Hair Of The Dog Adam", nor does it have any "Pliney The Younger".

So, I quickly realized that there where good beers, some that you could get, some that well...good luck. Went to the beer distro and asked for Sierra Nevada. They had it!

Floodgates. Straw, camel's back. Etc.

Pretty much every beer I've drank in the past year and a half has been influenced by BeerAdvocate. If it didn't exist, I'd probably have ended up at a similar site. But maybe not. I'm typing a lot from the hip, because I'm pretty toasty, and for that, I thank BeerAdvocate.

Edit : I don't know if I said anything in my post. Sorry.

 

Im toasty too! So much so I sang karaoke at my local coffee shop and I met a fellow craft beer drinker!

 

Without BA?

You'd actually have to talk to people.
Face to face.

Weird.

Not really.