IPA and Barrel-Aged Stout Bias

uhhhh... Yea! What he said!!!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endowment_effect

 

True, but there's really no way to do anything about that so you have to work with what you got. There are still some well-liked beers in the less popular styles even tough they are not top 250.

 

Start with the observation that the Top 250 list is loaded with intensely-flavored beers. Now note that when looking at genetic distribution of amount and concentration of taste buds, most estimates place 75% of the population or so in the "medium taster" and "nontaster" categories, with possible skew of those two categories even higher based on area and other demographics. Then, factor in the U.S. presence in the rankings, and the attendant inherent bias against "lagers", which is actually a reaction against the BMC beers of the world. Finally, stir in the swift growth of the craft beer market to encompass more and more people from the U.S. of late.

Presto, you have your results - huge flavors that are as far away from light lagers as it is possible to get dominate the popular ratings.

 

Ask yourself this question - when you are in the local craft store, what is on the shelves?

I see a lot of DIPAs and Imperial Stouts, myself. These are extremely popular among craft drinkers, and brewers work hard to meet the demand. Good brewers in America produce some great examples of each of these styles, and BAs rate them highly. The Top 250 reflect this trend in craft brewing.

And that's really all there is to it.

 

I am actually with you on this, I see both these things happening at once. Rarer beers may very well be receiving a bump in rating due to the scarcity, but that has nothing to do with what I am talking about in my post. I just see some condescension for those that don't like Pilsners and related beers styles and the same for those that enjoy the stouts and IPAs. Somehow this translates to a lack of palate rather than a difference in taste and that seems unfounded.

 

I'm really not trying to come off as an overly verbose ass, I just try to cover all my bases when I post something since I know that text can often be misconstrued due to a lack of tone and other things. Sorry if it got a bit longwinded.

 

Interesting take on it. But I feel like Ice Beers taste worse than their standard counterparts, whereas IPAs and big stouts taste (extra?) good. The generous abv I'm sure helps some, though.

 

Now I think I understand why breweries with lots of DIPA and R IS and BA beers have blaring metal on.

 

Simple: IPAs and Imperial Stouts are better than other styles.....at least in the opinion of raters on BA. I agree with them, and so do most hard core craft beer drinkers. That is just the way it is. You can brew the perfect Pilsner...it will never be as good to me as a middle of the road DIPA. People rate beers that way as they are all beers so they ask: which beer is better? an IPA or a flavorful stout will always be better to most American craft enthusiasts than a pilsner (no matter how "crisp"). Lots disagree and that's great, they can look at ratings by style, but a majority of raters don't.