Lets talk about your perfect 5s

Firestone 18th - 2 year aged. I had this just a couple days ago. And mind is completely blown. The smell, the taste, the mouth-feel, everything was stellar. One of the most complex flavors I've ever had, and it only got better as it warmed. Good to the last drop, and I'll probably never have it again xD

 

Wouldn't give a perfect score to anything. Nothing and nobody is perfect. As good as someone or something is, there's always someone or something better. At least subjectively.

 

1) Perfect Score, but later lower - Pliny, but only a half point down now. Lots of other beers at the beginning of my craft beer exploration, I didn't give a perfect sore but I rate them lower now. Two I accidentally rated 5/5 (thumb slip) that I'd rate lower next sip.

2) Which beers did you give a perfect 5 previous, - Westy, Aged BCBS, Some Aged Barleywines. Out of 1000 beers I've intentionally rated 8 of them 5/5.

3) Any beers you previously rated below a perfect 5 initially, Deschutes Mirror Mirror is close, maybe another year and its 5/5. But beyond that no, although other lower scores I've raised. Sometimes the newest batch just tastes better too.

 

Surprised that some people haven't given 5/5 before, I get it, but surely you've had a few beers blow you away before. If a beer makes me audibly swear in a positive way and basically beergasm, than I give it a 5/5. Those are beers where I can't possibly think of a way to make it a better experience.

 

I've handed out quite a few perfect ratings for the following reasons:

1) It is a perfect representation of the style after comparing many others in the same group.
2) Environment I enjoyed the beer in has an impact for sure.

If a beer is perfect at the moment in time that you're enjoying it why not give it a perfect score?

 

Maybe I've been using the rating system wrong on this website, or maybe I'm just not as snobby as everyone else. I hand out fives. If it's an amazing beer that's great for the style, I am happy I purchased it, would purchase it again, and think it tastes just damn good, I think it would be pedantic to give it anything less than a 5. For me, a 5 isn't about 'perfection', it's about whether or not the beer deserves a god damn 5

 

Andechs Doppelbock is still my only 5 and since I stopped rating beers it'll likely stay that way.
I'm not sure if I think it's "perfect" but I think it's ideal for my personal tastes. At least as ideal as a beer can get most of the time. A lot of my tastes can vary depending on the situation.
Not sure I'd give any other beers a 5, but if I had to - Cantillon Fou Foune, Oak Aged St. Bernardus, Keesmann Herren Pils, and Augustiner Hell would have to be in the running.

 

I haven't given any 5's because I believe there is always room for improvement no matter how good something is. Nothing is really perfect. I think a beer can still be mind blowingly amazing and a near perfect representation of a style, but still not have super long retention and nice color, or feel perfect, smell intense and pleasant, have perfectly balanced taste, etc.

 

Nothing warrants a 5 on the BA scale. That said, I think it's a poor way to look at beer. Essentially, I now give 5's more readily. I'm not going to split hairs, instead I just ask: have I had a beer that is really, truly, better than this? Not different, better.

On that measure I retain my 5 for Heady Topper, I give one to Abner, Double Sunshine, Julius, BCBS, and Ayinger Celebrator. Foley Bros. Prospect and Pro Pig's IPA probably deserve it as well. I'm more or less rounding up from 4.9. I'm not concerned about whatever silly differences I temporarily think exist between 4.93 and 4.97.

 

I gave a perfect 5 to Alesmith Speedway Stout. At the time I reviewed, it was absolutely perfect. I had it several times around then and simply could not get enough.

Fast forward to today and it no longer seems as amazing as it did before. Did my palate develop? Did the beer change? I don't know, but I do know that I am standing behind my review at the time, when the beer was flawless to me.

 

I give 5's on Untappd all of the time if I am absolutely blown away by a beer. That being said, Untappd isn't nearly the rating system that Beeradvocate is but I'm too lazy to do Beeradvocate ratings. If I did, I'm guessing a perfect 5 would be extremely rare.

 

Yeah I only use Untappd for ratings, and I've given a handful of 5's. In my mind that doesn't necessarily mean it's perfect, but it at least blew me away. The one beer I always seem to consistently rate a 5 is my first Enjoy By of each series.

 

I've only given one perfect 5. It was for a Cave-Aged Ommegang Abbey Ale in 2005. I am a big fan of the Abbey Ale (back then just simply called "Ommegang"). In this case, the cellaring really enhanced the flavors and aroma and I was blown away. There were not a lot of other products like it available at the time. Looking back on it 10+ years later, was it the perfect beer? Probably not. But at that time and place it sure seemed like it and it was the best beer I'd had to date.

For me, a perfect 5 means there is no room for improvement. It doesn't have to be the holy grail of beers where only one can exist, it just has to be a damn good beer. I wouldn't hesitate to give another beer a perfect rating if it was deserving of it. Just haven't found it yet.

 

I've never come back and revised to or from a 5. Only given out 2 so far--Zombie Dust and BCBS. These threads always make my head hurt with the way people act like giving a beer a 5 will tear a hole in the fabric of the universe.

 

Scarlett Johansson.
Oh, beer? I don't think anything deserves a perfect 5 that I've had. Grimm Brothers "the count" with about 1 year in the cellar ended up pretty close to that.

 

Epihpany is the closest I've come with a 4.85. But I rated the taste (only thing that matters right?) as a 5.

 

I've never given a perfect 5. The closest I've come is a 4.96 for a BA Abraxas.

 

Same. I give my favorites a 5, and if I for some reason start liking them less, I will lower their rating.

 

thought I had given out some 5's but apparently not. Closest so far are Pliny the Younger, Matt, A Deal with the Devil (batch 2), Parabola, Cherry Adam from the Wood, and a few others.

Deal with the Devil, Parabola, and Matt still hold up as some of the finest beers I have ever had.

Melange #3, DeGarde Nelson Hose, Alpine Nelson (not the GF version), King Henry, 2009 Vanilla BCBS, Coffee KDS, Fantasia are all beers that I would put in that top tier category as well.

Im not interested in splitting hairs about what is a "5" and what isnt. As far as Im concerned, the beers above are all examples of some of the best you will ever find.