Lets talk about your perfect 5s

That was my simple and only point. Cheers!

 

I don't know that I'd go as far as reading "there can be no better beer in that style" into the BA guides, but I'd say there definitely can be equals.

Beers can be of the same style, but have different characters that make them unique -- and still equally delicious. I used to enjoy Young's Oatmeal Stout when I could find it and I would bet I'd rank that up there with Sam Smith's OS -- one of my Fives.

 

1.) BAPt5. Instant 5 the first time I had, not sure if it's gone down hill a little but I no longer find it to be a 5.

2.) CBS when it was fresh was mind blowing. Had it multiple times, easy 5 every time.

3.) Vanilla rye with a year on it. Initially didn't rate it a 5, but after trying a few other similar style beers I realized how amazing it was and changed it to a 5

 

@floridadrift

 

If you ever come across it, buy it. Pay any price.

 

Hmm, I suppose you are right, I could see a rare case where a beer scores as good as it can get equally to another of the same style. But you did some thinking about this, and paid attention to what rating a beer means, so you obviously are not fun at parties either lol. Cheers!

 

It depends on what people would consider a 5 too. What I call a 4.5 mouthfeel someone else might think is a 5 because they haven't had better. I guess I just don't know the limits of appearance and mouthfeel, etc.

 

Never given a perfect 5.

I don't believe I've encountered the perfect 5 and if I had, I didn't recognize it. Don't think I will ever give a 5 because I think I'll run across one that is better and I'll have no way to score it.

I also believe I'll never go back and raise one to 5 because in order to do that would mean that I'm dead and found the perfect 5 but am unable to change the rating.

 

Nope. Did some thinking and paid attention to what appreciating good beer means.

And I'm usually pretty invisible at parties... blending into the wall, paying lots of attention, and taking copious notes...

 

My inner (and outer, because it's what I do for a living) stats geek can't help but wonder if there's any correlation between people who want brewers to continually develop and produce new beers (and/or rarely if ever have the same beer more than once) versus people who continually revisit established / "classic" beers, and opinion towards ever giving any beer a rating of 5.

 

Whoa -- my head's spinning...

 

Which is exactly what I said, but you chose to pick one small piece of 2 paragraphs in an attempt to belittle my entire post.

 

Might be, but independent of that there do seem to be indvidual stylistic differences in use of rating scales regardless of what is being rated, so....

 

But everything can be boiled down and explained by simple bivariate analysis without any controls! EVERYTHING!

...why are all the walls in this room padded?

 

I have never given a perfect 5 but I gave Hellwoods By Bellwoods a high score and after a year I just didn't like it.

a beer that I keep loving, maybe Karma Citra from Great lakes or Twin Pines from Saw Dust. again I never give perfect 5 but this guys are just beautiful.

Never had a beer I did not like that liked later.

 

Well, since every complex problem can be explained by a univariate solution, that is sometimes true, except when it is not. :-)

 

I've come very close to a 5. I guess it really depends on what your looking for in your beer. We try beers to taste difference no matter what the "style". To me Trillium Pot & Kettle Oatmeal Porter was a 4.8 (but to someone else it may be a 3.8) It was exactly what I was looking for in that specific beer. As well as some Hill Farmsteads I've had. Anything I rate in the high 4's I always try again and see if anything has changed. Usually if something gets that high of a rating it's a damn good beer from a damn good brewery.

 

1) I give 5s to beers that are at the top tier in their style for me. That being said, they are always subjective based upon my palate at the time. I used to think Founder Rubeaus was amazing, as it was my first not bullshit fruited beer. I have had that again recently and want to slap my previous self in the face.

2) TH Green, always awesome. I'm sure there are a few others, but that's the most recent.

3) For example there are some beers that I had towards the beginning of exploration with craft beer (TH Julius 3 years ago at a festival) that were completely new, and somewhat strange, and it wasn't until I began to enjoy that specific style did I learn to appreciate the beer.

 

I agree. That is why a high sample size is crucial, and to that end, why BA is less useful than it once was for looking up beers, because the sample size is much, much smaller now.

 

How do you figure that? Smaller in what way? Which sample--Raters or beers or breweries, etc.?