Rating a beer when you don't like the style

I stopped rating beers for the most part, my likes are way too narrow IMO to be useful. I'm not a sour head and I would not appreciate the worlds finest sour, I would more than likely hate it, so I could not objectively rate a brew in a style I didn't truly understand and appreciate, and one that I don't like. I dabble at tastings with styles I don't buy, but that's as far as I go. I like IPA's and BA Stouts that's it, I feel well versed enough on IPA's and such to give an opinion, and with Stouts only qualified to maybe state a preference. I wouldn't feel it fair or to anyones benefit to rate a Wild Ale.

 

Why even get a beer if you don't like the style? I mean, maybe if you've only had the style a couple of times, and were trying to give it a fair chance.


That isn't a good reason to review the beer in question though.

 

Tickers gotta tick...

I don't know. There are people that can look past their own likes and dislikes and rate the beer according to the style - it takes practice to be able to do this and a copy of the Beer Judge guide, but it can be done. Most people can't do that. Like the example above of the person that doesn't like IPAs rating them, or coffee stouts, etc.
I personally don't rate beers on here. I generally avoid those styles I don't care for, which aren't many - mainly rauchbeirs. I can appreciate a well done one, but too many of them are like drinking charcoal - flavored bandaids.

 

Made me laugh, I've had some Wild Ales that tasted like dirty smelly sweat socks, why rate it? It may be true to style but it didn't taste very good. I love when you get wet horse blanket smell and taste comments , and it's not objectionable. I just say yuck and pour it down the drain.

 

I encourage everybody to learn what a textbook example of every style should taste like and which flavors or notes to expect so that they can get the most out of every beer they drink or sample.

 

I definitely can look past my own likes and dislikes and rate the beer according to the style. Thats called respecting beer and I thought thats what you are supposed to do. Giving a good IPA a low score because you arent a huge IPA fan is not respecting beer.

 

It would be hard to highly rate a beer that was true to style, and you didn't like it. I respect beer, but there is no way personally that I could give high marks to a beer I didn't enjoy. So I wouldn 't rate it.

 

I'm a judge, and while I generally avoid judging styles I don't really enjoy I'm capable of realizing that something that I find "meh" may be perfect to style, and that something I really love may be a poor representation of the style it is entered in.
...but styles are just a way to make competitions mean something, an arbitrary guideline to be measured against. They're not the end all be all on this site, and I see some room for personal style bias in reviews.

still, if you hate a style I don't see why you'd take the time to even drink it, let alone type about it. But if you do, it deserves a fair shot IMO.

cheers--
--Michael

 

Most people here don't rate to style anyways so who cares. If people rated to style you'd see some American Adjunct Lagers getting 95+ scores.

 

Never thought of it in that way, I suppose with regards to style and AAL then something like Budweiser would then be spot on. So the fact that it's not highly rated kinda supports your comment.

 

stick around in the thread a while; I'm guessing we'll see certain people chime in on the BJCP guidelines, which are what I was referring to. Scottish 60/-, 70/-, 80/-, for instance.
(Hi Ron!)

 

I generally review drinks in the pubs I visit because such information is used to compile the Good Beer Guide.Sometimes the beer is not to my taste but I have to look past that to the condition and cellarmanship involved. I can give a high mark to a beer I do not particularly enjoy.Tough work but somebody's got to do it

 

Except that beers are pushing the limits of those styles all the time. Just as an example, look at how the aesthetics of pale ales and IPA's are changing. There are still a lot of people who will give a higher score to an IPA that is very clear and vice versa. How many times have you heard someone dispariage the look of Heady Topper? And yet, I know I'm not alone in coming to prefer IPA's that are cloudy, maybe with a few floaties... I actually think Heady Topper is a better looking beer than Pliny the Elder which, in my experience is quite clear. You make a good point, that there are guidelines that can help us with reviewing beers; "yes, that beer is actually supposed to taste like bubble gum..." However, I don't want those guidelines to be too rigid. I'm comfortable with the rules being a little fuzzy and so I'm more in line with the commenters here who just say to rate the ones you know well, or at least, don't blow up a beer you don't like, if it's not a style you know well.

 

At the end of the day, it's a free website...

To answer OP's question, I won't review a style of beer until I feel I'm getting familiar with it and can appreciate it. Or, I've had a beer I felt was very good that surprised me for a style I typically don't like.

I don't review as often as I did during my first couple years after joining this site.

 

I totally agree with the first post.

And also... I only review beers that I really enjoy, or at least find somewhat good. I just don't feel inspired enough to write a full review for things that make me go "meh." If you look at all my reviews, you'll find that there are no ratings under about 3.5 because I don't like writing about things I don't like. I like writing about things I DO like.

 

Small point of contention: I love IPA's - that doesn't mean I still can't rate a supposedly excellent IPA as too hoppy and bitter. Increasing "hoppiness" and bitterness do not correlate directly with increased ratings. I find that bitterness for the sake of being bitter detracts from my enjoyment of the IPA.

That said, I understand the general point you are making. I would not drink a sour and then complain that it was sour. I generally abstain from drinking styles that I don't like (please don't comment on this, it's for another thread at another time), and if I'm trying to break into a style and have a bad experience, I would rate it, but usually if the beer is truly well made then the other four categories will help bouy the score. I don't feel guilty about giving a bad mark, because I understand that my rating is one of many, and won't have a huge impact on overall score.