rating beer styles you dont enjoy

If I don't like a style I tend not to grade them at all until I've tried a bunch and start liking or appreciating that style to grade the beer fairly. Giving a beer a Shitty grade cuz you don't like the style isn't fair to the style or the beer...CHEERS

 

If you know that you don't like saisons to the point where you tell everyone you don't like saisons, why the hell would you buy and review a saison?

That's what gets me

 

Agree with OP but it's lower on my list of irritations.

 

The guidelines state to review 'with style in mind', but most people don't. I've noticed that my reviews of less popular styles are typically higher than average because I grade them against others of the same style, not how much a personally like it.

 

it's just beer and it's just reviews. If it's apparent from a review the reviewer doesn't like the style, I'll move on to another review. Most people review for themselves.

 

Exactly, it's like writing a review about the Bruins but you already hate Chara. Meaning, you already have this bias which directly affects how you are going to look at similar things.

If I didn't like IPAs I probably wouldn't drink them. And if I did, I probably wouldn't review them. Luckily for me I have an extremely versatile palate which allows me to enjoy almost anything.

 

Thought this exact same thought today while reading a review of Hopback. Guy rates it decently, seems to enjoy it. Then gives it a 2.5 because he really doesn't like hoppy ambers. Right. Great feedback.

 

It doesn't bother me so long as the reviewer appears to give the beer an honestly thoughtful review *and* straight up says, "I don't like this style."

That sounds stupid, I realize. Why drink/rate/review a beer if you know going in you're not going to like it? In my case, the answer is because I'm trying to learn to like them all. And I bother to review them now as a personal database that helps me keep track of my own likes and dislikes.

I like it when somebody says they don't like the style because that helps me factor it into (or outright disregard) their review.

 

One style I particularly don't care for are Tripels but I try to grade based solely on the style guidelines and brewery interpretation rather than how drinkable I find them to be. One of my highest rated beers is Chimay White and I probably won't buy it again.

 

Of course the flip side of this coin is giving higher reviews to the styles we like. Does anyone take issue with that?
It's essentially impossible to review any beer with complete objectivity, and even harder for those of us who have no formal training in tasting and evaluating beer. The best most of us can do as consumer reviewers is to describe the beer as accurately as possible, and rate it accordingly. If most of us do this, the aggregate average score for most beers will even out over the long term.

 

I find that the styles I enjoy the most I tend to be the most critical of because I am so familiar with what the beer should be.

 

Gonna disagree here. Having 100+ IPA's, you're gonna have an idea what's a good IPA and what's a sub par version. If anything, you can be overly critical of a beer you're a fan of the style of.

 

I find myself doing the same thing. It is absurd that people will bash a certain beer because they don't like the style. Even if the style is one i don't like or I am unfamiliar with, I still research the style so that I know what characteristics to be looking for in that particular style. Just because I am not a fan of the style doesn't man that I can't respect the brewer's effort and ability to put forth a great beer of that style.

 

/agree

 

Unless its an AAL, then bash away!

 

I don't follow. Nobody hates a beer because of the style. They hate the style because of the beer.

And the alternative is inflated ratings...

 

I agree it's poor practice to review beers in a style you openly dislike.

There's a reason I steer clear of ESBs...

 

Yeah, this is annoying. I read a crappy review like this for Ruination recently where someone scored it well below average (how in the name of Stone?!). When someone does it, they're really reviewing the STYLE more than the specific beer, and contributing to an inaccurate overall average for the beer's grade.

It's like a movie critic slamming a really awesome horror movie because they only like dramas.