Rating Places

Generally I tend to do a review rather than just ratings alone. So a lot how I'm using the numbers is clarified in the review.

V: All of the above. Did I feel comfortable there or were the TVs, etc. loud and preventing us from chatting about the beer. Location, etc.
Q: Quality of the beers sampled or on offer.
S: Agree, obvious
S: Range or variety (but not just the number) of beers on offer to sample or drink since Quality also covers the beers.
F: Agree, obvious. If I didn't eat I may be able to say something about whether others seem to be enjoying the food, etc.

 

Vibe, just my overall feeling when I leave.
Quality, quality of product.
Selection, service and food should be obvious.

 

See above BOLD comments. Good thread topic; I've been considering doing this myself.

I try to convert these subjective criteria into objective criteria when I review places. I don't have many stores or bars, so my comments are mostly applicable to breweries/brewpubs.

 

Vibe is kinda tough for me because it can be influenced by the type of crowd that night. Generally I look for does the place feel authentic are the people genuine or does the style/design feel forced/fake etc

Quality: Quality of the beers tasted and or food if applicable

Service. Im tough on this one. My Fiance manages a high end restaurant here in town and I have been in service related fields most of my working life. I dont expect kid glove treatment but what I do look for is is the service staff genuinely interested in our visit.

Selection: What types/how many different beers do they have. If a brewery location I give bonus points for stuff not normally found on shelves, cask taps, stuff not available at retail etc etc. I would take size into consideration as well EX Stone Beer Gardens is going to have a different expectation of selection than say Modern Times would.

 

Groovy! I seldom rate places anymore, but I used to, and >>ACHTUNG!<< I am a long-winded guy, so fair warning.

People: If I were to actually consider the clientele on a 1-5 scale, my head would explode (I try not to rate clientele.)
Decor: Yes, insofar as it affects my overall level of comfort, I consider it.
Cleanliness: I'll elaborate, as this pertains to "Taverns" (a.k.a. "Bars which serve some food") as well as Brewpubs:

The cleanliness of serving and dining areas (bar, tabletops) as well as the floor (tidy, swept or vacuumed) -- while mostly a visual component of a visit -- certainly affects my overall impression, and should therefore be important for staff to consider. Cleanliness of draught lines is equally important, but in a sensory manner which one will instantly appreciate when a beer or beverage in a clear glass or other serving vessel reaches the customer sitting at their table (or spot at the bar, whichever the case may be.)

Breweries:
For one thing, a brewery having the ability to serve their own beer "by the pint" as opposed to samples, only, is not a universal concept. Likewise, Brewpubs and Taprooms (breweries that serve beer by the pint / sampler tray, but do not have a kitchen) are two different legal concepts in comparison to a brewery which is legally allowed to sell beer by the pint.

Quality of execution applies, and "ambience" (see also: cleanliness as it pertains to a restaurant/tavern) of a service area or taproom may apply; On the other hand I've had wonderful samples at breweries with terrible (or no) taproom or sampling station.

Retailers:
When it comes to the retail setting, "quality" can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

- Is it an East Coast style "Package Store"?
- Pennsylvania Wholesaler?
- Midwestern "Municipal" or "liquor store"?
- Southwest grocery?

Basically, when it comes to any retail establishment where packaged beers are the primary reason for the visit, I look for freshness of product, first and foremost.

The total number of items in stock (SKU) --especially beer-- is of less importance than the freshness, and quality, again, can refer to any number of things to any number of people. But -for example- if an establishment carries a wide variety of expired or past-code beer at a full retail / shelf price, I would generally consider that establishment to offer a lower-quality shopping experience than a place which offers fewer beers (and fewer expired beers, naturally), irrespective of how well-polished their tile floor is or even whether those hundreds of expired beer SKUs are kept cold. Wink, wink.

On Sale (Bar/Restaurant/Taproom/Brewpub):
Accuracy (a.k.a. "getting the order right") is important -- especially in terms of cooked food items. Promptness ("being served / having order arrive in a timely manner") is important, and a server or bartender's degree of alertness should be your tipoff as to how your experience will be. Accurate, prompt, and polite service is the best that you can hope for, and friendliness or "service with a smile" is a bonus.

Off Sale (Package / Liquor Store / Grocery):
Service at off sale should be helpful and polite, ideally, and professional -- after all, this is a business.

On the other hand, I do not require expert advice, neither in terms of palate coaching or food pairing. I have been in food and beverage since before Craft Beer was the metaphorical "prettiest girl in school."

On the other hand, competent stock persons and floor managers are a must: The least a stockperson can do is point out a section of the store with a particular variety or assortment of beverage items. Failing that, they should know which supervisor -does- have access to that level of understanding of the retailer's basic layout.

If there are very specific questions I might have which pertaining to inventory or stock items? I will cut most places some slack. I've worked beverage retail, and an on-the-spot interrogation of the guy mopping out the cold box doesn't always produce the desired results when you NEED to know something in the middle of a busy day.

To this end, detailed questions are best addressed in advance of a visit, either by telephone or via email (if possible.)

In this sense I look for the best results from both On Sale and Retail / Off Sale. Principally, I will rate an establishment more highly if its staff capably or exceptionally executes its own particular concept; The notion that "more equals better" is one which I seldom subscribe to, especially in terms of total taplines, total number of SKU, etc.

Basically it comes down to this: If an establishment fails to pay adequate attention to freshness / date coding (and for retail, if they do a poor job at rotating their inventory) I will notice, and it will affect my rating, resulting in a lower rating.

Yes it is. Basically, the food ought to be better than average if I'm expected to tip over 20% when I go out.

 

Interesting thread!

Vibe: look of the place, cleanliness, and to a certain extent the clientele; a place might get bumped a little bit higher if it is clearly full of regulars that make the place feel homey.
Quality: whether the beers are tasty ones, obviously, but also how they are served (cheater pints will get penalized here)
Selection: for breweries, I look at style diversity as well as number of taps. Breweries have a lower bar for me than general beer bars; 12 taps is mediocre for a bar but pretty great for a small brewery.
Service: friendly service is always a plus but I usually give high points if the staff are knowledgeable about beer; i especially love it when at a brewery they can answer questions like "how many barrels is your system?" as well as specifics about the beers.
Food: mostly secondary. I have a few go-to items (fish & chips, patty melt, reuben) that I'll often get at pubs, so it's pretty easy to compare experiences across the board.

 

Vibe - this being the most difficult to define when it's not either over the top terrific or "oh HELZ no". I guess my in between depends on my own comfort level, and not in a scared I'm going to get knifed or shot way. More or less, would I feel comfortable bellying up in this place most anytime (which I guess would have something to do with safety...) really has the most weight behind it. A place can dazzle the eyes, but that doesn't' inherently create a great atmosphere. And similar to ****, it's difficult to completely describe but you just kind of know it when you see it (great atmosphere)

Quality - If there's no food than this may lean a bit more on the number of GOOD taps. They can have 10 taps but if 6 are macro, 2 are Sam Adams, 1 is a cider and the last one is a ubiquitous local, than they haven't put a lot of effort behind creating a quality lineup. But if a place only has 5 taps but they are well thought out and offer variety despite few taps, than that's quality. While I am not a huge glassware ****, I can say that plastic cups, chilled mugs (for everything) or pimping a large size (like the Brutus or whatever) may get a few knocks from me. Biggest stinker for this category though - tap lines that are noticeably unclean or flat kegs. I don't know how it is in most states, but around here the distros will take care of this, so there should be no excuse. And if you can't turn that keg over fast enough than put it on special, kick it and move on. It's not that freaking hard.

Service - Real easy. Address me with respect for the fact that I'm getting ready to spend money at your business (or place of employ), offer a well thought out yet concise answer to questions (or grab someone who can) and be attentive enough to catch my signal for service within the first 3 - 4 times I make an effort to gain your attention (I avoid blisteringly busy places, so I feel this is very reasonable). Although I enjoy chatting folks up, I don't necessarily need to have long conversations with the staff to feel like I received great service. Finally, I certainly do not need bartenders to flirt with me in hopes of inflating the tip (I tip very well for good service whether you look like Roseanne Barr or Olivia Wilde....doesn't matter...)

Food - Menu doesn't have to be over the top and belong in a binder. If anything, a handful of very well prepared items with a unique twist would get my highest praises as far as selection goes. Taste is as objective as it is in beer, so I feel that if the food matches the intent, we're good on taste. But the look of the food, that gets me riled up. If you offer it, I'd hope that the presentation carries with it an appearance of professionalism and not that of a dive slinging "chips and cheese" along with a wet burrito... Take pride in everything you do, serve, offer, project, whatever. If you don't really care how the plate looks when it gets to me than why should I believe you care how it tastes? Granted, this is a huge pet peeve of mine but I feel it's at least relevant as a point of interest in a review.