Referencing BA while buying beer

Great question! I do both. When I walk into a bottle shop I'm always looking to engage someone who works there to talk about their recent deliveries and what beers they are enjoying. Having said that, if no one is around, I gladly stalk the shelves and consult my phone when I see a beer that looks interesting but I've never heard of.

 

I like to ask the shop people about a specific beer but sometimes they are busy and haven't tried every beer in the shop. Sometimes I'll do a quick BA beer search, not for specific rating numbers but more for what people are saying it tastes like, and judge whether or not I think I might like it, but still usually taking it with a grain of salt. A good beer conversation is always welcome but those times are usually limited for when not many people are in the store.

 

I don't mind talking to knowledgeable non-pushy employees, but there are plenty of people that work at beer stores that don't know what they're doing. Recently I was picking up a couple BBA stouts at a bottle shop, and the clerk pulled a sixer of pineapple sculpin from behind the counter and kept pushing it on me like it was some rare whale even though I immediately said no.

 

Also, my main beer store and favorite local breweries are really good about tweeting out new beers on tap or interesting deliveries. So if I need to I can look them up before I go. Really helpful.

 

I completely appreciate what you're saying, but I've come to a point where I don't completely trust employee recommendations. Since BA reviews are an amalgamation of ratings, individual taste preferences and differences in tasting experience (ie. if a person had any freshness issues or wasn't really in the mood for a sour at the time) get diminished, which isn't the case if an employee had a better or poorer than average experience with a beer. Second, beer shops are businesses like any other and I've had plenty of experiences where employees push second rate beers because these beers are more expensive, they've been instructed to or they want to make more room on the shelves. Think of it this way, if I'm shopping for a toaster, I'll listen to an employee's recommendation but I'll still want to look on my phone and see what consumer experiences have been like.

I still ask shop clerks for guidance all the time, but there are drawbacks to that and since BA is such a great resource for beer, why wouldn't I reference it while shopping?

 

I usually know what i want to buy, and when new releases are out , but also like to shop local and to talk beer with my local folks , dont ever check beer on the phone while shopping, might use my phone to check twitter b4 i go thou.

 

My local shop seems to have quite the rotating "new" stock of beers, so IMHO it always seems like they are low key trying to push the newest (to the area) or "freshest" non local type stuff. When BP came to town, they were all over their entire lineup. Evil Twin and their SweetWater/ Against the Grain lineup came to town. A push for those was seen.Then it was Founders.

Now Founders is constantly in talks when you hear about recommendations.. I definitely think its deserved (after the initial new distro push was thru). But one definitely has to be careful. There's a good buffer period to know if a place is really trying to push NEW stuff, to push new stuff, or that its actually better.

TW is a whole other beast. After christmas time, I heard someone asking about Heady Topper. They went from store management, to on floor sales clerk (far too few of them), to a on floor distributor salesmen (far too many of them stocking shelves as I'm trying to walk and shop). No one had a clue if it was available or in stock, or what have you. You'd be surprised at the beer/brewery questions you hear at the big chain stores. So many are wide eyed naive, and do take recommendations to heart. Your shop better have solid recommendations, or that $12 six pack may be the last sale your shop seems from a potential $1,000/year customer.

 

I will take out my phone and look at ba ratings if I'm deciding between a few different beers (I did this tonight. I was undecided between three different choices, and decided the ba would decide the choice). With that said, I will definitely ask the opinion of an employee if if they are close by. I have had many interesting conversations with employees at Total Wine and local bottles shops. If I have to go out of my way, or the clerk is behind the counter/not close by, I will just revert to ba if not sure.

 

It's my fault if I don't know about something, so I make a mental note to look something up later if it catches my eye (or I say screw it and grab anything appealing.) Also, I carry a flip phone, so looking through reviews isn't exactly in the cards for me.

 

I always know ahead of time what I want because I've done my due diligence, so no help in needed. However, if what I want isn't there but I need to purchase something, then Plan B is to ask for recommendations from the store employees if I didn't have a back-up choice already planned.

 

Depends on the store and the clerk. Total Wine clerks don't always know what I'm asking about, and it may be because they're wine experts. Plus they put the BA ratings on the shelf. Plus, finding someone to ask can be a challenge. At one of my local stores I almost never look, because the beer guys are knowledgeable and are right there, if I have questions. They are also interested in what I'm buying, because they love beer as much as I do. Just depends on the store and the clerks.

 

I will usually check certain beers on Beer Advocate ahead of time, but while in store, if I have questions I always ask the staff. No problem with people checking their phones though.

 

Kids these days.

 

I hardly trust the ratings of a large group on sites. Im certainly not going to trust a single person whose palate I dont know.

If you look before you buy and think it doesnt influence you, you either are lying to yourself (most likely) or just involved in a fools errand (true anyways) Ratings are so antiquated its hilarious people still care.

 

Ill look up reviews only at bars if it's list is full of beers I am not familiar with.

I've been in Seattle for a few days and stopped by both chucks and bottleworks. I'll ask the staff for some recommendations as well as locals who are in there. I am normally pretty happy with the selections.