Referencing BA while buying beer

If I'm looking at my phone in a bottle shop, 9 times outta 10 I'm looking at my own personal notes regarding a specific beer/beers I'm on the lookout for.

 

In my experience, the staff isn't generally very helpful. I'm one of the guys that browses their phone in the bottle shop, checking reviews, etc... There are a few users on BA who I've found to mirror my own tastes, so I trust their opinions quite a bit.

If I'm out of town, I'll generally ask about the local beer though.

 

I'll take the Ba score over that one person who's job is to sell beer. I also put more stock into motor trend, car and driver, and Kelly blue book than I do a car salesman

 

I don't think you need to take it personal. I whip the phone out and look up beers all the time. I will ask staff sometimes about certain beers, but very rare. Reason for this is you don't know me, or what I like, sometimes it is hard to explain. Bartenders where I go and the guy at WF who knows what I drink, I will usually buy blind on their recommendations, not so much the guy at a bottle store that I don't know. Plus the advantage of BA, is I can see the reviews and read them.

 

I'm on a name to name basis down at my local bottle shop. I usually go in on Friday and pick up my mix six and a bomber that will be my beer for the week. When the clerk/sales see's me come in they immediately show me any new arrivals, ask what style or beer I'm hunting for today, and ask me what I thought about a beer I tried last week that they hadn't had yet. Two of the employees know my tastes well enough that if they recommend something I'll try it, had some really great beers I'd never heard of that way. I don't use the BA ratings to buy beer unless I'm really skeptical of something, and hey I end up drinking some mediocre beers but I also end up drinking beers I love that if I trusted BA ratings to a T I would have never tried.

 

If I see a new beer on the shelf and it's a style I like I buy it. That's it. No looking shit up or talking to people.

 

The other day....I was in a local shop.

A lady was trying to "build-a-six" with IPA singles; with the advice of the store owner. I offered my .02 on a couple of selections as they were 2 feet from me. What the owner was offering was decent, especially with dates, but in the end I think I could have done better. Maybe she felt good about her selections?

Knowing what I know from what I have learned here and from experience, I would have chosen different beers than the shop owner suggested.

Before you blast, I am all about the human connection (see my avatar). One thing I know, is the more knowledge there is, the less knowledgeable some people are---Googling is easier than talking to folks.

 

If the masses rated on this site, Coors Light would be in the Top 10, and threads wouldn't be debating the price per ounce of bombers versus sixers, they'd be talking about the cheapest way to get wasted.

 

Agreed. One of the worst beers I have ever tried.

 

One grip I have is that I hear many people walk in and want to try "local" products. Well..... Sometimes the local products sorta suck, or at best, are quite average on a BA scale. But those local beers get bought up before other willing candidates. I have never heard a salesmen say "the locals are okay, but you should really try regional brand XYZ's seasonal". Maybe it's the consumer being persistent about them being local but I tend to cringe at some recommendations heard. There are definitely some salesmen who take the local movement too far.

 

Not wanting to llok like a wanker, I'd never whip out my phone in a shop. Not that I often have it one me, anyway. Plus I always know what I'm going to buy: 16 bottles of St. Bernardus Abt.

 

I am a quiet shopper. I will buy the beers they have and not ask too many questions unless there is no price tag or I really want something that appears to be out of stock and I might ask them if they have more. I am looking for dates on bottles not shelf tags and styles and brewers to tick.

 

This is what I do, I'm not much on actual ratings, I prefer the tasting notes. I only really trust 1 employee/owner of a local shop. He has never steered me wrong. People come and go often at the larger chain stores.

 

I wouldn't assume anything. When my wife and I travel out of state, she enjoys her shopping and I book it to bottle shops. While asking the worker there might be faster, I'm not necessarily looking to be fast. I'm looking for out of state stuff I can't normally find, asking people if they want me to bring any back, and also just randomly looking up stuff because it still beats waiting at Macy's. I plan on killing at least an hour or two so why would I waste your time too?

 

On the other side of the coin, I work at a beer store and usually make a point to to ask shelf-scanners, folks who actually pick up ad examine bottles, or people on their phone if they need any help. Half the time they say yes, and are then really grateful for my suggestions and are glad that I approached them, though it would have been easier to ask me directly. Now to be fair, it's a grocery store alcohol aisle, so maybe they assume we don't have a dedicated beer expert in house, and many of the people who work in the section really don't know about beer anyway, so maybe they've gotten bad advice when they've asked an employee for help before.

But a lot of the time, they are happy to just browse, and I suspect a lot of them would rather consult the online population of peers rather than consult a "salesman" who is just trying to make a buck.

 

For me all information is useful. Even if I don't agree with the review it makes me think about why I don't agree.

 

I refer to BA and my own list of beers I'm looking for, but don't throw it in the store staff faces. If they ask if I need help, I often have questions regarding if they carry something on my list, where it is, or what they may have coming in. Same thing with taptenders at taprooms. I find that most of the store and taproom staff around here are also on BA. Also, I know far less than they do about beer so will take advice.

An example is that I've been looking for Sam Adams Nitro Stout. One bottle shop I go to, I asked their resident expert about it since the other two Sam Adams Nitros have been available at other local shops. He said he tried the first two, found them vile, and won't carry them. He must be right since they are shelf turds everywhere they are carried. He said he would only carry the stout if it was decent.

 

Well, obviously I referring to the mass ratings in BA.

 

I like to have multiple sources when I'm researching, and selecting a beer. At least when I'm trying to keep my purchase a little smaller and pickier. I've also had a bad time with staff who lead me down paths I don't want to go, and I get home and the beer just isn't what I wanted.

The staff at both bottle shops I go to are phenomenal, but I still check BA for at least one beer per visit. I just want to be sure I'm getting something I want.

I have always been the type to research a product for weeks or months before I buy it. I find my research period is much shorter for beer, but I still want to see what BA says on top of the staff at the bottle shop.