Referencing BA while buying beer

When I check my phone its not for a number rating its for tasting notes across the 3-5 most recent reviews. I buy what I think is going to taste good based on what I like not based on a number it was given by people on the internet or how much the guy stocking the cooler likes it. Im not saying I dont ask for opinions in store because I do, but if im looking a brew up it sure as hell shouldn't insult the guy stocking the cooler. Also for the sake of argument, whos to say that guy has even had the beer im looking at? What if he hasn't had it for a while? Like I said I care about flavor profiles and tasting notes not if its been rated above a 4 or something like that.

 

It's all been said here already but I use BA practically every time. I do have a list of beers I've learned about from you guys that I would like to try. I'm blessed that the places I go have tons of good stuff that's constantly rotating so it really becomes overwhelming. Quite simply, I will not buy a beer unless it rates under 90 on BA unless it's been recommended by a friend who's opinion I trust, you guys here on BA forums, or only 1-2 of the bottle shop merchants who's opinions I do trust. I spend buttloads of money every month on beer at these places and have to have some barometer/way of choosing beers otherwise I'd double what I spend and get a lot of mediocre beers along with my nice finds. I've read threads on here that bring up a good point when you guys say that these merchants do need to sell shelf beers in order to get the whales/hard to get beers and that we should also think about this when shopping there in an effort to keep these guys afloat/from going out of business.

 

I ask for and take advice from clerks and bartenders as well as reference BA.

Sometimes the folks selling the beer are not knowledgeable, sometimes their tastes are radically different from mine, sometimes I find certain folks that I run across repeatedly have never met a beer they did not like. All such clerks are quite unhelpful to me.

I find the same to be true of certain sites. Ratebeer's database tends to overvalue beers. Untappd does not provide enough specificity. The reason that I am on this site is that I have found the consensus of all BAs comes closer to my taste than the other sites.

This site is not and should never be looked at as biblical. But it is a valuable resource to help make purchasing decisions. I use it as such along with other resources.

 

My beer shopping is like my grocery shopping... there are things I know I want, they are on the list. Sometimes I see something that intrigues me and I do a little bit of research, whether it's Beer Advocate or searching for a recipe to include an intriguing item (at the grocery store). This being said, I visit three bottle shops at least once a week... more frequently when I know something is about to hit the street.

 

While I sometimes get a recommendation from a store employee without asking, I'd rather check the opinion of many people rather than one so I'm one of those people on the phone looking up a beer in front of the cooler. I'm also suspect of a store employee's recommendation since he or she may have a hidden agenda, as in the manager or owner telling them "we need to push ____ beer, we've got 20 cases of it" or "if someone asks for a recommendation, tell them ___ since it's cheaper and we make more on it." A case in point - I was shopping in a large store and a woman who stated she was from the East Coast asked an employee for help in picking out a local IPA for her husband who likes hoppy beers. Well, I need to say this was in Colorado and the employee pulled out a sixer of Colorado Native IPA from the cooler when Avery, Odell and several other local IPAs were right there as well. Now I'm not saying Colorado Native isn't decent [never had it, probably never will] but I do believe that it wasn't the best 'local' choice for the customer if you get my drift.

 

1) I don't own a smartphone, so I can't check ratings.

2) As a massive beer geek, I tend to know what I am looking for. But I still love talking to employees and getting different perspectives.

Was at a local beer store the other day, the guys that work there take the whole Cicerone thing seriously. But you can tell they also just really love beer. Was talking to one guy about pilseners for awhile and about how they are underappreciated, the state of the IPA, stuff like that. Nothing wrong with a little human interaction. And if you walk in thinking you know everything, you could miss a possible recommendation that could end up being a new favorite beer. Of course not everything you get recommended is a hit, as tastes differ though.

 

Dude, that beer was amazing! Not to derail the thread, but do you know if that beer will be a regular thing or was just a one off thing?

 

If I check any list, most of the time it's to check my personal Google doc if I've had it already. 95% of the time I know, but rebranding can screw me up sometimes. My lame ticker mindset.

 

I have a good knowledge of the newest large scale releases, so I'll consult the BA scores at the store only for beers/brewers really unknown to me. And I only use this as a resource to rule beers OUT, like if there is a typically inflated style i.e. BA Stout and the consensus is below a 3.8-3.9 Aug chances are I'll pass. Too many beers I know and love to take a chance on a potentially subpar bottle.

But there are enough times I disagree with the masses that I'm not going to make my purchases based on one beer being a 4.3 avg and another being 4.05 for example. Plus the obvious style biases, sometimes I just want a damn session beer and don't need THE BEST STUFF EVER BREWED.

 

I only check BA when I want to compare two different beers. I tend to stop at Total Wine or Wegmans on my way home from work, neither place seems to have employees that know a whole lot. In fact I've had to help people that were not too beer knowledgeable at both places.

 

I trust the reviews of a few people I follow on a different beer rating site more than I would any store employee.

 

I plead guilty to looking up reviews of unknown beer in a variety of stores and situations... It's how I discovered you lot !

 

well, if I am on the hunt for new beers I don't know yet, only the database, not the seller, can help me.

But I don't really check other ratings before I buy a beer, in fact, I usually try to not check ratings before I've rated something.

 

In the barren wastelands of Montana that's not an option

 

Ive done this, if i see a new beer ive never heard of and might buy it i will google it and check the ba score.

 

I've always asked, since until last week I didn't have a device capable of looking up beers. I had a dumbphone. I've been considering doing this at a local place because I am trying to find an English Dark Mild ale (one of the 3 styles I haven't had and probably the easiest of them to get). I've found great variation in the knowledge of the people working at our local beer shops. If I go to Table & Vine and there aren't any people around to ask, I'll certainly use the phone. But if I go to a place like The Beer Shop you know I'm asking. In your instance, since you were so close I would have asked.

A lot also has to do with the number of different beers they stock... if a place has 300+ different beers you know they have to have someone who knows his stuff.

 

As i buyer, not owner of a store i have the same mentality. I wont push you toward shit beer and i have had most things, i love talking beer and if i see you every week im not going to mind rifling through what is new this week, whats good whats fresh etc. I also get people who dont want help, they aimlessly wander around for 20 mins, ask for kbs/hopslam and then leave so i take the good with the bad, if you dont want to talk beer thats fine but when you do im here.
great topic

 

As one of the last people on the planet without a cell phone, I don't have the ability to reference BA while purchasing beer.
I do try to research before going however. There are times that I see a beer that I haven't heard of though and am almost always willing to pick up a single of something that sounds like it's up my alley.

 

The few times I have asked for a suggestion it felt like the beer of the week to be pushed. Most times when I ask have you had this beer I get an answer.....Yup,its great or I hear it is. Never had a good conversation about a beer or beer in general so I stay away most times.

Enjoy

 

My TW also has way too many people blocking aisles with ladders and pushing by you. If the beer was not so much cheaper than near me I would not drive 40 minutes to have borderline rude staff. The wine staff seems much happier and friendly and informed.

Enjoy