The Bros vs BA Score

They are opinionated like everyone else...so...they are consistent on some, inconsistent on others...just like everyone else on this site.

 

Nailed it.

 

I take their taste into consideration for sure. Certainly they are just like everyone else as far as opinions and subjectivity goes, but it's nice to have one review by guys for whom drinking beer is more than a hobby. I like it because it is a contrast with rating created by BA'ers scores, which is the amalgam of thousands of reviews and are subject to all the the issues with any statistical rating as well as the psychological aspect regarding each individual who filled out a rating or wrote a review.

 

Generally I give an equal value to both scores, very little.

 

Bros only really. I find the general population is only interested in sours, BA stouts, and IPA's, and rate them higher than everything else. Kind of weird, as IMO as true BA can appreciate and rate just about any beer style.

 

Honestly I place little value in the actual scoring number bro or BA. I try to read through several written reviews and look for a consensus and for specific qualities in beer that I know/belive I will enjoy. It's really the same way I look at wine scores. The number is useless without a description.

So if the BA score is just a number with no written review it means nothing to me. Same with all those turrible bro reviews. E.g. "I had this beer on draft and it was tasty"...um who the hell cares lol give me something I can actually work with here.

 

I kinda weigh the two together (BA and Bros) without prejudice. I like what @ArsMoriendiOU818 said about how the Bros may be a better judge of beers that aren't consumed as commonly, but I also don't know if the Bros have preferences or faves, so some of their reviews might have some bias that a larger sampling would minimize.

 

I generally agree with you. they're usually very consistent. However, and I'm not writing to prove you wrong, Trillium Vicinity is one example where the general BA public has a very different opinion. Note, too, that it's not a style of beer to which the BAs lack exposure. Vicinity is a rare example though.

 

Westy 12, both have 4 to 4.5 across the board yet have 3.5 for overall?? Jason even says in the review near perfection in a bottle, yet it's 3.5 overall. I don't understand that one.

 

I tend to put a lot of weight into BA scores, but first I must factor in how many ratings/reviews are there to begin with. Under 20 it's usually a toss up. For example when I purchased a bottle of Trillium's "Upper Case" there were only 10-15 ratings/reviews with an average rating of a 4.1 at the time. Today, it's a 4.56 (with 250+ ratings/reviews) and arguably one of their "best".

 

DuClaw Sweet Baby Jesus comes to mind... http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1924/88269/?ba=bros

Overall - 86, very good
The Bros. - 70, Okay

And I couldn't agree more with their description:
"Artificial flavors? Seriously? Doesn’t that take the “craft” out of “craft beer”? Is this cheating? Pretty much impossible to get past these flavor additions, and the base of the beer is pretty generic as well. While the concept is great, using artificial flavors in beer never works—unless of course your consumers are used to consuming artificial flavors. Really surprised DuClaw went down this road. Barely passable."

 

I tend to take the bro's ratings with a grain of salt since a lot of them are pretty old. For example, a 10+ year old review of an ipa was made in an entirely different market than the one we have today. It won't necessarily line up with the expectations most people have with the style today. They also don't reflect brewers' changes to the beer over time if the review hasn't been updated.

 

I think the bros are more willing to give a positive rating to a beer that doesn't smack you over the head with flavor (usually via abv or ibu); and that's a good thing.

 

I don't look at scores until after I have reviewed a beer. I try to follow BJCP guidelines (2008 version). If I am off I will look at some of the reviews to see why - if I am higher than the BA score it is usually due to either an unpopular style or handling issues with the beer. The BA scores tend to favor big beers, popular beers and whales. The Brothers tend to review on style. In a store I do not consider the ratings - I buy what looks interesting or what is new. When ordering on line I usually know what I want ahead of time but if I am trying to decide between a couple of beers I will look at the ratings.

 

I've seen a material deviance in a few situations. Keeping in mind that there are different batches and different vintages (and no way to distinguish in the rating system) I tend to lean towards the masses. In these situations I generally filter down to just reviews and read through a handful of comments.

I'd also like to see an average score based on ratings which have reviews. I (maybe naively) think that those who take the time to actually write a review and provide feedback on each judged aspect of the beer may have a little more knowledge/experience than those just quickly throwing out a number.

 

No offense to the bros, but I like a larger sample than two. I will refer to their review and tasting notes though. I find them to more consistent that whatever random BA review you can find after digging through the "rate it" ticks (which I'm as guilty of as others.....)

 

And on the flipside:

PBR

Bros: 84
BA: 68

But honestly if you even look around for deviations, there is nothing too crazy...I find that when there is a fair amount of difference, I go with the Bros...However, I like to try things out for myself anyway, so there are also times I will knowingly purchase several of other people drainpours...even after I have seen horrible reviews...

 

I love the Beer Advocate magazine score for Westy Blonde: 1.73

I'm going to go ahead and ignore that one.

 

I'm not biased for or against their reviews. They're just too more dudes who write better than average reviews. Then again, I don't rely too much on reviews either.

 

Agreed. Usually the Bros. are mostly in line with the overall. I do appreciate that occassionally there is a voice to counter the public echo chamber, whether that be in favor or against the beer. I see it as being similar to how the movie site Rotten Tomatoes will show both professional critic reviews and popular public reviews of movies side-by-side. Honestly, I would welcome a little more professional beer reviewing to this site.



Also, in the very beginning of Beer Advocate the only reviews/ratings on the site were those from the Alstrom brothers, so the The Bros score is paying homage to the site's origins.