What does a review do for you?

I use them the same way as most BA's, I suppose. I also write them to help return the favor and keep the interest/possible affection for most beers I've come across. Whether or not a single living soul has actually read & used them as a reference has never been brought to my attention, but it would be a damn good feeling! Let's keep churning out those reviews, fellow BA's and educate/inspire others to be adventurous!! I would not even have started to consider journeying into the multifaceted realm of craft beer if weren't for the presence of typed reviews.

 

A positive review fortifies my consumer-gut-feeling.

 

I review beers to keep my own personal 'journal' and to remember my beer experiences.

 

Reviews are my "go to" when looking a shelf of beer... and discovering I am looking at a 3.00 beer vs. a 4.00 beer... and it all is going for $3-$4 a pint these days. With the high cost of solid craft beer... no sense in wasting money on beer that is not worthy of the cash. I write reviews on only the beer that I feel are worthy of your money... and is far less about the technical aspects of the beer... but about what beer... when you spend that $$$... utility will have been served.

 

I try new beers all the time. It helps me remember what beer to avoid and what beer to go back to.

 

Same.

Especially with reviewing, initially I did read before trying but I soon realized it was affecting what I thought about the beer so I now refrain from reading other reviews until after I have consumed and taken my notes.

 

I don't really look at them before I buy a beer but sometimes I will look up one I bought but haven't drank yet. I also like to do my reviews too.

 

I think i can give potential buyers a look of what to expect.
I also do it to keep track of my own beer drinking

 

a lot of them make me laugh...

 

I'm pretty open to most styles/ingredients/taste profiles, so I usually just scan down to the Overall section of reviews. I can usually decide whether or not I will give a particular beer a chance based on that.

 

I thinks it's absolutely fucking hilarious when people can detect 32 different flavors in a beer. No you can't. You don't have enhanced taste buds 50,000x better than the average human, ok?

Basically this: The Flavor Finder

"This guy could be also be named “The Bullshitter.” His ability to identify flavors – many of which were not intentionally added to the brew – borders on paranormal. He’ll sniff at the settling head of an IPA and make verbal note of the subtle wafts of “raspberry, turmeric, and waffle batter.” He’ll take a sip and, swirling his tongue around his mouth, ask if you noticed the way the hops created “a dirty, rusty flavor” but “in a good way” then point out how the finish is like “molten cashews, cooked over a fire of pine needles and Brazilian rosewood.” The dude will claim to taste things humans can’t physically taste, like passion and eccentricity. If he is really tasting all of this stuff, there might be something really, really wrong with his tongue. Or maybe he’s about to have a stroke. No one knows."

 

I typically review the beer, then see what others said. I don't like to read the reviews first in case I am slightly swayed when I do mine.

 

Best thing I've read all day.

 

It's nice to see peoples opinions. I mostly love when people write the review. As someone who's been in the craft beer world for a while now It's very easy to pick out the fanboy, biased, uneducated and ill-thought reviews. So when I see a beer with a less than great rating I typically look at what people say first, a fair amount of the time they aren't giving the beer a fair critique.

Until now I haven't written my own reviews. I've always found most review sites to be nothing but popularity contests especially that all to favorite phone app everyone uses.

That being said, writing reviews on here will help me keep track of my opinions and tastes as they further evolve. I would lose a notebook, or a file on my computer most likely.

 

Nothing.

Everyone's palate is different. I hate asparagus. I think it tastes like dog piss. I'm sick of people telling me how great it is. I have now gone to saying I am allergic to it to avoid the discussion. I associate beer reviews with asparagus.

 

Spot on!! and absolutely one of the things I hate seeing!

 

I read reviews but unless the review is pretty descriptive I will just skip it. I also watch reviews on YouTube. Sometimes I read reviews and I wonder how someone can draw so many flavors out of a beer but as I review more beers I learn more and am able to detect more nuances in a beer if the flavors and aromas are there.

 

^ this

 

A beer review suggests to me that perhaps I should try to find that beer.

 

I use it as a rough guide only... If at a store and I am unfamiliar with a beer, a quick look will help me decide quickly to try or not... If it has a 70 overall review, I am less likely to pick it up to try and I will skim a few notes to confirm why it may have gotten such a low rating.

But I always take reviews with a grain of salt and low reviews alone will not make me pass on a beer.

I will also use reviews to try and train myself to pick out certain flavors or profiles in a beer. Learning tool, I suppose, if I can pick them up myself.