What's up with saying nothing in your reviews? Lame.

Do you mean adding notes?

 

If you don't at least make some notation on the internet did you really drink the beer?

 

Yes, sorry, wasn’t totally clear, the notes/commercial description is what I meant. Not sure why people add beer to the site leaving that blank.

 

Don't tempt me, now...

 

Takes submitting an update to get that added.

 

Can’t be done when adding the beer the first time? Should be a required field when adding it initially.

 

Yeah, it is a little more cumbersome and even somewhat more hidden than it should be. A lot of smaller breweries (at least around me) don't have decent descriptions, either. But adding a beer and then not adding at least a short review is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Please give us something other than just the beer exists.

Note: BA has indicated they are hoping industry will add beers, and they probably shouldn't review their own work. I'll agree with this, but am not so sure it's taken hold too much as of this point.

 

A lot of times, especially with smaller or new breweries, that information isn't available to consumers. It would be nice if every brewery would add each new brew to the database before it's released to the public, but......

 

Yeah, part of me agrees, the other part agrees with the system in that accurate information is given.

 

Also the same for places. I do not review beers except in certain threads and would never cite a place without speaking about it. Otherwise, who cares?

 

Agree...reviews should be a must...if not...why are they here?

 

That’s ridiculous. Even if submitted and it went into pending status until a mod could approve of the lingo would be helpful. It’s really annoying to see some posts about a particular beer, go to the beer itself and have literally nothing there to even describe it. I thought it was quick adds by other BA’s, this makes more sense (or less sense).

 

Sorry, I don't think less of a BA just because they decide not to review beers. Some of the best BAs don't but they contribute in so many other incalculable ways and I salute them for that!!

 

I got bored reading this thread less than halfway through, but still completed it, taking weeks off my life. Hold my beer while y'all contemplate my opinion on the matter.

 

And well you're at it, GET OFF MY LAWN!

 

Or, maybe he's the same guy who reviewed a restaurant that didn't actually exist: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...ampaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2039

 

I enjoy the written review process when I am at home and focused entirely on the beer. It adds to the enjoymen (or lack thereof) to give some thought to what sensory attributes I can find. Doubtful that I find them all, but I give it a go anyway.

My forty-some ticks are mainly beers where I have had a taster at a brewery, but want to remember I have had the beer and the number inducates to me whether I would want to have that beer again. I have stopped doing that so much recently, though. I can remember from a tasting flight whether a brewery makes beer I like in the general sense and find that is good enough. One tick does stand out...Heady...where I did get the what else can be said feeling. But f everybody felt that way about every beer, we'd just have a pile of semi-useful numbers.

How I use the data maybe differs a bit. I look at the number score for an overall sense. Then I try to find reviews from people who write a lot of reviews, then within that group I look for people who I have found have similar tastes to see what they thought. As an example, @cavedave and I seem to have very similar thoughts on beers we have both had, so I trust what he reports on a beer I have not tried. I will agree that process falls apart when there's no written reviews and it is a little annoyng, but it is what it is. Most of the time I am doing this backwards...I will buy a beer, then wondering what I got myself into will take a peek at the ratings and reviews.

FWIW, I have had sensory training several times in my career. Very focused on products my company makes, but it certainly hammers on the basic tastes. So I am pretty good on sweet, sour, bitter, astringent, etc...the common things in most products. I struggle with the beer specific attributes. I get confused with hop profiles, but I can say "tastes like", and at the end of the day that is what matters. Even the trainers I have had will say that is important. If I can't describe something specifically, maybe saying what it reminds me of will trigger somebody else or help with their perception. While I have limited experience, home brewing helps because I can get my hands on the individual ingredients and learn about them first hand on my own terms.

It took me a while to start writing, even longer to join in on the NBS discussions, but I am glad I did. I have only added a couple of beers, but did find the process a little clunky.

 

I enjoy writing reviews, for me at least it is time spent with that beer. However, a few beers are more memorable than others. I feel that the time spent writing gives me time to reflect on the quality of the beer. Another thing after writing close to 1000 reviews they progressively got better and my pallet evolved. I have thought about going back and editing some of my older ones.

 

I am with you I just cannot do smoked beers. However on a whim i pick up a cold smoked wee heavy Scottish Ale Aged in Russell Reserve Barrels. I was flat blown away, it was smoky but not.

 

As an ESL teacher, I think that in writing that sentence you have forfeited your right to complain about any "problems" expressing yourself in English.

Unless you're problem is that you right to good....

 

Notes to a beer in the listing? I've added notes in the past (IBU, label notes, etc.) and once they've been reviewed they go into place. If I've added the beer first I've had to wait for the beer to be slotted in place, then make the update(s).

Under the "Suggest an Update" tools link in the right column of a beer's page, it takes you to a separate page with Change Type and a drop down menu where you can find Notes. Add the notes to the details section and remain patient.

 

That would definitely help streamline things.

 

What about small breweries that don't write a description for their beer? Should users make one up?

I do agree that more descriptions should be added, which brings up the debate on whether or not breweries should be allowed to maintain their beer profile pages, which would include adding notes or a commercial description.

I'd be all for adding the description field to the initial beer creation page. It would really help smooth things out, instead of incurring another step to add a description. Unless the mods have experienced issues with people abusing the description part before, hence the required review...?

 

It doesn't need to be a commercial description, but if the person adding doesn't know enough about it for a brief description, they shouldn't be adding it. Something as simple as "imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with chocolate and coffee added" would be sufficient enough.

 

That would be fine for me, but I am sure others specifically do not care for some type of hops so although rated well, may be an "avoid" for them. For me personally, I would usually buy a single of any hops first, just to give it a try before buying more, especially since comparatively they are usually inexpensive to try. For a $15-$20 stout, it's nice to know if there are peppers in it, it's an automatic no go and I can turn my attention elsewhere.

 

Just recently added a beer, I didn't add a description because the brewer didn't give one and the releases that went out, gave no information. I will go back when that info is posted, but I bought the 12 pack had a few, reviewed it and gifted it forward to my son in law. So sometimes a description/notes just don't exist at the time the beer is being added and reviewed.

 

Lame ticker rater here, not ashamed or proud of it. When I joined BA many moons ago I like to read the reviews because I wanted to see if I was tasting the same thing as everyone else. I can not pick out the nuances that make a good reviewer. Every now and then I will write a review because the brew was something special. Majority if the time it either tastes good or bad. Picking out different flavors normally evades me most of the time and trying to put it into words will be mundane. So I tick.

 

And yet you speak better English than most folks in America.

 

There's only so much time/brain cells/$/calories, etc, so sometimes it's an either/or decision.

I most often look when the local beer store posts the new stuff on social media. If it's something limited (very often), I'm trying to decide whether to go right now , or just take my chances , and wait until I'm going anyway. I usually go right by 4-5days/week (at least), but that can be too long. A lot of things only last a few hours, if that.

 

Yep.
But..... I added one like that , Friday before last. It was from a growler, the brewery site's beer menu was blukked, & the guys at the beer store forgot what they were told , other than the name. I did do a review though.

 

There was something recently (what thread?) with somebody asking what was meant by those terms. I was surprised, but I guess it's a matter of experience. People use what they know. He lives in a city, in Germany, so isn't used to those smells. For me, that's an almost everyday thing. *shrug* Didn't occur that somebody wouldn't have at least some general memory of them.

Ok, maybe this helps? :
Floral - I think of how it smells walking through a field with a mix of flowers ,especially in the fall. (Asters & goldenrods + a few others), or a bouquet of mixed flowers, with nothing really standing out. Just a mix. If it was something specific , such as daisies, or Oriental lilies, etc. then I could say that.

Pine : rub a bunch of pine needles(actual Pinus - not spruces, or others. Go for the long needles. ; ) ) then sniff your hands.

Just use what you know. Don't worry about "inadequate" or "inferior". You can always go back later & edit,if you have an "Ah ha!" moment. There's no time limit on editing reviews.

 

The descriptive reviews in BA 1.0 were a huge asset to me when I first started perusing the site and looked for new beers to try. I don't care that my personal tastes don't align with another member, and our likes or dislikes for a particular flavor differ. If a person can convey the different flavor notes and other attributes of a beer reasonably well it is a huge help in deciding whether to pull the trigger on a beer, especially for some of the higher priced ones. A number alone just doesn't work in that regards for me. For people apprehensive about writing reviews just go for it. A larger pool of reviewers with different taste preferences only makes the overall ratings for beers better.