When purchasing beer, what's your minimum score?

It depends on the price. I wouldn't necessarily pass up a 75 or 80 beer just for the score, but if I felt like the price was too high, I probably would. I don't always check scores before I buy, but I tend to if I'm having trouble deciding between a few beers.

 

Do you guys only have sex with people that others tell you are attractive?

 

68, apparently.

 

My goal is try what's out there. You'll never know what you'll get, sometimes, unless you buy it and try it. I do reference BA frequently, but usually it's to look up style/ABV that isn't otherwise listed. The real determining factors, usually, lie in the words of the reviewer. Have I not, in the past, purchased a beer because of the aggregate score of BA? Yes. But, it was probably because I was on the fence between it and another beer. It was to determine which of two beers I was going to buy, especially if they were in the same style.

I love drinking new beers and dissecting them. If I'm behind a bar with a lot of beers on-tap, I go for the beer that I have no opinions about. I don't need to look it up on BA to figure out if I want to drink it or not. I like the mystery of diving right in.

So, in short, no cut-off for me. See a stout, feel like a stout, buy a stout. See a pale, feel like a pale, buy a pale. Cheers!

 

Woops. By the time I had finished reading the posts I had forgotten what the original question was. Nope, no minimum rating for me. Rating is just one of many criteria that I use to make my decisions.

 

So basically you're saying that you prefer the rating system of a certain other website... where Brooklyn Black Chocolate is 100 overall and just 96 in the imperial stout style, while the aforementioned Narragansett Lager gets a 12(!) overall, but an 88 in the pale lager style. That's what you're saying?

Meanwhile, I don't even look at the actual ratings on here when I make a list of things I want to try. I don't even know how that number is calculated. I usually just look at the rAvg. Anything 3.75 and up is a buy for me.

 

I don't give two shits about what this site rates a beer at. I've had highly ranked (90+) beers go down the drain and had sub par scoring beers (80-) appeal greatly to me.

 

Yes. Although it is rude for my friends to tell me that my wife is unattractive. I guess that would make her more of a BBA Stout than one of your finer Pilseners.

 

I'll admit i do check the ratings but i don't judge them heavily. I will read about 5 to 10 peoples thoughts on the beer to see if its accurate. Half the time if your a stout person and you don't like hops and you drink an imperial ipa for the most part they give it a low rating, if i am curious about the beer i will buy it regardless of the rating.

 

I agree I always try to rate by style but I know some don't and that drags down the rating of certain styles. That being said I try not to look at and/or let ratings influence my purchases.

 

I don't look at ratings.

 

If it's something hoppy, I'll read the first several reviews, and if there is a common theme of something I think I'll find unpleasant, I'll usually pass on the beer. IPA's are mostly not worth drinking, so it can help me decide. Any other style, I usually will try it and decide for myself.

The score is not even worth looking at. The score has gone from marginally relevant to completely useless now that you can simply tick a score without writing a review. There should be an option to view ratings based only on full reviews.

 

I buy mostly based on style and past experiences with the brewery. So ratings never come into play per say. I've drank great beer and I've had plenty of shitty beer, but its all been a worthwhile experience.

 

I regularly drink sub 75 beers and really enjoy them. I don't go by overall score, instead I like going by the actual descriptors to see if it would match up with my personal tastes. Usually it works out well.

 

Unless it's a beer by a brewery I love, I won't take a chance on a beer that has an average score much below 4.00 (so like an 89 or higher). I've been thinking of being more lenient on this since I've been noticing a lot of beers I've had and loved are in the 86-89 range. Style and special ingredients are definitely a factor too since I'm much more likely to give a lower rated IPA or saison a shot than a lower rated lager or a beer brewed with mint or chilies.

 

I'm not really a fan of numerical ratings for stuff like beer.

 

I would also say to understand your palate/taste and see how that compares to the ratings. A good way of doing this would be to do a blind taste - grab same style beers anywhere from the 50's-90's, grab a couple of friends and blind taste the brews writing down your notes and score (highlighting what you liked, what you didn't like and why). After you've tried them all (5-6 2oz pours or so) - go look at the ratings and see how you compare. This will at least give you an idea of how your own personal taste varies from the average. Then you can repeat the process with a different style on a different day. I always eat water crackers or French baguette (no flavor/spices) between beers to cleanse your palate.

Cheers!

 

Interesting question, OP, which lead me into some introspection. Ultimately, I find that BA.com scores are meaningless to my current purchasing habits as somewhat of a ticker; ie, I buy all kinds of stuff despite it's rating or without even looking at a rating. As I find beers (single format) that I truly enjoy, I'll go back to them in the six pack format and I don't give a damn what the score is. That being said, I will say that generally most scores fall in line with my thoughts, meaning the scores are a pretty decent tool to use if I'm on the fence about buying something.

Far more influential to my purchasing would be suggestions taken directly from this forum by folks who've been a BA far (FAR!) longer than I have. Of course, these suggestions also tend to be rated highly, and typically for very good reason.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the rating system; I think the scores are fairly indicative of a beers overall quality, especially concerning beers with thousands of reviews. Of course, there will always be the divisive, love it/hate it brews and other anomalies.

As for anyone who has a personal rating threshold...well, in the words of the great Mr. T, "I pity the fool." That sad sack could be missing out on some new personal favorites rated 81 instead of the mandatory 85.

 

I would say 0, but then I would have to assume it was a glitch...so I guess there is no minimum. Besides, I buy what I want to try regardless. No one else should hold you back.

 

I generally look for particular flavors I like and consistency from reviews. If 2 out 3 reviews say coffee forward stout or a piney IPA then i am in, regardless if it's a 75.