Why are you still a Beer Advocate?

It's simply a good place to be.

 

I find this place to have a great aura and plenty of good conversation. Been a part of this community for close to 10 years. Not once have I been bored, I have laughed quite a bit, and found my affinity for beer.

 

Conversions. Which seem to be fleeting.

 

I like the company as well as the beer. I often find inspiration, honesty and plenty of culture , literature and art on these forums. beer turned out to be something much more than a can of bud light after all.

 

Because with all the shit that goes down in my life, beer seems to be the one consistent thing other than my dog. Neither one of them lets me down that much. Great people here, have learned a ton. If I wasn't lurking around here I would probably be doing something useful or dangerous and my age not a fan of either one of those.

 

Great place to learn about beers from other countries.
Great place to find out nice pubs/shops for when I'm going on holidays abroad.
Great way for rating the beers I had.
Great place for meeting other traders.
Great place...

 

It's a good place to learn about beer and like most web sites a good way to kill time.

 

Good info about beer in general, but especially good info about specific beers. Nice mix of very knowledgeable old timers and enthusiastic beginners, and pretty much all in between. Low tolerance for trolls and negative nancies. New Beer Sunday. Many people I enjoy to read and interact with. Best trading forums. I think that covers it.

 

Best source on the internet, IMO, for information on everything beer related. It's my go to site when I research a specific beer or research places to find beer in my travels.

 

The other beer sites I've looked at are somewhat informational but are not communities, and because of that they are not as complete as BA. We collectively represent a spectrum of experience and opinion, and that's what keeps us coming back.

 

There have been some interesting people pass through here since I first joined (originally 2002). Don't know if it is safe to type some of their names yet . I personally enjoy the "places" section, which I feel is by far the best on the internet.

 

I'm fairly new here and don't really know how to review beer, and don't think I'd want to. I love beer. Period This site is loaded with so much great information and it influences my decisions when it comes to beer I want to try. I tend to stay away from social media,so much garbage out there, and this site doesn't go that route which is great. It's just a community of beer drinkers. There is so much information,and entertainment value to this site I never feel like I'm wasting time when I spend an hour or so on here. I'm looking forward to be able to trade beers with folks on here and try things from different regions. Thanks to everyone on here for the wealth of information.

 

Beer Advocate is a great platform for information, ideas, generally friendly debate, communion, and allows a hugely diverse set of beer lovers to meet and share. For me, the humor is most important. Sharing a love of beer is an easy thing; but, as I read great notions and unparalleled information tinged with both overt and subtle humor, I see (mostly) strangers at their very best. What is better than learning AND laughing? I see both long-winded uncles and smart aleck nephews speaking to each other about what they love. Kudos to the founders for dealing quite nicely with this perfect mess that they have continued to create.

 

This is a consolidated source of information. I go to BA on places to visit (I travel often for work), tracking beer releases I may not have heard of, and to get consensus opinions on what are some of the brews I should be looking out for. Most importantly, all this information is not biased by marketing dollars. As long as there is good information here, I'll be checking in.

 

I love the different on-line personalities here, some are odvious, and some are mysterious.
everyone has their favorite forums, there are BA's that have been here for quite some time reviewing and rating beer that never show up in say WBAYDN, and vise versa, and that's fine.
For me taking part in the site is a hobby I enjoy here and there, like a model builder gluing a few pieces on here and there.for others it is a daily ritual, and others still rarely show up, but seem happy when they do, to talk about their love for beer which brings us together.Cheers!

 

Beer trades, beer reviews, and beer release news mostly. On occasion a good article is shared but seems many of the forums just turn into winey bitching so I'm reading those less and less.

 

Contributing to the community is the reason I stayed. I always referenced Beer Advocate when I was in the store buying beer, as I wanted my money to go towards good beer. After a while, I decided I wanted to join to do some trading. I get to talk beer, see new releases, read reviews, and actually contribute to the community. I love reviewing a beer. For me, it's a chance to work on my writing skills, and enjoy a beer thoroughly. Some folks consider reviewing a bit of a hassle, and say it detracts from the experience - I could not disagree more. It gives you the chance to pick apart every aspect of the experience from opening the bottle/can to first pour, and first cold sip to last warm sip. It's great. I also take a lot of pride in seeing bottle/can labels I posted for the little beer photos. I know it's goofy, but there are some beers that folks just haven't put that info up for! Personally, I like having a logo or art to look for, so I can only imagine the folks using this website to find beer would enjoy the same.

 

I came for the hop puns. Stayed for the fellowship.

 

Tons of info, and with the exception of a few posters, I enjoy most of the characters that frequent this site

 

I guess what keeps me coming back regularly is that I'm both cheap and lazy.

I want to spend my money on beer I enjoy and avoid buying beer I don't care for. Both the reviews and experiences of some of the folks who post here offer a lot of good ideas and guidance that I've used to improve my success rate and that helped save me money.

As a friend used to say, "I have to learn from the mistakes of others, I don't have the time to make them all myself."

The laziness comes in when learning more about beer, both where to find it, how it is produced and even how it gets to me. I like to learn from the things other people know since that way I don't have to work so hard to figure it all out for myself. I used to think it was a cool idea to save a special beer to celebrate a special occasion, until someone pointed out that he liked to save his special beer for the days when things weren't going so well because that made those days special.

Plus there's no shortage of knowledgeable folks here who will help beat my bad ideas back around my head and shoulders for me.

 

Yeah, definitely the place to be. Excellent place to review beers. Great company, conversations. I like BAs philosophy.

Cheers!

 

Very much true !

 

Among all the good answers already given, not much in the way of politics... I find I can shut down for a few moments...

 

I stick around because everyone here loves beer, has a wealth of knowledge on beer, and our community is full of awesome people. I have learned so much about beer while here, as a life long beer drinker I thought I knew it all then I came to BA and realized I was a noob on a lot of things. I cannot think of too many places where you can be exposed to almost every style or current news releases than here. Also, the list of beers and reviews, I have found so many great beers from the database, its really nice to have.
So that is why I stick around and will continue to do so. I think BA is a fun place to share our beer experience and learn a lot from others with a deep knowledge of the art.
Cheers

 

Tons of knowledge, people are incredibly welcoming and friendly, the site build is exquisite in both its design and usability.

 

I stopped reading @rgordon 's post after the first few words even though it was probably insightful. I keep coming back to this website because of all the things I miss on the first pass. Then I can post and complain about how people aren't reading other's posts. It's worth it.

 

Oh, sorry. Did you say something more?

 

Because I love beer !

I learn about new releases I would like to get and new places to go when I travel. I was into homebrewing for a number of years and enjoyed it greatly. Back then there were not all the fantastic beers that are available today. Beer is important to me. I think it wa about 14 years ago when I went a whole day wo one. I was in the hospital and they weren't serving any.

 

This site is a good graduation from going to bars a lot, which I don't do much of anymore. With WBAYDN you get to share your beer, your thoughts and some tunes with a ton of folks and with NBS you get to share plenty of new experiences with people, as well as get a live review of some beers you may not have thought to purchase otherwise. Beyond that, I've found that I have been able to link my passion for fantasy sports with a bunch of really cool, like minded people within a few BA sports BIFs; I use this site almost exclusively for travel information (well, beer opportunities during travel) and finally, the professionalism demonstrated by the Bros, moderators and everyone on staff. I have been to other forums (not beer - I'd never cheat!) and I have never found any other site that was as sleek and well run as this one. The Bros have put a ton of effort into listening to members and constantly improving their site, and it shows. Just look at most any other forum - they all have that late '90's look to them....still. Beyond engineering, the mods do a terrific job of allowing just the right amount of stray while curbing rampant trollism. I recall times when there would be complaints about the mods' heavy handedness, but I really think they've nailed the formula. By doing their job, they've made a very safe and welcoming place IMO.

 

I agree! Being a Beer Advocate is being part of a community that goes beyond what is in the pint right in front of you. It's inspiration to learn so much more.

 

Been here since 2001, I've no reason to leave here because it's my 'go-to' beer site. Good site, good people, good all around.

 

I also am no expert by any means, but I like to try and contribute back to the community that has been such a great resource for me. Whether it is through reviews of beers/places, helping someone find an answer to their question, or acquire beer that they want to try, I feel like I need to pay my dues.

I also love the WBAYDN "virtual bar" and have made some real life friends that would never have happened otherwise.

 

Was first turned to it by the little tags of the BA ratings of beers on shelves here and there. I figured if people who know beer and I respect when it come to beer come here, I should give it a look.

Have found BA to be rather enjoyable without being stuck-up or like a fraternity "bro!" style interactions. Doesn't have (what I think is) a pressure to drink like an Untapped service or other apps either. It's simple, to the point, nice people and interesting topics to read and contribute to. The ticking isn't bad either (admitted ticker here, I like lists ok?!) for me and others to know where we have been and where we are going.

 

I learn a lot here. It's great to find out about new brews and breweries. Having been a part of this community for over 5 years, I've learned which members share my sensibilities and who are more adventurous. Reading posts from these people get me psyched to get out and try new things or revisit old favorites. I don't trade but reading about beers from out of reach inspire the travel bug and it's always great to know where to go when away from home. Thanks BA's!!

 

-Beer
-talking about Beer
-homebrewing questions, advice, and talk, etc
-interesting and random information posted here
-information regarding beer, breweries, bars, etc
-good collection of members

 

Comparing to other sites, I personally like the reviewing/scoring system of BA the most.

 

Stumbled on this site when I was first getting into beer and, at first just lurking and learning more and more from all the great people that regularly post, eventually got involved in topics that interested me. I don't post as much as I used to but as always, just reading through all the conversations (and skipping over a few here or there that get out of hand, happens with any online community) and reviews is fun.

 

I wound up here after doing some searching on Google for this Oktoberfest I had (Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen) and I just never left... A little over 9 years now.... I've met very few of you as there aren't a whole lot of BAs that live in my general proximity that I'm aware of... That being said, I feel like I know many folks here... Beerchitect with his terrific and informative reviews...GillaGorilla with his variety of Tom Hanks avatars...seeing drrth or Wasatch or JackHorzempa or many of the other folks that were here when I started post and being anxious to read it cause they still know more than I do...and for those of us who can remember him... reading what Ding was going to go off on a sarcastic rant about... Enjoy the company and familiarity of it and the knowledge about beers I come across that I know nothing about... I can usually tell if something is worth spending the $ on if one of the aforementioned BAs espouses a positive opinion on it... Plus...I like beer... The end...