Why do (or don't) you post reviews?

Well, to me at least, beers that really matter blew me away, have sentimental value, have not been reviewed much only rated, and why give a review to a beer that has 6,000 reviews saying pretty much the same thing?

 

When I joined the site, I would only rate and never review.
Once I had read enough reviews to gain the proper vocabulary, I started reviewing. I enjoyed describing the beers I drank and honing my palate.
Eventually after reviewing hundreds of beers, it became a chore that accompanied my beer drinking so I quit reviewing/rating altogether for a while.
Now I usually give a quick number rating if I think about it, a review if it's really worth it, or nothing at all if I'm busy.

 

When I review I do it because I'm cheap, lazy and selfish.

A number can tell me that I liked a beer but a review can help me remember what I liked about the beer and why so that I don't have to spend money making bad choices more than once, so that I don't have to waste time searching for good beers to share with my friends, and so that I can keep on improving my enjoyment of good beer when not reviewing.

 

These days I mainly use Untappd, and logging onto Beer Advocate is a hassle and redundant, so I don't bother. The rare times I do write a review for BA is because I am so wow'ed by an underrated beer that I want to give it a bump, or I'm so turned off that I want to knock it down a peg.

 

I don't consult review because I haven't taken the time to hunt out solid reviewers, and I'm pretty good at gauging my own taste that and a lot of times people only tack on words so its doesn't look like they are just ticking.

I don't review simply because of time, and the fact that you have to score. I think the numbers aspect is the biggest turn off, A lot of people only go by the numbers in my experience. I just feel like it takes all the subjectivity out of it, and I feel like for the most part people would rather know if I rated it above a 4.0 than read a lengthy description. 1 step away from wine spectator. I'm also of the opinion that maybe scarcity of product plays a role in how highly some people rate.

 

I stopped reviewing a while ago for many of the reasons that others can relate to- it kind of takes my head out of the whole experience. To some that would seem paradoxical, but I did give it a try for a little while, and that's just how it seemed.

Not too long ago, though, I started posting a few here and there again. The main thought was just to be helpful- if I was looking for feedback on a certain beer and there was very little there, then it just made sense to add a review if I could. So that's kind of where I'm at right now- if there aren't many written reviews, then that could prod me off of my own lazy ass.

Posting on has NBS helped, too- by the time I've posted my description of the beer, the hard part is usually over with .

 

I do reviews to try to contribute to this great beer "society" and reference tool. This site has helped educate me on countless occassions, directed me towards some good beers/styles, and saved me from buying some apparent bad ones that looked/sounded good on the surface.

I only review beers with a lower number (1,000-1,500 and under) of ratings/reviews. My NBS reviews are usually for stuff in the 500 or less range I figure there are plenty to scroll through after that point and just rate generally. The ratings are as much, or more for my own record/benefit.

I never take physical (paper) notes, or review when at a brewery or bar. Usually just take pics to rememeber the names of what I had, especially if it is a beer that can be added to the data base. I typically only do reviews for beers I drink at home.

 

I started off reviewing beer almost ten years ago on Ratebeer.com. You had to write a review to enter a score. Migrated over here to BA soon after and you had to write a review to rate here as well.

Just never got out of the habit.

These days, though, I tend to write reviews less often since I can just tick now. I do still review when I have time, but not when I'm out having a drink in public, usually.

 

Reviewing simply put is a passion.

I love good food and drink, and of course I love beer immensely, always have.

BeerAdvocate is a great tool to store my expression and my thoughts on the beers I drink. Writing is a passion for me, and flavors of good drink and food are something I cherish.

No not everyone "gets into it" like I do, and they don't have to that's perfectly fine.

I do pull out the pen in bars, or tasting groups, and I write reviews often, cherishing new beers I haven't had and keeping a record of them for my reference. Other times A simple had goes in, a note to make a reference to look again back to those beers as memory of a taste to come back to.

It's also a good reference point to remember about certain beers in the past, a memory of good times, and the moments of greatness and places you were at in your life.

 

I do it solely for a record of what I like, that I can access anytime.
My taste is so far from the avg. that a written review would be of no use to anyone anyway.
I do enjoy some of the descriptions that people give sometimes. And I am also quite amused at times by some of the things people say they can taste.

 

I don't because i feel like my opinion should not effect the sales of a company. That being said ill probably begin reviewing beer sometime soon as a self reference.

 

Because it's fun.

 

Largely self-reference. Not sure how much my reviewing style appeals to the masses.

 

Ain't got time for that, though I do appreciate others reviews.

I check-in on untappd and my comments are limited to mostly to 'that funk', 'amazeballs', and 'goddamn'.

 

I review less than 10% of the beers I rate. As others have said, writing a review can sometimes feel like a chore with either no reward or no audience. I rate everything I try, good bad or ugly, as a reference for myself. My reviews tend to be for beers which have what I judge to be less coverage on Ba than they warrant. I also use reviews to note anything I find particularly interesting about a beer which hasn't already been stressed in other reviews.

 

I like to write. It helps keep my mind sharp. It helps me think about the beer from a different angle. It's Strictly Personal.

 

I generally post reviews for my own sake: I've had enough different brews that I wouldn't be able to keep them all straight if I didn't have something to reference back to. Also, I've found that writing out my experiences and impressions has helped me to gain a better understanding/appreciation for what I'm drinking. Being able to better tease out different characteristics and flavour/aroma/notes/blah blah blah sounds super pretentious (ok, it is super pretentious. Whatever. And I by no means have a very 'refined palate' or any such thing) and I still have no idea what I'm talking about when it really gets down to it, but I do feel like I've gained appreciation from my explorations. Finally, a distant distant last is that I know that I've used reviews to highlight keyword flavour aspects (example: piney vs juicy IPAs, bitter vs sweeter vs roastier stouts, etc) to help decide which beer to buy if I didn't know anything about the options available. If any of my random musings can propagate that assistance, then that's just icing on the cake.

I don't review every beer I try, but I do try to review most of them.

 

I tick every beer I have, I only review if I feel like it.

 

I always rate every beer I try, but up until recently I had never written a review. I'd say that was mostly because I didn't want to, but also I don't feel like my reviews would be exceedingly helpful to others.