Why do you use BeerAdvocate?

So I can see if a beer is worth spending money on before I buy it.

 

I'm probably the only guy left on Earth that doesn't have Twitter or Facebook, because I hate "social media" so ironically I spend a lot of time here on BA. I love the visual aspect of it -- WBAYDN.

 

news, reviews, and to keep up with what I've had mostly

 

You're not alone. No Facebook or Twitter here either. No web site, not even a cell phone beyond the one kept in the car for emergency use.

 

Because I'm not on Facebook

 

At first it was to post reviews - but now I have a blog for that - now it's just to keep track of my reviews (BA is easier to arrange my reviews by the rating).

Occasionally I like to wander in to beer talk and weigh in on a thread... some people have questions or funny stories/ideas... beer talk is a good forum.

 

While I initially joined to gain knowledge and insight about beer, I've really come to enjoy interacting with the other members. There are so many interesting, and fun, members of this community!

 

While I do spend some time on the forum, my primary reason for using BeerAdvocate is to review beer, and to gauge how highly others rate beers at the bottle shop.

I enjoy the community aspect of BA, but I'm mostly here because it makes it easier for me on a personal level. I make sure that my reviews are above the minimum level of quality, but besides that I write them entirely for myself to come back to if I decide to look up what I thought of a beer I had earlier. Also, while I feel like BeerAdvocate still has place to improve, I value the Top Beers, and sorting my own beers etc.

 

BA has been a revelation to me! It is so educational in so many aspects. I have learned all about different beer styles. I have learned about beer terminology and the language of reviewing from following more experienced raters. The forums are thought provoking, entertaining, amusing, sometimes irreverent and even controversial. I'm here quite a bit; it is such a good diversion I barely even look at FB these days.

 

Yeah, all those jokers who came onto the scene the past couple years and brag about how many cases of "Limited Release X" that they got are the worst.

I mainly use the place to look up reviews of a beer I haven't had before and am considering while in the store. I typically weigh its price vs. overall score when making decisions; mainly I find things are probably overpriced based upon their reviews.

I also use it for laffs and drive-bys when the jokers are taking things too seriously and increasingly rarely to post some of my actual thoughts about a beer-related topic. There are still quite a few good folks on here, but it seems like a bunch of it these days is people swinging their beer-buying dicks around and arguing about saving the world through what type of beer one purchases, which I guess is to be expected when something starts getting more popular. Occasionally there's still some good conversation to be had.

 

reviews, trading, boredom

Possibly not in that order.

 

Great avatar!! Cheers.

 

I am relatively new to craft beers and I travel quite a bit. I try not to waste my time driving around areas I know nothing about looking for the ultimate beer by just hit or miss. So I use B/A as kind of a "Consumer Report" for breweries. (B/A is a LOT more than just a travel guide I want to be on record saying) If I don't know what I don't know about an area or city or town and I feel B/A gives me loads of info. I can go from there. The Beer Advocate app helps me tremendously not waste gasoline and time. I generally will map out the breweries that I'd give a shout out to a few days before I go, stick the locations into my contact list and Siri and I make life a lot simpler. One thing I have learned about reading about beers from breweries before I go is NOT to read the reviews. Early on with Beer Advocate I found that I rated my beers more to what others thought than what I thought. "well if John thought this stuff was amazing what's wrong with me if I don't?" Other reviews colored my own review so now I review on my own. After I do i generally do look at what others say about my beers. I absolutely do look at the ratings though to pick a beer if there are many to choose from. If I have a choice of a 3.0 beer or a 4.0 beer and I don't have copious amounts of time to sample? That's an easy solution for me.. Love the craft beer industry, quality over quantity is my mantra. Drink safely you all!

 

Reviews, forums. Being new to craft, there's a lot to learn. GREAT stuff here. Some of the posts on the various threads are hilarious, some very informative, some very provacative, some make me wary of FED & STATE GUBMNT trolls here trying to politicize the craft brew world (that's a subject for a different thread).

 

If it wasn't for this site, my world would consist of Two Hearted Ale and or Hop Devil. I wouldn't know what Heady Topper was, or Abrasive, nor any of the other outstanding NE IPAs. Not to mention the slew of great stouts I've had.

 

You're not alone brother!!! No FB, no Twitter, no G+, for me either!!! Although some may think it's ironic not to participate in "mainstream social media," yet seek, share information here on BA, it is nice to interact with others that share a common bond - craft brew!

 

In response to the original post, why do I use BA instead of other sites, because RateBeer's score ares laughably inflated and are no use whatsoever in determining if a beer is actually good or not. And I got started on BA first and don't need Untappd to spend more time talking about beer, because I'd probably get addicted.

 

Mostly to find out what @5EKF is eating and to get the weather in NOVA from @MUTINY.

Seriously it is about tracking my ratings, seeing what others think about beers, liquor stores, bars, and breweries. Also some of the most interesting, unusual, and sarcastic people I've encountered.