Yearly releases that change

That would be handy in extreme cases, but beers can vary slightly or greatly year-to-year, and where do you draw the line? If the brewer calls it out by listing the year in the name or changes on the label, then this is a great idea. Another indicator; does the brewer call it out as a separate beer on their website?

We surely do not want to have ten listings for 10 years of slight tweaks to a beer, and I feel Abyss should not have a new listing yearly. BCBS changes the ABV frequently, and makes other tweaks, but still BCBS. KBS too changes slightly each year, but it's still KBS. On the other hand, some brewers completely change their seasonal beers every year - such as Oktoberfests - and these do warrant a new listing each time. IMHO.

 

Wouldn't it be simpler to just list the year in the review and leave it at that. An accurate review takes care of the rest and there is no need to compare vintages.

 

I think the deciding factor is whether the variation from year to year is natural/normal (quality of hops, etc...) or deliberate changes to the recipe.

So Sierra Nevada Celebration would just need one listing (no changes since 1983), but Anchor Christmas Ale should get a new listing every year (42 years...42 different recipes)

 

I don't see how there's going to be massive confusion if a list comes back and provides me the year, or volume, or addition. How it could be done is how, say, discogs.com compiles each edition of a release under a master title for it. Since these beers do change. Need to have different labels created due to the change in ABV. DIfferent whatever.
I.e.
Stone Wootstout
general info about it that is consistent.
Wootstout ____
specific info about that particular edition and what is different.

Where things become "collectable" i.e. coveted.
More information is better than less.

 

If you were able to search by year then this makes sense. Adding celebration each year makes no sense as it's the same beer each year. I think some beers like expedition stout should get a yearly entry as the beer changes over time and there is no wAy to search 2012 to see how it is in 2017.

There should not be any reason to have to hunt through reviews to try and find a specific year for beers that age well. Maybe add a feature in the review to tick a year box and then be able to search by year while keeping only one entry in the data base.

Enjoy

 

Do not create your own beer entry in a case like this. Yes, it will cause confusion, and it will eventually be merged into the main entry for that beer.

This is covered in "How to Add Beers on BeerAdvocate", which states:

Recipe Variations

• Brewers will often tweak their beer recipes over the years for numerous reasons, however, don't add a new version of the beer for minor tweaks. Examples: a minor change in ABV, hop/malt variety.
• If there's a significant recipe change, but the brewer doesn't change the brand name, the current beer listing will still be used.

It's already been established. Stick with that.

 

If there is what you feel an important change to note, you can submit an update note which would state the year and the change in a sentence or two. These should not be subjective observations regarding your own tasting, but objective notes regarding changes in ABV, IBU, ingredients, etc as stated by the brewer.