

Comment is it bad to rate beers high all the time?

Discussion in 'Site' started by justyouraveragebeerguy, Mar 4, 2013.

  1. I find myself always giving beers above 3.5 when I sit down and rate them on paper. I just like beer and I feel like a beer really has to be bad to even get a 3/5. Is this bad? What beer do you hold as your 3/5
  2. Dope

    Dope Advocate (545) Massachusetts Oct 5, 2010

    That is pretty typical on this site. Around here, a 3 is generally the bare minimum to even be drinkable and some would disagree with that assertion. Just look at the rogue voodoo series, they're around a 3 and are commonly referred to as some of the worst beers around. 3.5 is just average and 4 is where they start getting pretty good. 4.25 and above are amazeballs.

    (these is my highly unscientific findings after being around here for a few years)

    Edit: I just went back and looked, you've only reviewed Zombie Dust, CBS and Westy 12. I'm pretty sure it's normal to give those really high ratings. :)

  3. PsilohsaiBiN

    PsilohsaiBiN Savant (480) New York Aug 10, 2010

    Even an F in school is up to 65 numerically...makes sense.
  4. I try to rate to a 3 average. On BA if a beer is below a 3.5, I usually pass it by. A 4 is a really good beer and anything over that has to be world class.
    kojevergas and kemoarps like this.
  5. kemoarps

    kemoarps Advocate (555) Washington Apr 30, 2008

    I've struggled with this issue myself (not, like, a lot, but, you know...). I figure 3 is neutral (on the like/dislike scale) therefor anything below a three is less than neutral meaning not worth drinking. I try not to drink things I don't want to drink .:. most of my reviews fall between 3.5 and 4.5, 3.5 being 'meh, it's ok, better than nothing, but not outstanding'
    creepinjeeper likes this.
  6. I guess Pliny the elder. I haven't had it on tap though
  7. beergurujr

    beergurujr Savant (350) Illinois Oct 27, 2003

    Dude, don't rate them while high. Your judgement is impaired. OTOH, it's probably more enjoyable. ;P
    JG-90, elgiacomo, gtermi and 3 others like this.
  8. Just follow your heart.
    Beerswag, Pahn, Kyrojack and 2 others like this.
  9. JohnDMartin

    JohnDMartin Initiate (0) Kentucky Jan 13, 2013

    So I always wanted to use the mathematical or scientific, whatever it is, symbol .:. "therefore" but was never smart enough to do so, use it on a keyboard that is... Thanks for enriching my day!
    kemoarps likes this.
  10. fmccormi

    fmccormi Champion (750) New York Oct 24, 2010

    What? No, of course not, what kind of question is that?
    Oh, well when you put it that way, I mean, I guess, maybe . . . I definitely agree with a lot of folks in using 3 as "average" for a beer. But, average is entirely subjective, and to be honest I simply don't waste time and money buying and reviewing beers that I'm expecting to be anywhere around "average." I'm po', man. If I'm gonna drop money on some fancy beer, I want it to be some damn good beer / high value. As a result, very few of my ratings are much below 4/5, and I'm still holding 3 as "average" (in my head, anyway).
    ThePorterSorter likes this.
  11. cjoc83

    cjoc83 Savant (450) Pennsylvania Jul 31, 2010

    The bigger problem is people not rating to style. Someone who drinks DIPAs and imperial stouts regularly will drink a pale ale or (heaven forbid) a kolsch or something, and rate it low because it isn't 'packed with flavor'.

    As far as rating beers between 3.5 and above, I think most of us typically buy certain styles and/or certain breweries we know we like, and let's face it, the broad spectrum of craft beer is pretty amazing. I've drain-poured maybe 2 or 3 beers in my entire life. Even if I'm not particularly fond of a beer, I can at least usually appreciate the craftsmanship and realize that the flavors just don't agree with my personal palette. The tricky part is discerning when a beer just isn't your cup of tea or if it's just poorly crafted.
    Holmes698 and fmccormi like this.
  12. fmccormi

    fmccormi Champion (750) New York Oct 24, 2010

    Absolutely. Agree with you on all points.
    cjoc83 likes this.
  13. cyrushire

    cyrushire Advocate (525) Florida May 25, 2012

    I'm always high when I rate beers.
    Nugganooch, ehammond1 and beergurujr like this.
  14. Well, some styles are just better than others. :p

    In all honesty though, even beeradvocate asks to make a judgement call on personal taste vs style. I Know I have a hard time giving anything more than a 4 out for many of the lagers out there, if only because 99% of them don't wow me, even if I find them good and drinkable.
  15. I actually think that the proliferation and obsession with "styles" is a detriment to beer appreciation. If beers were pies, there would be no "perfect 5" mincemeat pies. IPAs and Imperial Stouts are the apple and pumpkin pie of the beer world- they dominate the overall ratings and conversation because they taste better on the whole.

    That being said, since I usually drink the apple and pumpkin pies of the beer world, they tend to get good ratings. When I drink the occasional mincemeat, it usually doesn't grade as high.
    BostonHops likes this.
  16. I hate the grade inflation that is rampant on here. It's such that I have a lot of mediocre beers with an average rating of 4. That shouldn't happen. When I rate, here's my general rubric:
    1-2: God-awful. Serious off-flavors. Cannot finish. Would not touch again, even if that's all that is available. Examples include: A lot of Mikkeller experimental shit, Indian Wells, and Triple Bock.

    2-3: Just not that good. Would not order again, most likely. No serious off flavors, but not that special either. E.g. random Bruery Provisions beers, most Sweetwater beers, several of the generic brewpubs' near me entire lineups.

    3-4: Solid beer, especially with regards to style. Would probably drink if at a random bar without great choices. A lot of "good" beers fall into this area. They still don't have that special pizazz that makes me stand up and take note.
    E.g. A lot of beers: most beers that don't wow me, with special preference given to factors of aroma and finish.

    4.0-4.5: Very good beers. Amongst the best in the style. Thankfully, there are enough awesome beers in the world, these are the ones I usually consumer on any given night.

    4.5-5: The best of the best. Very few beers get these scores, but these are the beers I dream about and would never pass up the opportunity to drink if offered. E.g. Bad Boy, Citra, Great, Nelson, the best Cantillons, etc.

    It's not exactly a bell-curve, but there are a lot of beers that fall between the 2-4 range. Not that many get above a 4, unless they really blow my socks off.
    cjoc83 likes this.
  17. klaybie

    klaybie Savant (275) Illinois Nov 15, 2009

    Beat me to it. Damn!
    beergurujr likes this.
  18. You should send Arbitrator a BM and ask him. He is an educated man with great opinions on the matter.
  19. Not if you are drinking really good beers.
  20. NVM i just heard he got banned.
  21. My lowest so far was a 3 but I also skip rating things I drink as cheap sessions like PBR because it's pointless really. It is mostly a matter of taste though, my roommate is really into stouts and doesn't enjoy hoppy beers so we had a couple Heady Ts and he didn't want to finish his because it was too hoppy. If he were to rate it he would probably rate it really low because of his personal taste but for me as a hop head it's in my top 3. Just rate on your judgement but if you know you dislike a certain style don't review it with bias, just review the styles you enjoy and judge off your personal favorites in the category.
  22. brewtus

    brewtus Savant (355) Ohio Dec 29, 2012

    5=5 and 3=0 , a 2 is bud ice and a 1 is dip spit
    DerekMorgan likes this.
  23. RoninTK3

    RoninTK3 Savant (290) New Hampshire Nov 12, 2012

    I have a tendency to only write reviews of beers that elicit a strong reaction so my reviews tend to all be very good, minus the couple very bad ones. Not much in the middle.
  24. Well is it more of an indica or satty kind of...oh wait, like as in numerically high. I sleep at night knowing there are plenty of BA members/reviewers willing to give beers obscenely low scores (just compare 1:1 scores with ratebeer avgs).
    JG-90 and fmccormi like this.
  25. fmccormi

    fmccormi Champion (750) New York Oct 24, 2010

    Now that I think about it, usually the only beers that I end up giving shitty ratings are usually beers that are 1) shitty and 2) given to me for whatever reason. And that said, I won't write a review if I know it's skunked or really old or subject to some other poor condition like that. And, I try to use the best glassware available (so even malt liquor gets my Duvel Single tulip, at least).

    The other time that I write reviews for shitty beer is when I'm traveling, especially in other countries, because I consider it part of the tourist experience or some form of cultural immersion. Ex.: see all the Brazilian beers I've reviewed. Most of them are mediocre at best. And next time I travel to Texas, and don't have the time or money to pick up Jester King or something like that, you can bet your ass I'll be picking up cans of Lonestar and Lonestar Light.
  26. I'm always trying to balance my love of beer with the desire to give an objective reveiw... But the first time I had Utopias, BCBS, Hopslam, I realized I was being far to generous to stuff that was really not as good.
  27. Tinfang

    Tinfang Aficionado (160) California Jun 20, 2011

    My reviews are a bit skewed to the high side since I'm hesitant to post a negative review of something I don't like, although I have done it (Carlsberg Elephant). Maybe I got a bad bottle (Trader Joe's annual offering by Unibroue). Maybe it's a style that was a bad fit for my taste buds (Flanders Red). If i post a review I either had a few samples on different occassions or the beer had an immediate unshakeable impression on me.
  28. dieBlume

    dieBlume Savant (280) Virginia Mar 18, 2013

    Being new to all this, I tend to look up beers before even trying/purchasing them. Most of the beers I've had tend to have higher ratings to begin with. I also tend to rate on the higher side, because my sample size of beers I've had is pretty small. (Most of them are 4 or above on here, and that's also how I feel about them once trying them.)

    I also don't rate beers that are styles I tend to shy away from because I feel like that's just a really unfair rating. If I don't like the style, I'm not going to say it's a bad beer. My palate is just used to other types.
    seakayak likes this.
  29. The problem is that if 90% of the beers in the database are rated between 3.0 and 5.0, there is much less ability to discriminate among the merely good, the above-average, the very good, and the truly great beers. You're not going to hurt a brewer's feelings if you rate their year-round pale ale as a 2.3 because it was fine but not worth buying again. A lot of people seem to think that if they enjoy a beer, it must be above average. There is a lot of enjoyable beers out there, though, which should mean that average can be pretty damn good, not that pretty damn good must be above average.

    What's the point of having a 5-point scale if no one is willing to use the whole range?
    ThisWangsChung and beertunes like this.
  30. CircusBoy

    CircusBoy Savant (320) Ohio Mar 10, 2008

    I'm kind of lazy so I don't review too much on here, only un untapped. I make it pretty simple; 1=bad (don't even want to drink it), 2=ok (would drink it but not buy it), 3=good (would but it but not often), 4=very good (would buy often), 5=great (wish I had it in my fridge all the time)

    As a side note, I think very few people truly actually rate to style. I'll be the first to admit that I don't.
    dieBlume likes this.
  31. Jacurdy60

    Jacurdy60 Savant (355) Alabama Jan 23, 2013

    No. Beer is really fucking good.
  32. Beerswag

    Beerswag Savant (265) California Jan 16, 2013

    Tap into your chi while drinking your beer. First enjoy it no matter what..you can always go back and edit your reviews of beers, based on comparison in the latter. Our taste for beer is always evolving, and going through stages. We will always have our favz, and that is what makes the style of our critique Unique. Salud, Cheers!!#Beerswag#

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