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Beer How do you rate

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    Beer How do you rate

    I guess the best beer is the beer you like. The following methods to judge or rate have left out the price factor, when and where it is consumed. Also, it is paired with anything.

    For me, PBR is my go-to backyard BBQ Beer. It hits the sweet spot.


    One question we often get asked is, "How do you rate a beer?" It is a good question and there are of course many different schools of thought on how this should be done. At the end of the day, no matter how you rate or judge your beer, the most important factor (if you are drinking for pleasure as opposed to judging) is DID YOU ENJOY IT?
    Methods to Judge or Rate a Beer
    1. The 5 Star Happiness Factor
      This is a pretty simple method really. It is based purely on how much you enjoyed drinking the beer. It is based purely on how much you enjoyed drinking the beer. Just drink it and then give it a star rating that suits your feelings about it.
      1. Would rather drink wine
      2. Not bad but had better
      3. Great lawnmower beer
      4. Loved it, want more
      5. Heaven in a glass
    2. Simple scoring
      Again, this one doesn’t take much effort. Give each beer a score on a sliding scale from 1-50 or 1-100. The advantage here is with a wider range you have more room to score similar beers a few points higher than another. You can make this more interesting by making the score out of a topic, instead of just a number, like 5 canaries in a coal mine out of 7. Use the hashtag #randomratings
    3. Complex judging and scoring
      If you become a real craft beer snob like us and you want to be able to rate your beers, against other similar beers, brews you have tasted previously, and also against the style, then you need to come up with something more complex (so you sound like you know what you are talking about). On We Love Craft Beer, we use what we call the Better Beer Rating Method. This rates a beer based on 5 different criteria but because it can be hard to remember what you are judging (especially after a few beers) we have tried to make it as simple as possible to remember. For that reason, we have used the first 5 letters of the alphabet because if you can’t remember those, you are in BIG trouble. So this is how we rate a beer.

    A= Appearance. What does it look like, what color is it, is it cloudy or opaque, what is the head like?
    B= Bouquet. What does it smell like, what can you pick up, what is the body like?
    C= Characteristics and complexity. What can you taste, what flavors are dominant or lacking, what is the mouthfeel like, is it well balanced?
    D= Drinkability. How much do you like it? Would you drink it again? (This is your happiness factor)
    E= Equality. How does it compare to other beers in this style that you have had before?

    Each category gets a score out of 10 and you give it a total out of 50. (You can change these numbers to suit yourself)

    One of the issues with the simple scoring method or happiness method is, you can give the wrong impression to others with your feedback. For instance, if you don’t like Stouts and you were asked to judge the best Stout in the world, and you gave it a 3/10, most people would think it is not worth trying and the brewer would be disappointed to get that sort of review.

    One advantage of using a more complex judging system is that you can rate the beer based on its qualities rather than just if you like it. For instance, you could score it a 10/10 for Equality, which would indicate it is a good representation of the style, but give it a 5/10 for drinkability because it is not something you would normally drink.

    If you want to rate and review your beers and keep track of them, then you should probably download the We Love Craft Beer App.

    The app will allow you to use the 5-star rating method or the more complex Dow Better Beer Rating Method.

    Not only can you rate your beers, but you can also find out how other people are rating theirs, and the app will even recommend beers for you based on your ratings. You can even use it to find craft beer venues near you and access special deals from venues. So what are you waiting for? Download it now.

    Whatever way you decide to judge or rate your beer, you need to remember one thing. ENJOY THE BEER!

    #2
    Thanks! I really enjoy a wide variety of beer, and my palate has changed wildly over the last 20 years of enjoying interesting beer. It would be nice to have something to track the things I've tried and why I did/didn't care for them.

    ​​​
    ​​

    Comment


      #3
      Well, that was disappointing. Click image for larger version

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      Comment


      • Draznnl
        Draznnl commented
        Editing a comment
        I knew Oregon and Georgia were different worlds, but I thought they were in the same country.

      #4
      Check out the "UNTAPPD" app. One of my pilots uses this and seems to enjoy it. You can rate beers and add descriptions etc... Caffeine88 You can add people as a :friend" and you can see each others list.

      Comment


      • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
        ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
        Editing a comment
        Yeah Untappd is the go to, and many businesses already have their taps integrated with it too.

      • Richard Chrz
        Richard Chrz commented
        Editing a comment
        Untapped is where I know of as well. I also have printed sheets that you can score everything.
        Last edited by Richard Chrz; November 20, 2021, 02:10 PM.

      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        Yep I was going to recommend this.

      #5
      Thats why judging beers has a panel of judges, so the "I don't like this style" low score doesn't come into it too much.
      Also, BJCP judges are supposed to be un-biased and are trained this way, but I'm sure it does have an impact.

      BJCP.org - if you wanna get serious into beer tasting and judging exams.

      RateBeer.com - lots of aroma, mouthfeel, etc.. notes from experienced amateurs on here.

      I love craft beer too..... so much so that I brew my own.

      Comment


      • bbqLuv
        bbqLuv commented
        Editing a comment
        PBR in the summertime for me. And yes, sometimes I will have a Stout or a Porter. It is fun to try new and different beers.
        What I don't get is light beer. Why?

      #6
      Hmm..... same issue in NC, USA here.....
      Attached Files

      Comment


        #7
        Yeah, as a beer brewer there is more to judging beer. If you want to know what the "professionals" look for in each type of beer, read some of the notes in the style guidelines available here:

        BJCP Style Guidelines – Beer Judge Certification Program

        Basically, beer is judged on:

        - Aroma
        - Appearance
        - Flavor
        - Mouthfeel
        - Overall Impression

        And finally, you consider whether the beer is "to style". Is it a proper English porter, an American pilsner, IPA, whatever?

        Comment


        • bbqLuv
          bbqLuv commented
          Editing a comment
          OMG, left out price. Come on now the price needs to be in the mix for the Blue Ribbon and put a smile on old Pabst's face.

        #8
        Good beer needs no price.
        Personally I get gout from beer now but I still dive in occasionally, at risk, but it's worth it.
        After time I find I like Porters and Stouts in that order.
        When I was young, early 20's, I would buy a whole 6 pak of
        heineken Stout, put it in the freezer until it was almost ice and then drink one or 2 while cooking chicken thighs on my Smokey Joe, hardcore huh?
        I followed this, I want to dig in more, good job!!!

        Comment


          #9

          Comment


          • jfmorris
            jfmorris commented
            Editing a comment
            That’s a good resource, along with beeradvocate.com - I don’t think bbqLuv will believe us though once he sees the scores for his beloved PBR…

          • Attjack
            Attjack commented
            Editing a comment

          • jfmorris
            jfmorris commented
            Editing a comment
            Haha. About the best things I see there are:

            "no bad aftertaste"

            and

            "a beer of greatness on a budget" (but still a score of 2.4 out of 5 on that comment)

            I think BeerAdvocate ranks it higher, with an overall scoring of 68 out of 100:

            Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is a American Adjunct Lager style beer brewed by Pabst Brewing Company in San Antonio, TX. Score: 69 with 6,376 ratings and reviews. Last update: 03-28-2024.


            Where a notable commentary includes:

            "Nice dive bar beer! Super crushable I could have about 20 of these."
            Last edited by jfmorris; December 3, 2021, 07:12 AM.

          #10
          Being a digital guy I think more in binary
          Is it beer?
          Yes = 1
          No = 0

          Comment


          • bbqLuv
            bbqLuv commented
            Editing a comment
            1 + 1 = 10 ?

          #11
          Too complicated for my taste. I try and stick to cold or not cold.

          Comment


            #12
            Yea forget your complicated rating system. You need a PhD in astrophysics to understand it. I'll make it real easy for you, the beer I drink is the best. The beer you drink sucks. Any questions?

            Comment


              #13
              That’s a far more intricate grading process than I usually use. I limit it to 2 questions. Is it cold? Was it free? Question 2 only really matters when deciding how many I plan to enjoy. 🤣🤣. That said, I may check out that app. I’ve been using Untappd for years and love it. I started using it when I was completing a Beer Jedi Challenge at a gastropub in Reno that sadly no longer exists.

              Comment


              • Argoboy
                Argoboy commented
                Editing a comment
                I have a friend that says free warm beer is cold enough for me.

              • Santamarina
                Santamarina commented
                Editing a comment
                Argoboy A wise man one said, "The best temperature for a beer is the temperature of the beer that’s in my hand."

              #14
              When I was married to the girl I hoped would never change and did we would buy these books with a list of local breweries for a price and you had to visit them to get 1 beer for free per book. Up to you to buy the second... They would stamp their page in the book and when full there was a party and prizes given out blah blah. The massive cool part was going to different places and experiencing so many different beers. Amazing journey. Push it in your area, it was fun!!

              Comment


              • NinerfanWI
                NinerfanWI commented
                Editing a comment
                Milwaukee is a great city for beer, and always has been. I was given a deck of cards that worked the same way at the beginning of the year. 26 breweries in NE WI. 2 cards per brewery. One for a free pint, one for a merch discount. Made it to 21…with a day to go.

              #15
              I use Untappd, when I remember. I also have a mental list of my 3 favorite beers. It changes occasionally, but it’s a tough list to crack.
              Current top 3 (not in order): Ommegang Three Philosophers, Hale’s Cream Ale, and 3 Sheeps Armchair Quarterback.

              Comment


              • NinerfanWI
                NinerfanWI commented
                Editing a comment
                @tmaan235
                The proximity to Door County and the Valley is great. Not a Packers fan. Only go to Lambeau when the Niners are in town. I agree about not keeping a hard list. My top 3 list just floats around in my head, and my wife says there is a lot of room up there. There are two very good breweries in Manitowoc, Petskull and Sabbatical. None here in TR yet, but Cool City Brewing Co. will be opening early this summer. Just some ideas for your next trip up north.

              • tmaan235
                tmaan235 commented
                Editing a comment
                Heard the lots of room in the head comment, been married. I think it leads to lots of free thinking My opinion...
                Beer on

              • tmaan235
                tmaan235 commented
                Editing a comment
                Gonna be in Green Bay on Saturday?
                Wish I was going to be but........

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