Moderation of places

I’m not sure I agree that the threshold should be serving craft beer. Place ratings are especially interesting for travelers, as most of us know pretty well the venues in our own areas. And what might be a normal beer for you might be really interesting for travelers, especially so in the countries outside the usual suspects. (There is a supermarket at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport that sells more than 50 different beers - none of them of any value to anyone living there - but it would be awfully relevant for anyone on a layover...)

And what if you happen to find yourself in Botswana, Indonesia or Belarus, just as examples, wouldn’t you want to know the places that have a "good" beer selection? Whether it’s a local brewed by a global conglomerate or by a smaller brewer, it would be interesting nonetheless. I was in Abu Dhabi recently and through RB found a place that sells fairly common beers, none of them "craft" but awfully welcome on a hot day.

Also, when you’re on foot in whatever city, not wanting to drive, it’s good to know when there’s a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s nearby to get some craft beer.

Why can’t the barriers be somewhat lower? Places are also rated and have reviews, so we can use our own judgment to decide whether to attend the place or not... But I agree that places that don’t sell beer should definitely be deleted.

Most of us agree, but there are other considerations, like making it known which beer centric places are not worth spending your time and money at.

Originally posted by altonbrownd
(There is a supermarket at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport that sells more than 50 different beers - none of them of any value to anyone living there - but it would be awfully relevant for anyone on a layover...)

And what if you happen to find yourself in Botswana, Indonesia or Belarus, just as examples, wouldn’t you want to know the places that have a "good" beer selection? Whether it’s a local brewed by a global conglomerate or by a smaller brewer, it would be interesting nonetheless.

How about:
Rule 1 - Use common sense
?

Perhaps defining the purpose of the places section more clearly would help ascertain what belongs in it or not. A I-just-woke-up-and-can-barely-spell [edit: yup, had mistakes] brainstorm produces:
The places section is to aid those unfamiliar with the beer scene in the area find the widest range, and best, beers in the area.

Or a quicker rule - only 4 letters:
WWJD?
I mean What Would Travlr Do? Are you wasting his time by advising him to come to this place - would you take him here if he was in town?

One of the more troublesome types of places is in a city with an active craft scene a trynabe gourmet cafe/restaurant where they have a large selection of InBev and other big-name imports - ones that you can find pretty much everywhere, in that town, but just with a more complete range of them. They’re clearly trying to have a wide selection of beer - so include - but it’s shit macro stuff that’s everywhere - so ignore?

Place rating is an art not a science. And many of us have probably improved our sixth sense of knowing what should go in and what should stay out. The definition of a ’good’ place will depend on what you’re after.

But there will always be arguments to be had. For instance, in the UK: standard micropubs. In or out? There are exceptions but by and large they tend to be cask ale only with about 4 casks, usually session strength bitters/goldens, but often from smaller breweries. I say... in, usually, as they are often the best option in some beer-starved areas, and a tick or two is likely, even if the beer won’t be exceptional.

I’ve not rated places in non-beery countries but I would imagine that the standards of inclusion would drop dramatically in this case.

Originally posted by t0rin0
Most of us agree, but there are other considerations, like making it known which beer centric places are not worth spending your time and money at.

I’ve got a ’live’ example here. Am considering adding a pub in Oberusel (outside of Frankfurt). It’s a mate’s local and I love the place. Spend an afternoon watching football (if Eintracht are away), eating fresh cheese pretzels, all in a medieval setting. However I have hesitated, because I don’t believe it qualifies due to a lack of craft beer. Like a lot of German pubs the beer selection is super limited. Two on draft from Licher and some bottles from Franziskaner/local apple wine. Neither of these breweries would class as craft... but it is one of my favourite pubs of all time.

http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/licher-privatbrauerei-bitburger/1677/

http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/spaten-franziskaner-brau-inbev/175/

Originally posted by BeardedAvenger
Two on draft from Licher and some bottles from Franziskaner/local apple wine. Neither of these breweries would class as craft...

nobody is really going to object to places being added if they’re the best of a bad bunch in the area, if they are in regions/countries where there is simply no craft beer or they have local brews that are likely to be of interest from a ticking perspective

I agree that context is everything, and common sense must apply.

If you simply say that you should enter terrible places just so other Ratebeerians avoid them, you’d have an overwhelming number of places in some areas. We already have some cities that are just giant blue blobs on the places map because 5 pubs on every block have been entered, and they all serve the same mediocre crap - this does not help visitors.
Of course, some of these have already been entered by their owners, in which case they should be rated, or rarely deleted. Final decisions should be up to the local admins, assuming that they are very familiar with the area. Out-of-area admins would be at a disadvantage here, although there is value in viewing places as a visitor would, as FatPhil suggests.