Extreme number of ratings

Reads 9922 • Replies 124 • Started Wednesday, September 2, 2015 9:09:13 AM CT

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Message Suttree P beers 7122 º places 260 º 19:33 Wed 9/9/2015 Originally posted by OnTheTrail How many beers had you rated before you felt comfortable rating based on a 2 Oz sample? I have been rating less than a year, I rarely rate on less than 12 oz, never less than about 10, I don’t drink more than a 6 pack equivalent a week, so I am only up to 120 ratings, despite almost never drinking the same beer twice. I woukd like to pick up the pace a bit, without drinking more, but am not sure I can rate intlligently, to my own standards, from a small sample. Here’s a suggestion: start paying attention to see how many times your opinion of a beer changes after the first couple of sips. Is it often? Rarely? That might give you an idea. Some people are comfortable with small samples. Some aren’t. No right or wrong way...
Message bartlebier beers 4526 º places 177 º 05:16 Thu 9/10/2015 Originally posted by blipp I think some of the best beer des criptions we have on this website are MartinT’s "My Bottom Line" part of his rating. Often only one sentence, but usually more than enough to tell me everything I need to know about the beer he tried. +1, although I like the "What if you dig deeper?" lines as well. Thoughtful rating overall.
Message Leighton P beers 33724 º places 1204 º 06:11 Thu 9/10/2015 I could offer a lot of comments on a thread like this, so I’ll try to restrain myself. In terms of the ’sample size debate’, it cuts both ways. Yes, there are some beers that I have enjoyed more as I drink more of it. But at the same time, there are probably just as many beers that I enjoy less and less as I drink more of it. But generally speaking, I believe that a few ounces is enough for me to assess a beer. The overarching character of a beer will usually reveal itself quickly. I don’t write off the folks who have 10k+ reviews. I actually think Jan (fonefan) has pretty good taste in beers, so I pay attention to the scores he gives. The text of his reviews is often generic, to the point that from it you can’t glean whether he likes the beer or not, but the scores are insightful. I also follow a lot of people who I know, and will often read their scores and reviews. I think one of the best functions on RateBeer is being able to follow people, and then when you go to a beer’s entry you can toggle to just see your friends’ reviews. But it’s important to remember, one the strengths of RateBeer is the aggregation of reviews, which [ideally] gives you a balanced overall assessment of a beer. It can be helpful to read individual reviews, but it often helps to know something about the writer of the review if you choose to go this route.

Message Drake P admin beers 21771 º places 1252 º 20:55 Thu 9/10/2015 Regarding sample size, if a few ounces is good enough for homebrew and commercial competition judges, why is it not enough for us to make accurate judgments?
Message hawthorne00 P beers 8468 º places 63 º 21:07 Thu 9/10/2015 Originally posted by Drake Regarding sample size, if a few ounces is good enough for homebrew and commercial competition judges, why is it not enough for us to make accurate judgments? They are constrained to taste a lot of different beers very quickly. We are not. Also, some of the beers that do well in such competitions are minging.
Message Theydon_Bois P admin beers 40552 º places 1239 º 00:10 Fri 9/11/2015 Originally posted by hawthorne00 Originally posted by Drake Regarding sample size, if a few ounces is good enough for homebrew and commercial competition judges, why is it not enough for us to make accurate judgments? They are constrained to taste a lot of different beers very quickly. We are not. But the way ’some’ of us play this game ... we are ! At certain festivals like Borefts or CBC we feel the need to rate each and every new beer available, thus in a 4 hour session a team of 3 or 4 may need to take down 50 or 60 rates so time constraints can be a big factor.
Message FatPhil P beers 26062 º places 995 º 03:45 Fri 9/11/2015 Originally posted by Theydon_Bois Originally posted by hawthorne00 Originally posted by Drake Regarding sample size, if a few ounces is good enough for homebrew and commercial competition judges, why is it not enough for us to make accurate judgments? They are constrained to taste a lot of different beers very quickly. We are not. But the way ’some’ of us play this game ... we are ! At certain festivals like Borefts or CBC we feel the need to rate each and every new beer available, thus in a 4 hour session a team of 3 or 4 may need to take down 50 or 60 rates so time constraints can be a big factor. Do you never feel that it takes some of the fun out of the beer drinking? I get much less gratification from the rating part than from the just sitting down and having a beer and a chat part. You’ll never be able to recognise how the late finish segueys from sweet chocolate cake into bitter coffee several minutes after your last sip if you’re already on your next beer by that stage. I don’t remember any competition where I had to judge more than about half a dozen beers in an hour. Maybe the way of life is just more laid back here in the Baltics. (Except in Tallinn Craft Beer Weekend, which was nearly that frantic, and predictably (un)enjoyable to me.) One of my favourite memories from my last RBESG/GBBF trip (4 years back) was Ian sitting back with a whole pint of some unfiltered Czech lager (the pepper one? Opat?) and saying something like "I’m not here to tick any more, I’m here to sit down and enjoy myself". Well said, sir.

Message harrisoni P beers 25366 º places 68 º 05:08 Fri 9/11/2015 Originally posted by FatPhil One of my favourite memories from my last RBESG/GBBF trip (4 years back) was Ian sitting back with a whole pint of some unfiltered Czech lager (the pepper one? Opat?) and saying something like "I’m not here to tick any more, I’m here to sit down and enjoy myself". Well said, sir. But I do like to collect/tick/scoop/rate beers. Nothing more fun than sat at a bar with a dozen taps and I need half of them (as happened very recently in 2 different bars in Tunbridge Wells) . Even better when they serve thirds. I like to have that feeling of walking out having done all of the new beers in a bar. Even better if you know the owners of the bar so you can have a nice chat whilst still rating. A couple of hours can drift by. What I guess I am less of a fan is feeling like its more about the numbers than the experience and enjoyment. When it feels like work rather than fun. I know I wont drink every beer i havent had before at Borefts over the 2 days but I also know I will enjoy myself as I will be rating and drinking at a rate I feel confortable with. I am also more than happy with the size of the pour at Borefts. I also like to set realistic targets so there is time to sit back and drink something I like. I respect how all Raters Rate and just hope they are having even half the fun that I am.
Message fonefan P beers 74108 º places 698 º 05:39 Fri 9/11/2015 Originally posted by harrisoni I respect how all Raters Rate and just hope they are having even half the fun that I am. +1 Cheers C U at BBF ;D
Message chriso P beers 7540 º places 736 º 06:56 Fri 9/11/2015 Originally posted by FatPhil Do you never feel that it takes some of the fun out of the beer drinking? I get much less gratification from the rating part than from the just sitting down and having a beer and a chat part. Most of my drinking, in time terms, is spent just sitting down and having a beer and a chat. Not all my friends are beer geeks and not all the pubs I visit are multi-tap tick emporiums (especially when I’m with Ruth on a place rating outing). Often there’s only a beer or two I’ve not had before. Or none. Unless there’s a particular issue, such as an excessive waiting time to get served, it’s a bit of a rule of mine to have a drink in every pub I visit. I’m unlikely to walk in and walk straight out again if there are no winners for me. Most of the times I share and rate from smaller volumes it’s at (some) festivals and at bottle share sessions. I tend to regard them as special situations, where there are lot of beers I’ve not seen before and, in many cases, will not see again. The choice is to share and try more or don’t share and miss a lot. Volume consumed is only one of many factors that will influence how "good" your assessment is going to be anyway. To be honest, if I’m just sitting down and having a beer and a chat, I’m more likely to do that in a nice pub than at a festival. Trying lots of beers at a festival does, however, allow me to make a much more informed choice when I visit a pub where there are no new beers for me.