Mission Street Pale Ale ranked too low?

Just tried this beer for the first time and thought it was great. Was surprised to see how low it scored (3.20). Anyone else agree/disagree?

It’s pretty much a flawless beer. It wins a medal at GABF virtually every year, in a tough field with over 100 entries.

That said, I can understand why it doesn’t garner much praise here on RateBeer: it’s not a beer that will blow you away with flavor, and as a result it has a hard time racking up points in a rating system (and beer culture) where people often think "MORE flavor = BETTER flavor." It’s also somewhat lower-gravity and not as impervious to the kind of abuse to which we beer geeks often subject our beers, so you gotta try it fresh to have a fair read in it. Finally, it won’t stand out in many beer lineups with bigger beers, and it doesn’t even aim at all for a prominent hoppiness that tends to get "rewarded" within the style.

It’s "just" a technically flawless beer and a great go-to for those who are fortunate enough to have ready access to fresh stocks of it. Especially for the price.

not only is it sensitive to age, but it’s sensitive to serving method. small sample sizes may allow you to get a snapshot of a big beer with strong flavors, but smaller beers are generally presented poorly in small samples. "but that’s how the GABF judges taste them!" "yes, but they also are tasting within a style, not putting them up against stronger beers like imperial stout". that’s not how most bottle shares go down. a 2oz pour of pale ale or pilsner will give you a snapshot, but a full serving, with proper freshness, proper gas concentration, proper glassware and a proper pour, that is where you’ll find the real beauty of a beer. or you could just one-and-done tick that mofo, it’s up to you.

The bottles at my local store always seem to be way out of date. I check every time but it seems like no one is buying it around here.

Normally I’d point to style percentages... but yeah, even that’s surprisingly low. It’s a damn good pale ale. A regular rotation in our fridge.

Originally posted by kmweaver
Normally I’d point to style percentages... but yeah, even that’s surprisingly low. It’s a damn good pale ale. A regular rotation in our fridge.

I have a lot of theories.

Don’t go to T.Joe’s very often, but when I do I always grab some.
rated it a 3.6 myself which is a decent score on my curve.

Don’t normally drink beer, but when I do; I make it a Mission St Pale Ale

Originally posted by Trev
Don’t go to T.Joe’s very often, but when I do I always grab some.
rated it a 3.6 myself which is a decent score on my curve.

Well...there’s your problem. It’s available.
To get better ratings it needs to be a "limited release".