Have BA and RB jumped the shark?

[Derek]

I started to loose interest in reviewing a while ago... But A bunch of locals are on untappd, so I started on there... it has sorta got me back into it.

I just reviewed a beer that had 27 check ins, but nothing on BA or RB yet!

I still think both sites are valuable, but I wonder if they might continue to loose value over time?

I still subscribe to the BA mag which is quite good.

[atomeyes]

i've always disliked RB for anything other than reviewing bars and bottleshops in cities to which i travel. i do not enjoy the descriptors or ratings system.
BA went away with their written rating system, which drives me mad, but will be returning to it again. i don't need poetry to tell me why a beer was so-so, but it would be nice to hear some details about the beer.

Untapped is the ultimate shark jump. seems like it's a software leftover from 1999. like anyone cares about your check-ins and badges.
do people using untappd also still use 4square?

[FEUO]

BA forums are a joke. Overmoderation and penis measuring.
RB layout is enough for me never to go on it. Its an absolute mess

I would not consider Untappd to have jumped the shark. Do you even understand what that means? Its the same as it was intended. It did not morph into anything outlandish or nonsensical.
First and foremost its a simple tool to share and log beers with friends. The fact that one can rate beers while logging/sharing is a bonus.

And software from 1999? If so, RateBeer is 1982 and BA is 1989.
Who uses webbased beer forums for info anymore?

[JerCraigs]

Who uses webbased beer forums for info anymore?

Uhm...

Untapped is doing well because there a lot more people out there with smartphones willing to quickly check in to a beer than there are people who want to sit and analyze a beer like RB or BA raters do. To each their own.

[Craig]

Who uses webbased beer forums for info anymore?

Uhm...

Untapped is doing well because there a lot more people out there with smartphones willing to quickly check in to a beer than there are people who want to sit and analyze a beer like RB or BA raters do. To each their own.

I think you've got it right. I personally use BA/RB to look up beers I've never had before, but I use untappd to keep track of what I've tried and how much I liked it.

[Belgian]

I like the content and the people on RateBeer, not spending much time there but having descriptive records of my past ratings is great. It's like knowing why I know what I know, if you know what I mean.

RateBeer is tolerant socially, whereas the reputation of the Alstrom Brothers on Beer Advocate is they are irrational control freaks. People get banned and deleted and whatnot, even for asking the brothers a reasonable question or something stupid like that. Somebody's on a power trip. Just something good to know if you go there!

[FEUO]

Who uses webbased beer forums for info anymore?

Uhm...

Untapped is doing well because there a lot more people out there with smartphones willing to quickly check in to a beer than there are people who want to sit and analyze a beer like RB or BA raters do. To each their own.

So you are concluding that because some have smartphones and utilize them they do not sit and analyze/appreciate their beer?

In all fairness, I gave up reading RB and BA reviews a few years ago as I found most to be full of sh*t. Tastes are subjective. As are ratings. Take an average number for a beer with a grain of salt and judge for yourself.

More often than not when I try a beer that is rated highly I am disappointed.

[sprague11]

To be fair, the Canada forum at BA is actually quite reasonable once you get through the small horde of Americans looking to pluck our precious Loonz from the LCBO shelves. The rest of the forums suck shit for the most part, and the moderating is a huge part of that.

The ISO/FT forums on Facebook can be a blast once you get through the hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of threadshitting posts and Michael Jackson memes. Have landed some nice bottles there.

RB is about 10 years too late in updating their software.

Talkbeer isn't too bad but the only action there seems to be in the New England forum.

Guess that leaves DDB.

[atomeyes]

Who uses webbased beer forums for info anymore?

Uhm...

Untapped is doing well because there a lot more people out there with smartphones willing to quickly check in to a beer than there are people who want to sit and analyze a beer like RB or BA raters do. To each their own.

So you are concluding that because some have smartphones and utilize them they do not sit and analyze/appreciate their beer?

In all fairness, I gave up reading RB and BA reviews a few years ago as I found most to be full of sh*t. Tastes are subjective. As are ratings. Take an average number for a beer with a grain of salt and judge for yourself.

More often than not when I try a beer that is rated highly I am disappointed.

i was in Buffalo last weekend. they had bottles of the Black Damnation series for $48 each. None of them had descriptors.

so...buy all 3 types they had and hope for the best?

[FEUO]

Talkbeer isn't too bad but the only action there seems to be in the New England forum.

waaaaaaaaat

I've never wasted any time in the NE forum.
I have too many other off-topic, or Great Lakes forums to keep me busy.

[Derek]

I personally use BA/RB to look up beers I've never had before, but I use untappd to keep track of what I've tried and how much I liked it.

That's exactly what I'm getting at... Untappd is so quick and easy, I see it getting more & more numbers and perhaps becoming more statistically significant (than the others).

I've been using untappd to keep track myself, but now they've got brews that the others don't even have listed, so it can be a useful lookup as well.

[Craig]

I personally use BA/RB to look up beers I've never had before, but I use untappd to keep track of what I've tried and how much I liked it.

That's exactly what I'm getting at... Untappd is so quick and easy, I see it getting more & more numbers and perhaps becoming more statistically significant (than the others).

I've been using untappd to keep track myself, but now they've got brews that the others don't even have listed, so it can be a useful lookup as well.

Untappd also suffers from popularity with people who like social media more than they like beer. I find the ratings on BA/RB more reliable barometers of beer quality than Untappd, where everything tends to trend towards that same score of about 4 if given enough time. I guess that comes along with the ease of use, so it doesn't bother me much.

edit: Untappd is probably a better barometer of beer quality for people who aren't quite the beer geek/snob that I am, come to think of it.

[Derek]

I had the feeling there are less experienced users on Untappd as well, and the ratings spread does indeed seem smaller.

That said, I looked at 48 brews from the Advent boxes last year, and the averages were actually on-par:
http://www.bartowel.com/beer-advent-calendars/

I've always went to BA for "better" data, but I'm starting to see that sometimes it has NO data... which really makes me wonder about the future.

Then again, maybe Untappd has simply peaked as a new and trendy thing, but will eventually fizzle, leaving the diehard users at the traditional sites?

[TheSevenDuffs]

I've been using Untappd for about a year and half now and I like it for two reasons:

1. An easy way to keep track of what I have had (statistics are a plus, I am a numbers guy)

2. An easy way to see what my friends are drinking and how their ratings compare to mine (local and LCBO releases often mean drinking the same beer as others within a small window of time).

In general, I find that I go to BA (I detest RB, always have) to find more info on new beer releases and to trade.

To the comment about ratings: one thing I have found for Untappd is that it exaggerates the loacal bias factor for beer with limited distribution. A couple of examples of this in Ontario are 5 Paddles and Innocente.

[Craig]

To the comment about ratings: one thing I have found for Untappd is that it exaggerates the loacal bias factor for beer with limited distribution. A couple of examples of this in Ontario are 5 Paddles and Innocente.

Good point. Definitely true.