Have BA and RB jumped the shark?

[MatttthewGeorge]

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).

Exactly why I use it. I like how easy it is to keep track of what I've had and where I've had it. And my friends ratings are more important to me than the "average rating" as I know what my friends tastes are, so it's easy for me to figure out if Beer XYZ is a good purchase for me.

Sidebar: I will say that I do not rate Ontario (and most other) beers due to working in the industry. I just think if you work in the industry (making, selling, serving, retailing) it's not appropriate to do so.

[TheSevenDuffs]

Sidebar: I will say that I do not rate Ontario (and most other) beers due to working in the industry. I just think if you work in the industry (making, selling, serving, retailing) it's not appropriate to do so.

I completely agree with your position on this subject.

[instantkamera]

Sidebar: I will say that I do not rate Ontario (and most other) beers due to working in the industry. I just think if you work in the industry (making, selling, serving, retailing) it's not appropriate to do so.

I've always wondered why you don't. Now I know, and I think that's a fair practice. It's not necessarily your place to be critical - that's what the rest of us are here for . Though, on the flip side, it wouldn't bother me if you were, so long as you don't object to others' negative ratings of your own products.

[groulxsome]

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).

Exactly why I use it. I like how easy it is to keep track of what I've had and where I've had it. And my friends ratings are more important to me than the "average rating" as I know what my friends tastes are, so it's easy for me to figure out if Beer XYZ is a good purchase for me.

Also on the untappd train for similar reasons. I don't know anyone that takes their gamification of beer (badges and whatnot) too seriously. But I do like having statistics.

I really like being able to quickly link a picture to my beer and when others do so too. It's much easier when I see a friend having a bottle they love to remember the label when I next come across it. Plus, having a picture with my notes can help me remember when I tried it. I'm not talking "oh, I got smashed and tried that when I was BLASTED," I'm talking, "oh, yes, I did try that maple porter with a cheese burger at Grapefruit Moon about three years ago."

The new option to see your friends (and people you follow who you get to know how they rate beers) scores for any beer is great, since I know how their tastes relate to mine much better than how my taste fits to some average. I try to mostly follow people who write short, but useful comments about the beer, rather than just "good 3.5" type comments. Like anything else, how useful it is relates to how you use it.

[MatttthewGeorge]

Sidebar: I will say that I do not rate Ontario (and most other) beers due to working in the industry. I just think if you work in the industry (making, selling, serving, retailing) it's not appropriate to do so.

I've always wondered why you don't. Now I know, and I think that's a fair practice. It's not necessarily your place to be critical - that's what the rest of us are here for . Though, on the flip side, it wouldn't bother me if you were, so long as you don't object to others' negative ratings of your own products.

Unfortunately once you've rated a beer you can't un-rate it, which drives me crazy since some beers I rated before implementing my rule. I think I might send a support request to untappd about this now that it's on my mind!

[Derek]

Sidebar: I will say that I do not rate Ontario (and most other) beers due to working in the industry. I just think if you work in the industry (making, selling, serving, retailing) it's not appropriate to do so.

I've always wondered why you don't. Now I know, and I think that's a fair practice. It's not necessarily your place to be critical - that's what the rest of us are here for . Though, on the flip side, it wouldn't bother me if you were, so long as you don't object to others' negative ratings of your own products.

Unfortunately once you've rated a beer you can't un-rate it, which drives me crazy since some beers I rated before implementing my rule. I think I might send a support request to untappd about this now that it's on my mind!

You can check in again and change the grade... All the way down to "no rating". But yeah, it'd be nice to be able to edit or remove stuff.

[Craig]

Sidebar: I will say that I do not rate Ontario (and most other) beers due to working in the industry. I just think if you work in the industry (making, selling, serving, retailing) it's not appropriate to do so.

I've always wondered why you don't. Now I know, and I think that's a fair practice. It's not necessarily your place to be critical - that's what the rest of us are here for . Though, on the flip side, it wouldn't bother me if you were, so long as you don't object to others' negative ratings of your own products.

Unfortunately once you've rated a beer you can't un-rate it, which drives me crazy since some beers I rated before implementing my rule. I think I might send a support request to untappd about this now that it's on my mind!

You can go delete your check-in on the website version.

[MatttthewGeorge]

I've always wondered why you don't. Now I know, and I think that's a fair practice. It's not necessarily your place to be critical - that's what the rest of us are here for . Though, on the flip side, it wouldn't bother me if you were, so long as you don't object to others' negative ratings of your own products.

Unfortunately once you've rated a beer you can't un-rate it, which drives me crazy since some beers I rated before implementing my rule. I think I might send a support request to untappd about this now that it's on my mind!

You can check in again and change the grade... All the way down to "no rating". But yeah, it'd be nice to be able to edit or remove stuff.

Oh nice! That's new. I can't change the old ones besides deleting them, but this does help. Cheers!

[El Pinguino]

I never got around to creating an account on RB or BA....but use them for research, especially when travelling. To be honest I never felt they were "welcoming" sites ion the way their ratings and forum discussions went.

I agree Untappd appeals to a broader base, but if you only add other beer snobs as friends...then you'll be fine.

[JerCraigs]

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.

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.

Of course tastes are subjective. That isn't going to change based on whether you read reviews on RB/BA, Untapped, or any other ratings platform. Learning how to calibrate a given ratings system/forum/whatever with your personal tastes is the hard part. A decent rating will tell the reader enough information about what is there, and what the rater thought of it and the reader can form an opinion based on that and what they know about their own tastes. Generally the more information provided the more helpful it is for users.

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

I didn't say that. I said more/most Untapped users don;t analyze beer in the same way as people writing longer ratings do. Also analyze does not equate to appreciation.

A Venn diagram of ALL beer lovers is complicated but I don't think it is remotely a controversial statement to say that they would rank in numbers more to less (very roughly) like this:

People who like to drink beer
People who like to try many new beers
People who like to track the new beers they try somehow
People who like to go on the internet to talk about beer
People who like to rate the new beers they try somehow
People who like to "long form" rate the new beers they try somehow
People who like to go on the internet to talk about rating beer
People who like to go on the internet to nitpick and argue about how other people are rating beer.

[JerCraigs]

The new option to see your friends (and people you follow who you get to know how they rate beers) scores for any beer is great, since I know how their tastes relate to mine much better than how my taste fits to some average. I try to mostly follow people who write short, but useful comments about the beer, rather than just "good 3.5" type comments. Like anything else, how useful it is relates to how you use it.

Exactly!

[admviolin]

I primarily use untappd but I have used BA for city and bar listings while travelling through the states. A great way to find out which "super Liquor 4" to go to in El Paso

Though I don't have many "friends" on untappd, I like being able to keep track of what I've had. I don't pay attention to the number of stars a beer has, but I will scroll through other people's check-ins to get a general feel for peoples opinions.

[Derek]

I totally pay attention to the number rating. I'll still buy some local stuff regardless of the rating, simply because I like to support the locals. That said, I really try not to waste money on mediocre beer. I can brew that at home (and often better)!

As for the written reviews, I've used the "top raters" sort on Beer Advocate for a long time... but now the "followers" is even better, as you can read the reviews that you trust. On Untappd I'll occasionally see what my "friends" have to say, but the reviews are generally better on BA, where they're not just "tweets".

[cratez]

I still have love for both sites as I log all of my place ratings on RateBeer (easier to use and more up-to-date than BA) and beer reviews on BeerAdvocate (since I'm one of those "long form" reviewers ). The forums have always proven helpful for planning beer-focused trips and elaborating on place reviews.

I also heavily rely on both sites for beer recommendations, continue to subscribe to BA magazine, and like the fact that there's a wider spread of ratings on both sites as compared to Untappd, where "the gentleman's 3.5" reigns.

That being said, once I enter all of my backlogged beer and place reviews I plan to switch to Untappd for all new ratings, as I simply don't have time to write detailed reviews anymore (but still want to keep track of what I drink and where I've been).

So Derek makes a valid and timely point - the future of beer and place ratings probably lies with convenient apps like Untappd, and the old school, "long form" rating sites may well decline in relevance in the coming years.

[saints_gambit]

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).

Exactly why I use it. I like how easy it is to keep track of what I've had and where I've had it. And my friends ratings are more important to me than the "average rating" as I know what my friends tastes are, so it's easy for me to figure out if Beer XYZ is a good purchase for me.

Sidebar: I will say that I do not rate Ontario (and most other) beers due to working in the industry. I just think if you work in the industry (making, selling, serving, retailing) it's not appropriate to do so.

Thank you for not rating your own product.