The Bar Towel

JeffPorter wrote:So...I studied poetry quite extensively (I have a MA in English, which totally pays the bills ) and have published the odd piece in my old life, including a book.

I'm not that good, by any means - but I find that poetry and food/beer/wine reviews share some commonality:

Good reviews, like good poetry, use concrete language, and bad poetry/reviews use abstract language. So "Leather" is actually good, because we all know how leather smells. Bruised cherries is overly flowery, because it's just plain more visual than aromatic. "over-ripe cherries" may be a better descriptor.

Also, "charred toffee" is redundant because toffee is already caramelized. Does the reviewer mean "dark toffee?" And if so, who has tasted toffee of varying shades?

Maybe by "charred toffee" the reviewer means what I might call "burnt sugar." Over-caramelized sugar is a pretty distinctive smell.

Kind of late to the game, but what the heck.

As far as the original article is concerned, I also felt that he was mainly talking about competitive flights, trying to score the "best" out of 8 etc. It's true that the author also discusses tasting with your eyes and wallet, but I think that happens a lot with beer too. I don't think it's an article telling us not to try to delve into the things we taste and smell in a glass of wine or beer or spirits. Rather it's to knock down some of the ultra-snobbery that is particularly prevalent in the wine world.

Regarding our own types of reviews (be they in a little notebook for yourself, on an aggregate site like RB/BA or a blog like mine), I do like reviews (and try to write them as such) that are more on the verbose side. I actually love reading Malt Imposter reviews, and every so often find myself writing a review in their style, but for the most part, I try to use smells and tastes that I think at least a majority of people might be able to relate too. I also try to re-use descriptors when possible, so that you know that if I said beer X (that you've had) tasted of ripe tree fruits, and I say it again about beer Y, you have a better sense of what I'm talking about.

At the end of the day, I hope that most people who read my reviews aren't simply using them as a Coles Notes, but rather read them to help frame what they're tasting, and perhaps to use as something of a foil, to disagree with or to extend upon. Also, I consciously decided not to use a number based system but to rely on anecdotal reviews, and general categories (like a "top pick" or a "hoppy beer").

My favourite reviewer in the city?

Paul Dickey.

I take it as a very high compliment when he asks for seconds of one of my beers. It generally means the beer has no obvious off flavours and just tastes ... good.

He's also brutally honest if the beer is flawed. And points out the flaw. And then makes you feel bad about having brewed and subsequently given him something bad.

Jason