Stepping away from beer reviews

[cratez]

After 19 years on BeerAdvocate, and 9 years on Untappd, I've decided to finally step away from beer ratings. Things have changed recently, I have a family now, and I no longer have the time needed to write meaningful beer reviews. It's been a good run, though, and I'm proud of what I've accomplished in nearly two decades of rating.

During this time I logged 1,530 unique reviews on Untappd and 525 unique ratings on BeerAdvocate, for a total of 2,055 beer reviews. There is minimal overlap between the two accounts, with a handful of beers like Pliny the Elder and Fuller's Vintage Ale rated more than once. Otherwise, I've always tried to review something different and have made a focused effort to sample beers from other countries.

Here's the breakdown of my beer ratings:

Total Ratings - 2,055 (100%)

Top Countries
Canada - 1,160 (~ 57%)
United States - 605 (29%)
Belgium - 85 (4%)
United Kingdom - 75 (~ 4%)
Germany - 60 (3%)
Other Countries - 70 (3%)
16 Countries Total

Top Styles
American IPA - 256 (12%)
American Pale Ale - 122 (6%)
Double / Imperial IPA - 107 (5%)
Farmhouse Ale / Saison - 75 (~ 4%)
New England / Hazy IPA - 61 (3%)
86 Styles Total

Top Beers I've Rated (My Rating)
Russian River Pliny the Elder (5, Untappd)
2018 Avery Old Numbskull (5, Untappd)
Toppling Goliath King Sue (5, Untappd)
2016 Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek (5, Untappd)
Maine Beer Dinner IIPA (5, Untappd)
2019 Avery Old Grumbler (5, Untappd)
Alpine Beer Pure Hoppiness (4.9, Untappd)
Third Moon Dust Made Flesh (4.8, Untappd)
Bellwoods A Stout With Coffee: Not Even Columbia Pedregal #2 (4.8, Untappd)
Lagunitas Sucks (4.76, BeerAdvocate)

Top Beers I've Rated (Global Rating)
The Alchemist Heady Topper (4.7, BeerAdvocate)
Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout - CBS (4.64, BeerAdvocate)
Trappist Westvleteren 12 - (4.61, BeerAdvocate)
Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout - KBS (4.6, BeerAdvocate)
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze - Armand & Tommy (4.55, BeerAdvocate)
Hudson Valley Apotheosis (4.53, Untappd)
Founders Breakfast Stout (4.51, BeerAdvocate)
Trappistes Rochefort 10 (4.5, BeerAdvocate)
Hill Farmstead Society & Solitude (4.47, Untappd)
Samuel Adams Utopias (4.47, BeerAdvocate)

At 2,000+ reviews, I've only rated a fraction of the estimated 7,000 beers I've tried, but I'm okay with that. When I go to festivals and beer events, and travel for beer, I try to enjoy the moment, rather than being on my phone. Reviews have typically been done at home, when I have time to analyze the beer, record my thoughts, and provide an in-depth review. I've taken a quality over quantity approach to ratings and have no qualms about that.

I'll still be writing some reviews next September to celebrate my 20th anniversary on BeerAdvocate and 10 years on Untappd. I'll continue to post new place reviews on BA as I believe travelling is the best way to discover great beer (the BA & RB place reviews have been an invaluable resource over the years). I also won't be leaving Bar Towel any time soon, as I like logging what I drink, and enjoy participating in the beer travel discussions and keeping up to date on Ontario beer happenings. But for the foreseeable future, the beer ratings are on pause.

I assume most folks on here can relate to this as I've always had the impression the average Bar Toweller likes craft beer but doesn't feel the need to review each and every beer they drink. Thoughtful beer ratings are a time consuming thing, and at this point in my life, I don't have the time. That said, it's been an awesome ride, and I still plan to contribute to the online craft beer community in other ways. Cheers!

[Tapsucker]

Interesting stats. It looks like you're not much of a lager guy.

Personally I have never done any beer rating and I'm not sure I have even looked at any of these. I have appreciated Bar Towel and like sites much more as they are about sharing tips and discovery.

Beer rating kind of comes of like talent contests (which I despise). Somehow taking something that is supposed to be experiential and expressive and making it competitive rubs me the wrong way. That said, I have entered homebrew competitions, but that was largely to get expert feedback and learn. Me so consistent.

[cratez]

Somehow taking something that is supposed to be experiential and expressive and making it competitive rubs me the wrong way. That said, I have entered homebrew competitions, but that was largely to get expert feedback and learn. Me so consistent.

To be sure, I never got into beer reviewing to be competitive. If viewed that way, I'd be the first to admit I got my ass kicked by the BAs/RBs who have hundreds or even thousands more ratings than me. Like you did with home brewing competitions, I pursued beer reviewing to learn more about beer. At the time that I was logging most of my early BA ratings, I was reading books like The Brewmaster's Table, Tasting Beer, and Cheers: An Intemperate History of Beer, and magazines like BeerAdvocate and All About Beer. Later on, I started to familiarize myself with BJCP guidelines. As I read and learned more about good beer, I would use that knowledge to improve my beer reviews. Reading about and rating beer also inspired me to get out there and travel more to discover great beer. It's worth noting, too, that when you're on the BA side of things, it's more about the beer review and less about the rating/tick. I then carried that mentality over to Untappd, even though I'm sure some users thought my reviews were too long (didn't care and still don't). Anyway, what was my point? I definitely think beer reviewing pushed me to explore and learn more about quality beer, though reading and making an effort to educate myself was just as important.

[Tapsucker]

To clarify, my comment isn't directed at whether you are being competitive. It is more about ranking creative things. I love the reviews, even though I have never really followed those sites, I love learning about the beers and have probably seen many useful comments from them when searching a new offering.

The fact that people like you develop a palate and experience that is valuable to evaluate beers is appreciated by me. I'm just not into the ranking/stars etc. that considers the products competing with each other.

[cratez]

To clarify, my comment isn't directed at whether you are being competitive. It is more about ranking creative things. I love the reviews, even though I have never really followed those sites, I love learning about the beers and have probably seen many useful comments from them when searching a new offering.

The fact that people like you develop a palate and experience that is valuable to evaluate beers is appreciated by me. I'm just not into the ranking/stars etc. that considers the products competing with each other.

I get where you're coming from on that. There's something to be said about viewing craft beer as a form of art; one that brewers work hard to create. Reducing that piece of art to a numbered rating, and/or focusing solely on it how it ranks relative to other examples of the style, might mean you're not fully appreciating the product.

While it wasn't entirely intentional - it just kind of unfolded - I recently stopped assigning ratings to beers on Untappd, and just focused on the review. I wanted to give my thoughts on the beer and provide a description that might help others decide whether they wanted to try the beer, or not. Once I stopped worrying about the number, I found reviewing more fun.

[anthony9]

I like the verbosity of Beeradvocate much more than the mostly scores of Untappd. It’s a shame that Untappd has basically taken over.

One of the good things I like about Untappd is the lack of granularity. Perhaps many have a finer palate than I do, but I could not reliably differentiate a 91 and 92.

I think my main use for it is to avoid stuff that I’ve had before and didn’t care for.

[JerCraigs]

I like the verbosity of Beeradvocate much more than the mostly scores of Untappd. It’s a shame that Untappd has basically taken over.
One of the good things I like about Untappd is the lack of granularity. Perhaps many have a finer palate than I do, but I could not reliably differentiate a 91 and 92.

I find a balance nice. I like the quickness of Untappd for tracking purposes, but I like BA / RB for seeing WHY people liked or disliked something. For example I typically don't love smoked beers or coffee beers so if I am rating I try to say that - e.g. the beer is objectively bad vs the beer is objectively good / well made but very much not to my personal taste. I find when others do this it means their ratings will be useful to me as a reader even if we have differing tastes.

I think my main use for it is to avoid stuff that I’ve had before and didn’t care for.

"I remember having this but i can't remember if I remember it because I loved it or hated it." is definitely the biggest personal benefit for me!

[anthony9]

I don’t believe in objective taste. All of my ratings are to my preference because I can’t do anything else.

Though others can use apps for however they see fit.

[El Pinguino]

I don’t believe in objective taste. All of my ratings are to my preference because I can’t do anything else.

Though others can use apps for however they see fit.

Good point. Melony IPAs are not what I like, but sometimes you don't know the profile of an IPA when you order it. When I rate those ones my ratings can be low, but I'll let people know it's just not my personal preference.

I have stopped immediately logging in beers on Untappd this year, and eventually "get around to them". Figure I'll stop caring when I hit 10,000, then only use it to see if I've had a beer before and whether I liked it or not.

[anthony9]

I have way fewer reviews than even 1,000, but I can see that others have moved away from reviews or scores as they rack up numbers.

Because I keep a hard cap on beer consumption, I don’t love having a beer that turns out to be not great, but subsequent times would really be preventable. Untappd is handy for that.

The only reason I do it immediately is that I want my reviews to be as close to first impressions as possible. Also, good chance I’ll forget if I do it later.

I try to avoid hype and prestige or lack thereof, but looking at my reviews, I do have significant biases that I am working to reduce.