Written by By Bob the Brit
Recently there has been some discussion about the beer review process, and there’s also been a few comments regarding how Scott and I review and rate beers. At the risk of being self indulgent, I should like to clarify how I go about things.
Firstly, wherever possible I taste the beers at home, under reasonably controlled conditions, and I will usually have two bottles of whatever I’m tasting.
The photographs for my reviews here on The Brew Club are taken in my kitchen, and I always try to sample the beer at the recommended temperature and as far as possible in an appropriate glass. About which more in a future post.
Sometimes beers disappoint, in which case I will try the second bottle at room temperature, to give the nose and flavour a chance.
Personally, I rate my beer thus;
Rating: 
– “That was a waste of thirty minutes of my life – and a few bucks. Never again!”
An example of a zero star beer rating for me was the ‘Colomba‘ wheat beer from Corsica that I described as “a pale, insubstantial attempt at a wheat beer that disappoints in aroma, mouth feel and flavour”.
Rating: 
– “Something that just doesn’t do it for me.”
A recent example of this was the Biere Noel from Brasserie St Omer which had “a reasonably rewarding dark amber colour, and coffee coloured head, but that’s about it. There’s no hint of dark roasted malts, no real flavour, body or substance and not much in the way of flavour.”
In retrospect this perhaps should have rated zero, I gave it one point to encourage myself to finish the multi-pack, but the remaining bottles are still staring dolefully down from the beer shelf, and I just can’t bring myself to go back to them.”
I’m not sure who first said “Life’s too short to drink cheap beer.” – it may even have been Buddha – but whoever it was, I’m with them. And the Biere Noel stays on the shelf.
Rating: – drinkable, and not unpleasant beer, but not something I’d take to a friend’s house. Hey, I have a reputation to think of!
As well as dribbling and scribbling for The Brew Club, I’m a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers. If I take a beer to a friend they’re going to expect something special! If a beer only rates two stars, then it’s probably not worth sharing.
Rating: – a beer that does what it sets out to, I’d be happy to drink it again.
Mathematically, the mid point is 2½ stars, so on my rating for a beer to rate three stars it should do what it sets out to – if it’s an IPA then it should be bitter and hoppy, a Pilsner should be light with Saaz hop aroma and so on.
If I give a beer three stars then I would happily drink it if I saw it in a bar.
Rating: – something that does what it sets out to, and does it well. I’d search it out.
Possibly a benchmark, but I set my benchmarks high; definitely a ‘go to’ beer.
Rating: – a true classic.
This is perhaps easier to define than the three and four star ratings. To get five stars a beer must have that “wow!” factor that differentiates it from other beers in the same category. I’m perhaps more generous in my scoring than Scott as I’ve given seven 5 star ratings thus far, to his two. But looking back through them I don’t think I’d change any.
Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Jenlain, Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier… they are all ‘stand out’ beers in their categories and all deserve their 5 star ratings. They’re all exceptional beers and, in my humble opinion, classics.
After some discussion with Scott, he indicated that my beer rating system was similar to how he rated beers, but hadn’t really been able to put into words. As a result, we’ve codified this beer rating guideline and put it into The Brew Club’s ‘About Us‘ page so that anyone can reference it!
I should also like to add, in passing, that the All Beer Experience I reviewed in December 2009 provides a fascinating framework for ‘scoring’ beer, attributing points for the various aspects of smell, taste, and feel, and then calculating the overall flavour balance and total flavour score. It’s complicated, but very rewarding in its own beer geeky way.
How does your personal beer rating system work? Let us know! Do you have a system? What’s it based on?
I think it is pretty safe to say that Jim and I have no system for ratings. Why would anyone listen to what we say anyway? We’re Idiots, and yes that is with a capital “I”, we take it to that level. Is a matter of fact we have purposefully stayed away from a ranking system. We prefer to let the reader judge based on our words and reactions. We’re similar that way to Peter over at Simply Beer, although he is not an Idiot. Sometimes when I’m in a hurry I find myself just skipping down to the rating and sometimes I’ll come back, and others I don’t . That can be good or bad. But I do like your ratings because they help me find new and interesting beers.
I that a picture of you Bob? Because if it is, I had you pictured all wrong in my head!
.-= Don´s last blog ..THE BOX! =-.
@Don – That is indeed Bob with an official ‘The Brew Club’ t-shirt at some exotic resort. (We send him all over the globe to review beers.) I think that some beer rating systems are way too complicated and involve too much math – I think our system is easier albeit not entirely scientific. For me, the ‘wow’ factor plays a big part in how I rate a beer. Hard to describe, but I know it when I taste it!
Peter used to do a more scientific type of rating if you look @ the older stuff, and I know you guys used to do a pass/fail type of thing when you started up. There’s lots of ways to skin a cat (or so I’ve been told) but so far this has worked for us and I particularly enjoy hearing why people agree or disagree with a rating.
PS – That guy was not from Iceland or Norway, he was from Finland and he was riding on an elk when the button was pushed.
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Founders Breakfast Stout =-.
I heard he was from Switzerland and was riding a St Bernard down a ski hill after a wipeout. I guess I’ll just have to rent the movie and watch it to see what really happens.
.-= Don´s last blog ..THE BOX! =-.
Yes Don, that was me, at a beach resort enjoying Lion Lager in Sri Lanka…
As you can see from my explanations, I try and keep my ratings pretty relaxed and casual, but at the same time I figure that if you’re taking the trouble to do something – and people take their time to read your stuff – then you owe it to your readers to do the best you can.
And I quite enjoy it when people disagree with my ratings or opinions… that’s all part of enjoying a drink with friends.
I like your rating system. It’s a good blend of practical considerations (such as does the beer do what it sets out to accomplish?) and emotional factors (would I recommend this beer to others?).
I stopped doing pass/fail ratings (based on if I would I buy that beer again – akin to your three star rating) because I pretty much gave up on reviewing crappy beers. If I have something that stinks, I’ll usually not mention it, unless it’s a beer that’s been hyped or there’s a funny angle for the post (like Don’s review of that awful strawberry beer he did as a guest post on ThankHeavenForBeer. That was hilarious).
Anyway, if it’s not entertaining or a little controversial, then I shy away from spending time writing about bad beer. If it’s a great beer, I have lots of energy to write about it.
But in the end, Don is right – we’re Idiots. But neat ones, like Jesters or unscary clowns.
How fast it gets me drunk. Of course, I’m just kidding. When Nate and I first started the sight, I wrote a whole post about how I rate beers. I’m sure some of it has changed a bit but it seems to work well for me. http://thankheavenforbeer.com/2009/02/25/how-do-we-decide-the-stars-that-we-give-to-a-beer/
I think that I’m a little less uptight about it now.
.-= Michael Reinhardt´s last blog ..Baby Beer Drinkers =-.
@Micheal – I think the last line of that post regarding how you rate beers sums it up pretty well – “…they are still somewhat subjective. The only way for you to find out if you like a beer is to try it for yourself. We are only telling you whether or not we would drink the beer again.”
I think that’s it in a nutshell!
@Jim – is there any such thing as an unscary clown? PS – you guys are great – keep doing what you are doing!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Beer Tasting Notes =-.
Hey guys,
I had never considered how I actually attempted to quantify how I rate beer until I read this. I guess I’ve just gone with the ‘heart’.
But this got me thinking and so I went away and actually generated my own list. Turns out I’m much less scientific about as you Bob, nonetheless it was just good to see where I’m coming from and to share it with others.
It’s really interesting to see how everyone else has defined their categories as well. It is also great to see such variation in the ways we all drink and consider our beers.
Thanks Nate – For me, Bob was able to put into words what I was thinking when trying to rate beers, and now that he has its actually much easier for me to distinguish. Still, its mostly a personal thing but at least we’re not just winging it!
.-= Scott-TheBrewClub´s last blog ..Irish Beer – Past, Present and Future =-.
How postmodern of you Bob…your “own” system. haha, just kidding. It actually makes a lot of sense. My system has changed over time, becoming more objective to standards. I look for flaws more, but at the end of the bottle, I just have to yield to some degree of subjectivity.
.-= nate´s last blog ..Guest Review: Don from Beer and Whiskey Bros Reviews Black Cauldron =-.
..when i moved to NYC in the early 70′s, i became obsessed w/trying different beers – i stopped @200, but my system was simplistic: beand, country, style, price & rating on a scale of 1 – 10- lotsa fun!
@Jeff – making it too complicated takes some of the fun out of it I think. Simple systems are best! 200 beers in the early 70′s? I didn’t think thay had all that many way back then!
after i depleted my local super mkt’s beer choices, I found a deli on the upper West Side that carried 106 different beers!
@Jeff – Back then, that place must have been a gold mine! Were they mostly Imports? What kind of domestics were available back then?
Yes, they were mostly imports, i.e. Newcastle brown ale, Guinness, Murphy stout, several Canadians, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian (East & West); domestics included Anchor Steam, Pete’s wicked, Pearl, Lone Star, Hamm’s, Rolling Rock, Stroh’s, Olympia, etc.
Interesting stuff Jeff. Thanks for sharing!