Within the next few months I intend on writing a post(s) on how to “taste” beer. By “taste” I mean, how to unlock the intricate nuances in your mouth. Before delving into this subtle art, I felt it necessary to first report on how to review/rate the beer subsequent to the tasting. Some may find this order illogical, I find it imperative.
This is part one of a two part series, and unlike the soon to be posted part two, this is going to be short and simple, and entirely unscientific. Part two will deal with the categories that beer reviews typically cover, and thus will be more methodical. Until then, the thesis of this article can be summed up in one statement:
Do Not Be A Lemming
Lemmings are the arctic rodent fabled to commit mass suicide by jumping off of sea cliffs. The metaphor, of course is that of “don’t follow the herd.”
Following the herd is inescapable in many senses and necessary in some cases. For example, if it came out that a brewer used urine as an ingredient in their beer, I do believe it would be wise for the common consumer to follow the herd and abstain from drinking such a foul brew.
In the case of the craft beer industry, being a lemming can only be insulting to the brewer. Consider Joe “The Neophyte” Beer Geek. Joe has recently discovered craft beer. He purchases a bottle of Imperial Stout by Fake Brewery. Joe wants to write a review on his blog after drinking. Joe doesn’t want to appear stupid, so he goes to a beer rating website to see what the community thought. The community said the beer was an A+ and was very, very hoppy. Joe drinks the beer and writes and A+ hoppy review. The beer was an Imperial stout. Joe had accidentally read the review for Fake Brewery’s Imperial IPA. Not only does Joe REALLY look stupid, he tainted his own perception of the beer, and did the brewery a disservice by tasting mass opinion rather than just sitting down and enjoying the beer, a brewer’s primary objection, I reckon.
So next time you review a beer, I would suggest, and some may reasonably disagree, not to read any reviews before hand. Some beers, Westvleteran for example, are so renowned as being “the best in class,” avoiding prior reviews will be futile. In such cases, be yourself! If you liked the beer, say you liked it. If the beer made you cringe, write that it made you cringe…just don’t be a Lemming!
After I write a review, I typically check out the community reviews and it never fails, that while there may be slight variation in rating, it seems that everyone tastes the same fruits and same spices. I have to wonder if each review ends up just being a variation of the one prior. If you taste gin (see this review) in your beer and know one else did doesn’t mean there was not a gin quality. If you taste green olives (see this review) in your beer, write that down, even if sounds absurd.
Subjectivity is the only way to wholly embrace not only the enjoyment of beer, but the reviewing process. Just be yourself.
I’m tip-toeing around this very trap right now. I have one of the Holy Grails (a Westy
sitting in my fridge as I write this. I know the beer’s reputation, so I haven’t read a single review on it, and I’m going to give my honest opinion. It’s been sitting there for a month because a. I haven’t felt the time was right, and b. I’m nervous to review it.
In past reviews of some highly regarded beers, I have noticed that I tend to rate higher than my experience actually earned, and I’m doing what I can to put a stop to it. I also found myself rating things higher than average more often than not, so I have changed my approach. I’m now rating average beers with 3s, intead of the 4s they were getting. A good, but average IPA is getting 3s from now on. The only category I strugge with is appearance. Most beers look good, so it’s hard to knock something on appearance, unless it’s a pale lager with no head, or a transparent stout.
I agree with the sentiment of this post whole-heartedly: think for yourself and stand your ground! It’s hard when people will want to argue with you for knocking something they love, but they’ll get over it.
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That’s supposed to be Westy 8 with a ), not some indication that I think I’m really cool!
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oooh…I am jealous of the Westy in your fridge! I understand the tiptoe. I too know that i have rated beers before better or worse than I should have off of pop opinion. I should have mentioned in my article too though that sometimes beers are soo highly rated becuase they simply are fantastic beers.
Appearance is hard to knock. In fact, even a cloudy beer with floaties swirling inside looks fantastic to me!
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Nate:
Great post — allow me to offer some thoughts on the topic of reading beer reviews before reviewing a beer. I agree that it’s just plain wrong to read a review and hit CTRL C (COPY) and then CTRL V (/PASTE). As someone who is relatively new to “good beer,” (but not someone who is new to beer!) I find that reading reviews prior to purchasing / reviewing helpful for the following reasons:
1. When someone ventures into the process of reviewing beer for the first time, one might have a difficult time describing the aromas, ingredients, and appearances unless he/she has become familiar with the various “useful” terms used in describing beer’s many attributes. Most beer drinkers are aware of malt, barley, yeast and hops, but most don’t know how to describe the tastes beyond light / dark / bitter / hoppy. There have been times during my tastings and reviews that I couldn’t put my finger on a certain flavor and pulling up an online review has helped me to better describe it. That said, I take most beer reviews – especially the reviews that are off the esoteric deep end – with a huge grain of salt. Honestly, do most beer reviewers ultimately gravitate towards more expensive, complex brews just to have a more interesting subject to write about? Or do they loathe at the thought of writing about yet another simple/boring Summer-style beer? In other words, do they really enjoy the beer or the process of describing complex beer to gain acceptance amongst other beer reviewers? If it tastes like crap, then do others a favor and say that it tastes like crap!
2. Drinking good beer is expensive. Reading reviews allows me to narrow down my purchasing to the more popular examples, thus helping me focus on the great beers of each style. (And thus saving me money to buy more good beer!) Starting with the good stuff through beer reviews helps me identify the mediocre stuff. (Or the crap.)
A more important element of a beer review to me is the brewer’s description. Did they hit the mark? Can I taste elements of the ingredients they used? If they introduced a non-typical ingredient into the style is it still drinkable or does it evoke the gag reflex?
I also use the commonly accepted BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) Style Guidelines to help me understand what attributes a particular style should possess. That description, the brewer’s description, and a sampling of comments from various beer reviews, helps me get the big beer picture.
Where the process goes awry, however, is the situation you mentioned above. Someone with little beer knowledge simply crafts his/her opinion based on the general consensus. Although reviewing is VERY subjective, one can usually get a pretty good idea of a beer’s qualities by averaging out responses online.
Beer reviewing is a passion and I am discovering that most beer reviewers are extremely passionate. I personally love discovering new beer. I just hope that I / we never lose sight of why we enjoy this so much: it’s the experience of beer and the joy of experiencing beer with others that makes it so much fun. A Corona (GASP!) enjoyed in the right environment and with the right people can be just as enjoyable as sipping a high ABV Imperial with a buddy!
Great topic, Nate!
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Thanks for the response. I agree totally with the sentiment about wanting to be aware before you get into something. It might be a good way to start out for someone newer to the biz. Personally, I used to read reviews after I tasted the beer to see some other thoughts. Sometimes I was like, I can’t believe I missed that. Yet, more often I was like…I don’t see that. I think it takes a good amount of time to hone senses. I have to say, though, that the number one key to the whole thing is conscience effort. When you start really thinking about it, it gets easier.
I also agree about the price of beer…not cheap. However, I buy based on if it looks, sounds, and seems interesting. I buy on appeal these days and I pay dearly sometimes. However, I don’t knock your methodology. It is those people who take the reviews as gospel that are annoying to me. It is a little harder to stay more objective though.
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Wow, thanks for the insightful comment MANLAND NORTH! I always am grateful for long, thought out responses.
Your point are all valid and I have to agree. I will read a review before purchasing, but anymore, I won’t read one right before I put my lips to beer. While I have LOTS yet to learn about beer and tasting, I have developed my palate a bit. When I first started reviewing beer, I did rely on other’s reviews a bit (but never copy and paste!) because I didn’t quite trust my palate.
I actually almost mentioned BJCP…their guidlines are helpful I recently looked into getting certified.
You should do a guest review for us? Would you be interested?
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All great points, guys! Thanks for the response.
I also think it is sometimes helpful to read other reviews to see what I “missed.” Since I have a “PIT” (Palate in Training), I try to taste some of the more subtle flavors that some reviewers seem to catch. Sometimes I can taste the small details and other times I cannot. But that’s what makes this fun — we all seem to have a different take on tasting. If we could all say what we really think about a particular beer, then reviews would be even more interesting. Which, I believe was the whole point of your topic!
A guest review! I’m flattered — and would love to do so. Send me an e-mail and let me know the details.
Have a great weekend, guys!
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Thanks for your balanced thoughts on this topic. As a fellow beer reviewer, I also tend to drink first and read the reviews later because I do not want to build up expectations that may not be met. One of the best beer experiences I’ve had was a pint of Blind Pig before the Russian River acclaim started in earnest. If I had my first pint of it now, it might not be the same.
I look forward to your further posts and the insightful comments and I love the term (Palate in Training).
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I almost always check beeradvocate ratings (not actual reviews) before buying, unless it’s a brewery I trust. I try not to read any reviews until after I drink the beer. I want a little insurance that I’m not buying crap, but I don’t want detailed opinions to taint my impression.
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Howard,
Please don’t say the BA word on here…just joking, of course. That might not be a bad middle ground (i.e. look at the score without the notes).
Sean,
My approach is the same. Thanks so much for your contribution to the discussion. It’s always nice to see some new/newer faces on the site.
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Nate, great post! It is really hard not to read some reviews or have an opinion going into some of the more notorious beers. For me, I’m taking the Cicerone program now and reading all the BJCP guidelines has helped me identify flavors, along with paying more attention to what I’m consuming, but not just with beer. We all seem to compare beer flavors with food. So now, as I’m eating different foods, I try to make a mental note of the flavors as well as what beer might marry up well with the food I’m eating.
I can’t agree more on the lemming concept, to date there is not dictionary on beer tasting adjectives. For me it is fun, i really enjoy trying to break down the flavors, aromas, mouthfeel, and appearance with a beer.
I love my wife’s take on tasting some of her adjectives, smelly feet, armpit sweat, ummm tastes good, plus a few more which aren’t fit for press…
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Great post. Similar to SimplyBeer, my wife has one term for all of the beers I try. “It’s just beery.” I think its funny, but until the palate is developed as ManlandNorth mentioned, it really IS… ‘just beery’. To me, that’s telling.
Its like, how does one describe how ground beef tastes, or how a rose smells? You can’t really describe either actually.
“well its meaty tasting” doesn’t cut it, or, ‘its rosy smelling’ doesn’t help either. One needs to identify and make references to other qualities to help explain the actual item in question.
So, “its beery” is technically quite correct, but doesn’t make for a good review!
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@SimplyBeer, Thanks! Somehow I missed your comment on here. I agree…I wouldn’t review beer if it wasn’t fun. The more i learn about the science behind the creation of distinct flavors, the more fun it becomes. i’ve started a notebook to document all my beers.
@Scott, Thanks too! Whenever i think of something tasting “beery” i think of the beer I grew up on…namely budweiser. It is funny how your and simplybeer’s wives, like mine, judge beer in unique ways. My wifes face always distorts, whether she loves or hates the beer.
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[...] I’ve discussed in the past how at times, certain beers achieve cult status, simply because in a viral sort of way, the herd deems one beer “the best,” and the intrepid reviewer would hate to disseminate a contrary opinion. Now, some beers are the best, because they simply are, “the best.” I have had plenty of top rated beers achieved beer God status on their own merit. From time to time, however, I stumble across a beer that makes me wonder why it is so coveted by the craft community. [...]