Beer Rating Sites

[Jake]

There are two websites I know of that you can view beer ratings. They are different on how they come up with thier rating. Ratebeer.com rates beer like this:

Aroma 1-10
Apperance 1-5
Flavor 1-10
Palate 1-5
Overall Impression 1-20


Beeravocate.com is like this:

Aperance 1-5 (20%)
Smell 1-5 (20%)
Taste 1-5 (40%)
Mouthfeel 1-5 (10%)
Drinkability 1-5 (10%)


What system is better for good fair accurate rating?

[wortchillergoal]

I find the best way to rate beers is to run them over my own taste beuds. As talked about here a few times, some beers that are loved by many and thought to be the gold standard of the style do nothing for some people.

I also tend to find that the ratebeer community favors big beers.

[brewmonkey]

Neither as they are based on the users preference. Since the vast majority of people who are going to be rating beers on those sites are doing so based more on their impression/opinion then style guidlines it is nothing more then opinions rather then true ratings.

However, they are still decent tools to help you decide if you want to try a beer.

[Jake]

Originally posted by wortchillergoal
I also tend to find that the ratebeer community favors big beers. [/B]

I'm not sure what you mean by big beers. I will say this though, I think ratebeer community don't give pilseners and lagers a fair shake. It seems to favor stouts and ales.

[Stodbrew]

By big beers, he means beers like double IPAs, Imperial Stouts, Barleywines, etc.

[newportstorm]

As a member of both sites (only have my ratings posted on BA though), I'd say neither system is perfect. They are opinions, pure and simple. Yes, big beers get high scores for flavor and the everyday drinkers sometimes get overlooked, but it's no disrespect to those beers. People (or brewers) that take either site too seriously are missing the point with beer - drink and have fun. Both sites (and some here) have said it best - less thinkin', more drinkin'.

Drink what you like and never let the ratings on either site dissuade you from buying a beer, making up your own mind and singing a beer's praises - no matter what some beer geek from Idaho might think. Enjoy.

Cheers!

[Jake]

Originally posted by brewmonkey
However, they are still decent tools to help you decide if you want to try a beer. [/B]


I don't let these rating decide whether I buy or don't buy a beer. I'm going to try everything at least once for myself. I do like taking a look at what others might have to say about a particular beer or how their taste compares to what I'm tasting.

The scores tend to be higher on Beeradvocate than those on Ratebeer. For example Samuel Adams Boston Lager rates 3.80 on Beeradvocate whereas its 3.19 on Ratebeer.


I was wondering if that was just from the result of using different systems of rating?

[newportstorm]

Here's the breakdown on BA's ratings:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/help.php?id=beer

Not sure if RateBeer has a similar page - they do have a brief blurb on their FAQ page.

Cheers!

[ADR]

The overall rankings are fairly similar on both sites...I'm a member of both, record ratings on BA...there is nothing to discourage rating within style guidelines, but with any free form web source, some don't, don't want to, don't think its necessary, or don't have enough experience...

But that's just ratings anyways, talking about beer, meeting up with like minded people, and social events are the best part of the sites, at least from my BA perspective...

[fretlessman71]

Originally posted by newportstorm
Here's the breakdown on BA's ratings:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/help.php?id=beer

Not sure if RateBeer has a similar page - they do have a brief blurb on their FAQ page.

Cheers! I think their 2-digit number is simply a percentile; for example, a beer with a score of 80 is beer, in the member's collective opinions, than 79% of the brews listed.

[Beaver]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
I think their 2-digit number is simply a percentile; for example, a beer with a score of 80 is beer, in the member's collective opinions, than 79% of the brews listed.

But they do use weighted averages to calculate the percentile.

From http://ratebeer.com/FAQ.asp:
Q. How do you calculate your beer scores?
A. We use a Bayesian weighted mean so that more ratings increase the score's validity. Simply put, a beer that has one hundred 5.0 scores will have a score just thousandths of a point under five, whereas a beer that only ten 5.0 scores might have a score a few *tenths* below a five. This not only helps us combat abuse but ensures a greater validity to our beer lists.

[fretlessman71]

I guess that makes sense. :)

Means you can't "stuff the ballot box," basically, right?

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
I guess that makes sense. :)

Means you can't "stuff the ballot box," basically, right?

And both sites don't incorporate your scores into the tally until you've reviewed a minimum # of beers - BA used to be 20 (might still be) - not sure what the # is on RateBeer.

Cheers!

[fretlessman71]

And even so, there are huge differences between the scores from one site to the next for the same beer... very strange...

[Jake]

Originally posted by newportstorm
And both sites don't incorporate your scores into the tally until you've reviewed a minimum # of beers - BA used to be 20 (might still be) - not sure what the # is on RateBeer.

Cheers!

It is a minimum of 10 on ratebeer. I also read on ratebeer that they keep an eye out for persons that may have some association with the beer they are rating. This is to assure against those who my try to pad the score of "their beer". How they could possibly do that is unknown to me. Maybe computer IP numbers.

[newportstorm]

Originally posted by Jake
It is a minimum of 10 on ratebeer. I also read on ratebeer that they keep an eye out for persons that may have some association with the beer they are rating. This is to assure against those who my try to pad the score of "their beer". How they could possibly do that is unknown to me. Maybe computer IP numbers.

I've caught people doing it. Anyone associated with a beer anywhere along the chain - brewer, owner of a brewpub, distributor, sales rep, etc. should just steer clear of trying to bump up a score's rating.

Cheers!

[Stodbrew]

Yeah, that'd be a pretty messed up thing to do. I'd never dream of rating my own beer. Hell, I'd probably give it the lowest score if I did rate them. I'm by far my own worst critic.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by newportstorm
I've caught people doing it. Anyone associated with a beer anywhere along the chain - brewer, owner of a brewpub, distributor, sales rep, etc. should just steer clear of trying to bump up a score's rating.

Cheers!

Very un-ethical. I sometimes look at those sites if I am curious about a particular beer that I've not tried. But since taste is somewhat subjective you have to keep that in mind.
Final rating should be determined by your own impressions.