tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590461749084503471.post2309183845904049530..comments2015-06-16T10:41:36.201+03:00Comments on Three Cats Brewery - Beer with Claws: Judgment Day I:The politics of beer ratingמבשלת שלושת החתוליםhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03404971589216351730noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590461749084503471.post-20544943215516184752012-05-10T01:44:23.487+03:002012-05-10T01:44:23.487+03:00Check out RateBeer Guidelines - it's supposed ...Check out RateBeer Guidelines - it's supposed to be a hedonistic rating, not a "rating to style". We are beer raters, not beer judges. If I like a certain beer - that's what matters.DSGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590461749084503471.post-56795877750734750832012-05-09T18:39:10.471+03:002012-05-09T18:39:10.471+03:00Actually, yes. If you can get past the initial imp...Actually, yes. If you can get past the initial impression, think about what you are smelling and tasting, and share that, than your opinion would be very useful. If you smell a beer and the first memory you get is of a horse paddock, and you share that with me, it tells me a lot. If you smell it and it smells like my father (who loves cooked cabbage) well then that tells me something too...מבשלת שלושת החתוליםhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03404971589216351730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590461749084503471.post-85868171359431600022012-05-09T18:35:59.251+03:002012-05-09T18:35:59.251+03:00It is absolutely possible that some people have di...It is absolutely possible that some people have different tastes than I do. I will even argue further that when a group of people tastes together, they tend to calibrate their palates similarly. So if a group of people taste the same beer together, and I taste the same beer alone and under different circumstances, it is possible that I would arrive at a different result than the consensus. <br /><br />At the same time, the brewing community in this country is small, and the rating community is miniscule. Everyone knows everyone else, and often the raters know the brewers (I recall at least one instance where of the four ratings for a particular beer, three came out of a tasting at the brewer's house) I'm not saying that's bad necessarily, and I certainly believe that you are can, and have, given bad reviews to people you know. But I disagree with your (implied) premise: You should give a beer a good rating because it is a good beer. Because it's done well, and little or no flaws, and is loyal to the style. Not because you like it. Your personal tastes should, in my very humble opinion, play as little part in the rating process as possible. And that includes your opinion of the brewer.<br /><br />Of course, there's a deeper question here: Why do we rate? Do we rate beers because we like them or because we think they're good? I did that once. I rated a commercial beer quite high because I liked it. But you know what? It was not a good beer. And when I tasted it again later, with a more developed palate I was able to say "yes, I still like this, but it does not, objectively speaking, deserve the rating I gave it."מבשלת שלושת החתוליםhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03404971589216351730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590461749084503471.post-12969057518607099832012-05-09T17:57:34.436+03:002012-05-09T17:57:34.436+03:00I think there's also a problem with people tas...I think there's also a problem with people tasting your beer (such as, ahem, yours truly) who don't really know what home brew is supposed to taste like. To me the flavor of homebrewed beer (well, yours, but that's all I know) usually seems way too strong, but then I'm the person who would rather order Smirnoff Ice. So would my honest opinion actually be useful?Maya / מיהhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09871125878143128412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590461749084503471.post-54457205392112915322012-05-09T17:45:35.346+03:002012-05-09T17:45:35.346+03:00You say Israeli raters tend to over-rate Israeli b...You say Israeli raters tend to over-rate Israeli beers, but could it be that some people just have different taste than yours?<br />I always try to be objective about the beers I rate, Israeli or not. Some brewers who I consider friends got bad ratings from me in the past, but when I like a certain beer I shouldn't give it a shitty rating just because the brewer's a friend of mine, right?<br />It's great to be critical, it's not so great to be like this film reviewer from some Simpsons episode who just keeps yelling "IT STINKS! IT STINKS! IT STINKS!"DSGnoreply@blogger.com