Never a 5

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Huffaroma, Mar 26, 2013.

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  1. Gotti311

    Gotti311 Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2009 Wisconsin
    Trader

    Just because someone brews the perfect beer or tastes the perfect beer, it is only one beer in one style. So if someone brewed the perfect DIPA, you can't drink DIPA's every day for the rest of your life. Most of my perfect beers are hard to get or seasonal. I have had a perfect BA stout, but I wouldnt go near it in summer if I had 5 cases sitting in my basement.
     
  2. philbe311

    philbe311 Pooh-Bah (2,492) Jan 21, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    1,070 reviews... Only one perfect 5 - Westy 12... That only came in the past year... At times I never though one existed... The next closest was a 4.83 (Voodoo Black Magick)...
     
  3. CasanovaCummins

    CasanovaCummins Initiate (0) Jan 10, 2012 Nevada

    Guys, this isn't the Olympics and you aren't Olympic judges.
    'Cuz if it were the Olympics, Coors would be bribing DFH who would kick back to InBev and so on and so forth...
    Relax a bit, people.
     
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  4. HeyJim

    HeyJim Initiate (0) Sep 22, 2012 Pennsylvania

    I wish my "had" scores weren't counted in BA rating. I mainly use the had function. I just don't feel like writing reviews.

    I mostly use it so people know what I've had, and how I generally feel about the beer, and to track what I've had and how I felt about it. If I give it a 5, it's not because I think it's the end all, be all of beer, it's because I really love it and purchase it regularly. It also gives potential trade partners a gauge of what I like.

    If I give it a 1, it's because I had it and hated it. That's not to say it's a bad beer, because I've given 1s to stuff like BCBS and Ducheese De Bourgogne. I don't like the bourbon flavor of BCBS and the ketchup flavor of Ducheese. I never want to drink these beers again, so to me, that's a 1. *puts up flame shield*

    Admittedly, when I first started, I made it rain 5s, so I've had to go back and adjust some things. Eliot Ness was amazing when I first had it but now I hardly think it's a 5 anymore.

    All said, I just don't take the ratings as seriously as a lot of people here do, I suppose.
     
  5. SadMachine

    SadMachine Pooh-Bah (2,976) Mar 14, 2011 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I am of the opinion that a 5s across the board can, and should happen, but with minimal frequency. When it comes down to it we all have our own palates, and even those change from day to day. If you encounter a beer that YOU genuinely wouldn't want to change any way because in that moment it is perfect to you, then go ahead and give it 5s across the board! That doesn't mean that nothing better or different but just as good can be achieved, but it means that for what that beer is/is trying to be, it is perfect. My only 2 perfect scores so far have been Enjoy By and KBS. I have had many, but not all of the top rated DIPAs, and to me Enjoy By just does everything right every single time I drink it! Do I still absolutely LOVE Heady and Sucks? Absolutely! But would I want Enjoy By to be more like them or vice versa? Not really because I enjoy the uniqueness of them all and the different things they do for me. Same goes for KBS, though I really should reserve my full judgement until I've had more (I was only fortunate enough to get 1 ~6oz pour). Perhaps when I've had more of it I will slightly alter my judgement, but at that time in that place it was everything I could have asked for in a BA Stout. I wouldn't want it to change to be more like something else, so I gave it a perfect score.

    In the end everyone is going to have different opinions on this and different opinions on a given beer, but it is my feeling that in a given moment perfection is achievable in a beer. You may enjoy something more in the future, but you don't know that for sure, so why "leave room" in your scoring for improvement?!
     
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  6. endovelico

    endovelico Initiate (0) Jul 25, 2008 Portugal

    I've never given a 5 but i don't abide by the 'only if it's perfect' rule. That would be like never given students A's because they don't know everything about a given subject.
     
  7. papat444

    papat444 Initiate (0) Dec 28, 2006 Canada (QC)

    Since the "Hads" count, i've seen a lot more 5's past by than in previous years.
     
  8. mindfuldave

    mindfuldave Savant (1,089) Mar 22, 2011 New Jersey

    I've given HT, 2011 PvW Darklord, and KH all 5s, they all stood out to me as being something special. Amazing beers in my mind.
     
  9. ChrisMon02

    ChrisMon02 Pooh-Bah (1,611) May 2, 2010 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I couldn't wait so I took a half day and am having a glass as I type and am waiting for a Buffalo chicken melt...got my priorities strait!
     
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  10. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,053) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Because you can only get Schlenkerla Maerzen or Augustiner Helles from the oak barrel by traveling 5000+ miles. Still there's always Orval and, if you're a bit more lucky since it's no longer brewed, Rodenbach Alexander.
     
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  11. MetalMountainMastiff

    MetalMountainMastiff Initiate (0) Oct 1, 2012 California

    I think Parabola might be a 5 for me. I haven't had it in awhile though. I'm excited to review it once I can get more in a few weeks.
     
  12. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,848) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I actually have Orval at 4.97 (only 4.5 on appearance- hey, I'm calling 'em how I see 'em)- so sometimes the numbers don't tell the whole story. I like the way the scores are done now, though- anything over a 4.5 gets a score of 100. It's all top tier stuff, anyways- no need to geek out about the numbers too much.
     
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  13. herrburgess

    herrburgess Grand Pooh-Bah (3,053) Nov 4, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Agree. Long ago I adopted Michael Jackson's system as my personal "rating" method: *typical of its style and country, **above average, ***worth seeking out, ****world class. Has yet to let me down over my (now, many) years of beer travels.
     
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  14. ShogoKawada

    ShogoKawada Initiate (0) May 31, 2009 Pennsylvania

    OG citra was an easy 5, as was RR PtY.

    Fantome Classic could be a 5 on a good day. That beer is breathtaking.
     
  15. davey101

    davey101 Initiate (0) Apr 14, 2009 Connecticut

    Yea, I do give 5's to some categories in order to better rank beers over the same style. This was especially an issue when we didn't have .25 increments. Otherwise Id have dozens of word class IPA's locked in at 4.5. I've yet to have a beer achieve all 5's and there is a lot of manipulation that goes on in order to show which beer you prefer compared to others. The rating system is not perfect, especially when you start to get over 100+ beers.
     
  16. cbeer88

    cbeer88 Initiate (0) Sep 5, 2007 Massachusetts

    I've given out one perfect 5 in a review - Aecht Schlenkerla Urbock. It's IMO the best rauchbier in the world, and it is literally flawless. I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

    I've checked off 5 in a lot of hads, and I would probably give some of those a 5 in a formal review as well. But a 5 on a review basically says you don't think the beer could possibly be any better.
     
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  17. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,282) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Over 1800 reviews/hads and I've 2 all-5's: North Coast Old Stock Ale and Unibroue La Fin du Monde. Perfect doesn't necessarily mean flawless, just that that specific beer couldn't get any better. For example, Tripels are probably my favorite style, and Chimay White is my favorite example of the style. But, I think LFdM is better example of the style.
     
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  18. Philly82785

    Philly82785 Initiate (0) Dec 17, 2008 Minnesota

    I've only had one beer that I reviewed and thought was exceptional and that was Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw (Blue)
     
  19. Cvescalante

    Cvescalante Initiate (0) Dec 24, 2012 Texas

    I've given 5's a few times. If it's incredible, I'll give it credit. I gave abyss, heady, kbs, victory at sea, and fou fonne all 5's.. It's all personal opinion. I'd say all of those beers are just top notch and deserving of 5's. There's a few that I've reviewed that I've given too much credit, but if I absolutely love a certain beer, I'm gonna give it a five, so I can remember how much I enjoyed it.
     
  20. DaveAnderson

    DaveAnderson Initiate (0) Jan 11, 2011 Minnesota

    I suggested it to the Bros. when they were making all of those recent site changes. Consider my review of Peeper Ale. Anyone can see that the rAvg is 4.15, so my 4.08 clocks in at -1.7%. But what is not obvious is that my average rDev is -5.63% for reviews and -1.01% for hads. In that context, Peeper Ale got an above-average review from me.
     
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