Typically I don't like reviews swaying my vote. There are many beers I love that have subpar BA ratings (~3.5), and there are some beers I loathe that are considered the holy grail. The only time I will really consult BA is if I am deciding to make a lengthy brewery trip to try something. In that case it is usually the BA referencing that inspires the trip in the first place anyways!
I don't. I like to experience new things for myself without having my perceptions influenced by outside sources.
I would never see a beer in a store or bar and look it up on BA. I do look for beers i found out about on BA.
It's interesting when I see people mention reviews swaying their opinion. I agree this can and does happen but so many other things can sway your vote as well. Packaging is a biggie, word of mouth, visuals, the allure (rarity) I think the best way to really know what you like is to do blind tastings and verticals. It's fun and you might be surprised in your final assessment.
This. I rarely look at any ratings/reviews. However since joining this site I have used the Top 100 as recommendations for beers to be on the lookout for; it's helped me discover some great brews that I wouldn't have known about otherwise.
Yes I sometimes do, but I'd do it every time if I had a cool mobile app that would scan the UPC or label. Thinking of that does google goggles return BA links for beer photos?
I would say I always check but mainly for beer style because some beers arent to clear on that. I am not a huge fan of user reviews on anything so unless a beer got a very bad rating Ill get it.
There are too many beers out there that are good to waste time on ones that are not. I check BA often.
