The brewlist rating guide!
Even though I'm still going to be rating beer in both x\100 and BA style x\5 numerical ratings, I have also decided to make a system of tiers that I think a beer belongs too. This set of tiers is completely subjective, and in many ways mirrors the review system of the site formerly known as spill (or at least, that's my intent). Its meant to help you figure out how and when to buy a beer, both at the bar and at the bottle shop. It is also a way for people to look at a beer in a non-numerical manner to better help them decide how to make the best use of their resources. It of course, will be upgraded and fine tuned over time, and Eventually will find its place in all my reviews as i find the time to go back and edit everything.
Lets start off with the bottom:
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| vomit tier |
This is as low as it gets. At least in a drain pour I could get in a few sips before gagging...........this is a beer that is so bad it makes me SICK. Its spill counterpart is the "
double fuck you", and I think its pretty much says everything you need to know about the beer. This is a beer I don't even think is worth trying once, unless its completely 100% free or part of a beer festival (and even then, possibly avoided). Nasty, foul, terribleness, and odds are a very rare tier for me to put a beer in. Avoid at all costs, it will be money you never see again.
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| Drain pour tier |
This tier is as low as it gets, and its spill parallel is the "
fuck you" category. Its a beer so bad, That I could not find the will to finish it. You should avoid paying for Beers of this rating like the plague, unless you have a STRONG curiosity for making your own conclusions (an admirable characteristic), or are a glutton for punishment. I believe that all beers should be tried once, but seriously. Avoid full price at all costs for beers in this category. Get them at happy hour prices or on sale if you must (or free from friends).
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| Bad beer tier |
This tier is a parallel to "
some o'll bullshit". This is a beer that is bad by all conventional rating standards, but still has SOME kind of redeeming characteristic that kept me from sending it to the big drain in the sky. Maybe it was extremely....EXTREMELY cheap. Maybe I could drink it without finding it
that offensive. Maybe I liked the taste of peanut butter, live bees, cherries, bacon and doughnuts enough to finish it......... but for whatever reason, I found the beer to not be completely worthless, but still not good. Id recommend it for just one try to make up your mind if your curious, but preferably on sale or in a trade......or as said before...... if it can be purchased in LARGE quantities at VERY cheap prices (or just cheap prices...what ...I'm not judging you!)
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| "on sale" tier |
This beers counter is "
matinee", and this is a beer that comes off as being middle of the road. Its a beer that has a lot of redeeming characteristics, but also a lot of issues that muddy the water. Overall however, the positive outweighs the negative. This is a beer that was made for sales....happy hour price cuts, case discounts, buy one get one free...etc, etc, etc.....if you see a beer like this that is on sale, get it. you wont be disappointed. A solid beer at the right price, and a beer that's worth having once to make up your mind at (even at full price, both retail and bar prices, just to slate your curiosity,or if options are limited). Who knows, you might really like this one!
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| Would drink again |
The mirror to this rating is "
full price". No doubts about it, this is a good...good...GOOD beer. It is either equal or greater than the sum of its parts and is truly a great brew. Well worth seeking out, these beers are essentially the stuff of great love in the beer community. Worth full retail AND full bar prices, these beers are a MUST try. A easy choice if you haven't had this kind of beer already.
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| World class |
This corresponding spill rating is "
better than sex", although that might be debated (
HA!). This is the kind of beer that you rarely see, but always remember. Its often heavily debated category, with people hotly contesting the "world class" nature of certain brews, insisting that its a tier reserved for their impossibly limited release white whales (or the top 20 beers of the world via BJCP and Ratebeer, but then again I repeat myself....
HA) . I tend to be far more liberal for this rateing, and feel that its just about any brew that goes above and beyond the expectations placed on it, and deliver something you never expected (in a good way that is). Its a beer worth driving all over town to find...........or hundreds of miles if your
crazy (who am I kidding...of course your crazy...and its
totally worth it). These are beers that you HAVE to pick up, that is, if beer is your thing (really, I'm guessing that it is). Some of the best beer you can buy on the market, and a must try, possibly even at prices gouged up by a few bucks.
And their you have it, the tier system. It will make up the last word of my beer reviews, and hopefully help people navigate what they should and should not buy. Just like spill, beers can fall in-between categories, and I will fill in the blanks of how and why they might.
Prost!
