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Wortslurpin · 05-23-2011, 03:16 AM

So I recently had a debate with an ignoranus over beer sales and the top selling beers and what the beer style preference is for homebrewers. Without getting into details to skew the results of this I figured I would create my own survey and collect the results (you can view them after you take it).

As more data is collected I will post the results...(specifically homebrewers versus non-homebrewers).

Thanks for taking a minute or two...

http://www.fermentationriot.com/survey.php

**Yuri_Rage** · 05-23-2011, 03:24 AM

Your survey is clearly written with a bias. You included only budget American light lagers and rather expensive craft beers in very limited/extreme styles. You should include some that lie in the middle of the road (in both price and perceived value to the "beer snob"). SN Pale Ale, Sam Adams, Fat Tire, Bud American Ale, the Michelob craft series, Shiner, Amber Bock, etc.

**bovineblitz** · 05-23-2011, 03:28 AM

Also lots of gigantic hoppy beers and enormous stouts but not really a wide selection of styles.

cvstrat · 05-23-2011, 03:30 AM

I would consider myself a fan of maybe two of those, and I like a wide variety of beers.

**Airborneguy** · 05-23-2011, 03:37 AM

The only beers on there I would click are a few of the BMCs and Troegs. If everyone answered honestly, you would probably not like the results. Most of those beers are highly regional and not available to the majority of homebrewers.

**alenub** · 05-23-2011, 03:43 AM

So basically this is a survey pitting up arguably some of the best craft beers from renowned California micros against top-selling macros. This survey won't give you the results you are looking for.

First thing to understand is that this subject is a very complex one -- there are many factors and shades of gray that are not accounted for in a survey like this. Preferences also vary for many people depending on the weather and time of year. For example, after a hard day's work, a macropils like Budweiser is actually quite refreshing, and if I want a session beer I would not choose a single one of the micros in that survey. No one can categorize them into single absolute preference like that, just as a beer's "rating" on sites like ratebeer.com has many different scores that contribute to a total.

I can tell you what your survey will look like after a while -- almost all of those craft beers will be marked with "Haven't tried it" and almost all of the macro beers will have "OK" or worse.

**Qhrumphf** · 05-23-2011, 03:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alenub

I can tell you what your survey will look like after a while -- almost all of those craft beers will be marked with "Haven't tried it" and almost all of the macro beers will have "OK" or worse.

This. Around here, there's a number of those micros I flat out cannot find, and even then no variation. I'd broaden it out a little bit. Or a lot of bit.

**alenub** · 05-23-2011, 04:16 AM

That's one of the worst problems with craft beer in the states, IMO. Distribution. I used to live in New Orleans, and there would be a handful of places to get really good craft beer... but they'd all have the same distributor. That meant if I wanted a bottle of Trois Pistoles and the store could only get La Fin Du Monde, I was outta luck. Your only real chance of finding the craft beers in the survey is either to live in a state with a major urban centre or be in close proximity to California.

Wortslurpin · 05-23-2011, 12:28 PM

From the surface, yes, you can tell that there are a lot of light lagers versus highly flavored craft beers but I am looking for specific detail within those categories such as which beer would a homebrewer prefer Corona or Heineken and even look at the rates for trying beers relative to whether the person homebrews or not?

I want people to be as honest as they can in answering this so yes I do want the truth and will completely accept the truth (however I do understand surveys dont always get you the truth).

**Qhrumphf** · 05-23-2011, 02:07 PM

I think you're missing the point. If many people cannot try the micros due to unavailability, that's going to make your data meaninglessly inconsistent. I would suggest broadening the sphere of micros and imports and adding in some nationally available ones (SN, Sam Adams, etc). I'd also switch the system out based upon what you're looking for, and instead go with a ranking system.