Random Beer Thoughts

[stupac2]

Some of the info is public but not all of it. Also good luck getting anything useful out of it in its current state, it needs to be sortable and downloadable in order to analyse and get anything from it.

Sure, that's why they paid RB, so they didn't have to pay some developers to scrape and clean it up. But acting like it's some kind of game-changer is absurd.

 

[JCastle1]

Sure, that's why they paid RB, so they didn't have to pay some developers to scrape and clean it up. But acting like it's some kind of game-changer is absurd.

That's an incredibly naive sentiment, there's tons more info than the registered users. Unregistered users are super important to the site as well. I'm done here, obviously I'm never gonna convince you otherwise but I think it's a great move for them and they do too or they wouldn't have invested in it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[tosh1]

As far as I am aware i have never clicked on ratebeer

 

[Gonzoillini1]

The Coming of Gose, you are a data guy, what say you regarding this conversation between JCastle and stupac2?

I feel like I'm agreeing with stupac2, but I'd love to have some metric based data to back me up.

Also I still think Goose Island makes really good beer and a lot of the brewing staff I know (which has admittedly migrated away in the past few years) is happier today than they were 5 years ago. I also don't buy almost anything packaged and I'm just drinking the fun stuff on draft.

These days I drink Dovetail for my great German styles, Revolution for my barrel aged packaged stuff, and Off Color for almost everything else that doesn't come from Imperial Oak (my local brewery).

I'm much happier not chasing anything than I was 5 years ago.

 

[boogercrack]

Having access to this data will allow them to focus their efforts on specific trends and make way more accurate predictions and decisions based on them. Keep in mind that the average craft drinker is what they're mostly after and us beer nerds are not representative of this. One of the big examples of this right now is Veza Sur's insane success. They analyzed what the local market was looking for and capitalized on it. That place is packed almost every day of the week.

Where's my Bud Light Haze/Juice Fuccboi IPA then?

It seems like it's a market they'd love to hit.. less time tying up fermenters than lagers, people buy them at like $20+/4pack, and in cans.

 

[stupac2]

That's an incredibly naive sentiment, there's tons more info than the registered users. Unregistered users are super important to the site as well. I'm done here, obviously I'm never gonna convince you otherwise but I think it's a great move for them and they do too or they wouldn't have invested in it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You're not going to convince me because your argument is incredibly weak. I haven't claimed that the data is literally worthless, just that it's not particularly important and dwarfed by what they get from, you know, actually selling beer. You've given precisely 0 rationale for why this data is useful for actually making money, just saying:

1) DATA!
2) ????
3) PROFIT!

Sure.

The terms of the deal were, as far as I can tell, never disclosed. So we have no idea how valuable they thought this was. Given that this happened 2 years ago and RB's forums still look straight out of 1998, I'm guessing not that much. Throwing a couple million at RB for a backend to the database is worth it for a behemoth even if it never ends up being useful, just for the off chance that it increases revenue 0.001% (which is still $500k/year!). It's nothing like buying an actual brewery, which, aside from making that brewery now directly profit ABI (whereas ratebeer probably doesn't make money or they wouldn't have needed to sell, a website isn't capital-intensive) also gives huge benefits in being able to distribute under that name, acquire recipes/experience, physical presence, etc etc.

Also, as an aside, I have a friend who works in a similar industry and thinks ABI is going to screw themselves over long-term, so it's not even clear that, even if you buy that this is all some sort of diabolical master plan from these evil geniuses, anyone should care. There's a strong chance they're not evil geniuses but bumbling incompetents.

 

[IndianaJones]

STUPAC'd

 

[litheum94]

As far as I am aware i have never clicked on ratebeer

Thanks for the update. I'll add it to the list of things you've never seen/listened to/watched/heard of.

 

[FoudreGuy]

With all that dirty InBev money, I was hoping Rate Beer might actually make their site pleasing to the eye and navigable.

 

[JCastle1]

just that it's not particularly important and dwarfed by what they get from, you know, actually selling beer. You've given precisely 0 rationale for why this data is useful for actually making money, just saying:

1) DATA!
2) ????
3) PROFIT!

If you think ABI is only in the beer business you're incredibly mistaken. These guys are bankers before being brewers, that's why they're investing hard in ZX Ventures. It's where the future growth is. I've given specific rationale three times but here it is again:

they create better customer experiences, they can spot new trends, predict consumer behavior, predict styles growth in new locations.

I wasn't directly involved but my previous company did work like this so I understand some of it. These advantages allow them to allocate resources where necessary (not only in brewing but also their hospitality and logistics businesses), push marketing where it's going to be profitable, optimize their product locations, identify new opportunities (like my local market), refine their target audiences and predict changes in their consumption, and even recruiting the right people.

It's nothing like buying an actual brewery, which, aside from making that brewery now directly profit ABI (whereas ratebeer probably doesn't make money or they wouldn't have needed to sell, a website isn't capital-intensive) also gives huge benefits in being able to distribute under that name, acquire recipes/experience, physical presence, etc etc.

They're getting more restricted with buying up breweries all around the world nowadays but they don't need to. They've already proven they can easily build a brewery and people will come and this is where their data is useful. The Veza Sur project is wildly successful already and there are rumors they're already planning similar projects in Brazil, China, and other parts of the US and the world.

Also, as an aside, I have a friend who works in a similar industry and thinks ABI is going to screw themselves over long-term, so it's not even clear that, even if you buy that this is all some sort of diabolical master plan from these evil geniuses, anyone should care. There's a strong chance they're not evil geniuses but bumbling incompetents.

Yes, because one of the largest corporations in the world got so powerful by hiring the most incompetent people in the world. There are other countries outside the US where ABI is massive and showing no signs of slowing down.

 

[furley]

this is like arguing with someone you met at a bar about an ex-girlfriend you broke up with years ago but tell everyone you're totally over... like, literally, totally over.

you, like, don't even think about her constantly anymore... after all it has been 8 years.. and you, like, totally stopped worrying about where she was, what she was doing or who she was with... like... 2 months ago.

 

[stupac2]

words

I swear to god you're not even reading my posts. You're still not getting past step #2 except in vague "this lets them do blah blah blah". HOW???? How does knowing that neckbeardmcmanboobs ticks every pastry stout in the world let them do any of this stuff? How is this data any more useful than what they already have from owning breweries??? How is it concerning enough that breweries should stop interacting with them at all? That Evil Twin is right to get all self-righteous in the tweet that started this? This is what they said when it became public:

“It’s really insight,” says Samantha Roth, ZX spokesperson. “It’s insights into consumer trends. It’s a better understanding of the beer consumer, and the beer markets globally. That’s really going to help us kind of keep our finger on the pulse.”

Which, sure, that's true, but other than having a backend to the database making this stuff slightly easier, it's clearly, utterly clearly, not a big deal.

Yes, because one of the largest corporations in the world got so powerful by hiring the most incompetent people in the world. There are other countries outside the US where ABI is massive and showing no signs of slowing down.

That's not what I said. I said that their current strategy might not work long-term. Unless you happen to think that every large, powerful corporation stays large and powerful forever then this is obviously a possibility (and if you do think that, want some Yahoo stock?). And, oh, by the way, ABI's stock price is down significantly from its highs of the past few years, so "their strategy might not work" isn't exactly a hot take.

 

[JCastle1]

You're still not getting past step #2 except in vague "this lets them do blah blah blah". HOW???? How does knowing that neckbeardmcmanboobs ticks every pastry stout in the world let them do any of this stuff? How is this data any more useful than what they already have from owning breweries??? How is it concerning enough that breweries should stop interacting with them at all?

I mean I already gave you some points in layman's terms, if you really want more details on the "how" I'm afraid that's a lot of math and way more info than what I'm willing to type on a beer forum. There's plenty of info on data science and business analytics that can be found through Google though.

 

[JCastle1]

Let's get back to the regularly scheduled random beer thoughts, I'm sure everyone is tired of this back and forth at this point...

Lagunitas is launching a cannabis/hop soda...

https://www.lagunitas.com/hifihops

 

[nathanmiller]

 

[jmgrub]

LOL this happened last night.

 

[coldstorage]

Lagunitas is launching a cannabis/hop soda...

https://www.lagunitas.com/hifihops

Buddy just forwarded this to me. They are combining two of my favorite things. Sparkling water and crippling panic attacks.

Gotta figure out which dispensaries are stocking it..!

 

[furley]

neckbeardmcmanboobs

dibs on this alias

 

[regularjohn]

whenever people argue about beer related things

 

[stupac2]

I mean I already gave you some points in layman's terms, if you really want more details on the "how" I'm afraid that's a lot of math and way more info than what I'm willing to type on a beer forum. There's plenty of info on data science and business analytics that can be found through Google though.

"My entire argument hinges on clarifying this point but I'm not going to because reasons."

 

[trickytunadicky]

This non argument is way better than which IPA is juciest. carry on.

 

[stupac2]

This non argument is way better than which IPA is juciest. carry on.

Because this is clearly the juiciest IPA:

 

[Kasher]

This non argument is way better than which IPA is juciest. carry on.

ABI has that info.

 

[RedCoffee]

The Coming of Gose, you are a data guy, what say you regarding this conversation between JCastle and stupac2?

I feel like I'm agreeing with stupac2, but I'd love to have some metric based data to back me up.

Also I still think Goose Island makes really good beer and a lot of the brewing staff I know (which has admittedly migrated away in the past few years) is happier today than they were 5 years ago. I also don't buy almost anything packaged and I'm just drinking the fun stuff on draft.

These days I drink Dovetail for my great German styles, Revolution for my barrel aged packaged stuff, and Off Color for almost everything else that doesn't come from Imperial Oak (my local brewery).

I'm much happier not chasing anything than I was 5 years ago.

I followed for a minute but now it's at the point where INRAT. Here's my take:

Big data is big business. Virtually every major company now is leveraging data in ways that are increasingly sophisticated and go beyond what's available on the surface. There is way more in that database than what's surfaced to the public. One thing right off that I'd want to know even as a lay man is not only the rating of beers in the database but also how often they were searched/accessed/etc. by users. Does that differ by region? By how often they enter ratings? How often they search? And so on.

A lot of this data will corroborate what's already in their other systems from purchase databases etc. But that is itself useful information - where are findings different? The same? And what if they can link rating behavior to your actual purchases via things like email or credit card data? Even more possibilities.

Now, I think it's fair to argue that the cumulative impact of all this nerdery is limited. There's only so much additional blood to squeeze from the metaphorical stone. Still, when you stack up those little wins and advantages over weeks, months, years, so on, the ROI is there. They've already figured out the easy answers that any of us could figure out - the only way left to grow is to nibble the edges.

 

[JulianB1]

This is all about the ******* RateBeer Awards, right? I care more about the Mongo Awards.

 

[coldstorage]

Also, we are moving north to your area. Need the information on any good beer spots. Unless the answer is Beercraft.

 

[Josh2]

the Mongo Awards.

RIP

 

[RyanG1]

Will be much closer to you so we can fite

 

[FoudreGuy]

Because this is clearly the juiciest IPA:

Guava, bro. Guava.

 

[jmgrub]

Guava, bro. Guava.

It's hard to fight the impulse to crush Kern's Guava (or, out here, Aloha Juice Guava) in 2 sips