OK, this has been bugging me for a while.
First let me say that ratebeer.com and other sites like BA are a great resource, and I do value them.
But it bothers me that some beer styles are always rated higher than others - this implies that the people who supply the ratings can't judge a beer against it's style, rather, they are playing favorites, giving their preferred styles boosted ratings. This is a problem because it implies that the average reviewer (certainly not every reviewer though) cannot judge a beer objectively. If this is the case, what good are the ratings?
For example, IPAs are on average rated higher than milds. This is even more exaggerated in some styles, such as double IPAs, that seem to get extra points simply for being in that style. To see what I mean just compare the overall percentage ranking to the style percentage ranking. (Of course the style ranking is a much more meaningful number.)
I mean, everyone is using the same 50-point scale for each beer, right? Does everyone think that higher gravity beers automatically get more points?
First let me say that ratebeer.com and other sites like BA are a great resource, and I do value them.
But it bothers me that some beer styles are always rated higher than others - this implies that the people who supply the ratings can't judge a beer against it's style, rather, they are playing favorites, giving their preferred styles boosted ratings. This is a problem because it implies that the average reviewer (certainly not every reviewer though) cannot judge a beer objectively. If this is the case, what good are the ratings?
For example, IPAs are on average rated higher than milds. This is even more exaggerated in some styles, such as double IPAs, that seem to get extra points simply for being in that style. To see what I mean just compare the overall percentage ranking to the style percentage ranking. (Of course the style ranking is a much more meaningful number.)
I mean, everyone is using the same 50-point scale for each beer, right? Does everyone think that higher gravity beers automatically get more points?