Ask The BeerFathers: So Just What Do the Ratings Mean?

By John & Dad on July 2, 2008 @ 7 PM (No Comments)

A reader writes:

Q. I understand you have a 10 point rating system but what do the ratings really mean? Why is a 9 better than a 8 or a 4 better than a 3?

A. That’s a really great question and one that we had to do some soul searching to answer. As we’re closing in on 100 beers reviewed and rated, we figured we had a pretty good sample to try to data mine through, so we went back and looked at the beers we’ve imbibed and tried to put some rhyme and reason to it all. Here’s our best explanation of what the ratings really mean:

0 out of 10: Really bad.
Could easily pour it out and probably should. Don’t buy or serve to anyone you don’t want to run screaming from your house. These will burn in your memory, and not in a good way.

1 out of 10: Just bad.
Not bad enough to pour out but just by a little. Served to you by people who just don’t know beer. Serve to someone you don’t like.

2 out of 10: Kind of bad.
Has some points of interest but not many. If served to you try not to make a face. Serve to someone who doesn’t know what good beer is.

3 out of 10: Not too bad.
More points of interest and better balance. Could drink it again or not. Could take several and pretend to like if given to you. Serve to someone if they’re not too close of a friend.

4 out of 10: Not bad at all.
Could order at a restaurant or bar if it was the best available. Serve to someone you like a little.

5 out of 10: Good.
If you haven’t had it in a while you might pick some up if you’re in the mood. You could keep these on hand. Serve to someone you’re trying to convert to good beer.

6 out of 10: Pretty good.
Makes the cut as a good everyday beer. When you pull one from the fridge you grin knowing you won’t be disappointed. Not a “wow” but an “ahhh.” If you pulled this blindly from an ice chest at a tailgate you’d know it was going to be a good day and your team would probably win. You should keep these in the rotation or on hand. Serve to your good friends.

7 out of 10: Really good.
Pretty heady stuff. If these are served to you you are really liked and they probably know good beer. If a bar has these they know their beer too. Serve to your real friends.

8 out of 10: Great.
May be pricey or not. This is some exceptional stuff, some of the best you’ve found. Served to you by really good friends and you serve it to your really good friends. If a bar has this it’s a pretty outstanding bar.

9 out of 10: Really great.
These are pricey. They are also deep and complex. Some are special occasion beers. Most are high ABV and probably not very repeatable. If you had two you should save the second for another day so you could enjoy it as a first beer of the day again. These are rare.

10 out of 10: Holy crap!
These are extra special. These represent the best of the best we have found. Almost all are high ABV. If anyone served you one of these it would be an extra special occasion and you probably should ask for marriage or adoption into their family or just try to move in and never leave, ever. Serve to your best friend.

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