Methods

We are going to approach our reviews of commercial beers, homebrews, and bars as systematically and consistently as we can. One of us is an engineer, the other is the child of one. It’s in our blood.

Tasting Glass

When we review commercial beer or homebrew, we will be using the Beer Judge Certification Forms. Now, neither of us is a certified beer judge, but we feel their form is an excellent guide to evaluating a beer and its characteristics. You can see and download their form from the competition page of their website (the form is a PDF under Beer Scoresheet), but a quick overview of the points is below.

  • Aroma How it smells: malty, hoppy, floral, skunky, stale. 12 points
  • Appearance How it looks. Not that important, really. 3 points
  • Flavor The big deal. How it tastes. 20 points
  • Mouthfeel The tactile impression. Fizzy, flat, thick, watery, astringent. 5 points
  • Overall Impression The beer as whole. What we really thought. 10 points

Homebrew Review

For homebrews, we will also employ a blind tasting. Each of us, or a third party, will serve the homebrew along side a commercial beer brewed in the same style. This way we won’t be giving ourselves too much credit for our own creations.

Bar Hunting

We do occasionally leave the friendly confines of the house. For times when we go Bar Hunting we will use the following criteria to judge the establishment. The purpose or goal of the bar will be taken into account when we rate the place. A dive bar and a swank club should not be judged on the same scale. They serve different purposes.

  • Atmosphere What is the feel of the place? Sports bar, dive, loud, friendly, romantic, kitschy, swank? How good is the service? 10 points
  • Beer Selection A big deal. How long is the list? Anything adventurous? Does the beer selection match the food? 15 points
  • Beer Service Is the beer served in the proper glass? If it’s bottled, is it served with a glass at all? Too cold? Too warm? 5 points
  • Food How is the menu?  Anything unique or interesting?  How are the portion sizes, flavors, presentation, and freshness?  10 points
  • Price Are the prices reasonable? Are there food and beer selections that are a good value? Are there food or beer specials? 10 points

We reserve the right to change our methods and probably will. We will most likely revisit beers and bars more than once. You’ll like that, though. More to read!