Beer Reviews Ranking Guide

A substantial part of this beer blog will be reviews of new, interesting, and highly-regarded beers from all around the US and the world. As I critically appraise (and enjoy!) more and more beers, I will continue to review them against a standard set of criteria, including:

• Visual appearance - What color is it? What's the level of clarity/cloudiness? What can I say about the head (the amount, consistency, and duration of the white foam that appears atop the beer upon pouring), ringing (the character of the ring that appears around the edges of the glass at the beer's surface), or lacing (how the beer sticks and falls down the side of the glass when moved)?
• Aroma - What do I smell when I bring the glass to my nose? What is initially apparent and what surfaces only after further sniffs? What awakes when the beer gets slightly warmer?
• Mouthfeel/palate - How does the beer feel in my mouth, both on first sipping, holding it there, and swallowing? How does my mouth feel after I've finished swallowing the beer?
• Taste - What flavors immediately come to mind? How strong or faint are they? Are there other, less obvious flavors that come out when I drink the beer for a bit longer? How do the flavors at first sip compare to those of the close?

Past these more formal criteria, no occasion of drinking beer or enjoying anything can be complete without a note of the context surrounding that experience. The long quest to hunt down an elusive White Whale of a beer, coupled with gorgeously appropriate weather, and good friends along to taste it with you will obviously influence both my and your opinion when we appraise a given beer.

With these criteria in mind, I evaluate all beers on a scale of 1-5, with 1/4 point increments. I will very rarely write reviews in the 1s or 2s, simply because most beers of that quality don't really merit a review except for the purpose of enjoying the composition of a particularly acerbic write-up. Similarly, very few beers earn a rating of 4.5 and above, only doing so if they are truly spectacular. Given these constraints, the average rating will fall higher than the average caliber of all beer on the market, which reflects a selection bias on my end. If only to help in calibrating expectations for my review scale, I'll go through what goes into each notch, and include a few examples of the beers that I've had that have merited those marks (warning to beer nerds, some sacred cows ahead may be getting the thumbs down; feel free to debate in the comments!):

• 5.0 - not only the paragon of its given style, but a world-class beer that is perfect in every single way I can appraise it; examples are 3 Floyds Zombie Dust, Russian River Pliny the Elder
• 4.75 - a truly fantastic beer that is all but unprecedented both within its style and among most all beers; top marks across the board; examples are The Alchemist Heady Topper, Founders Imperial Stout, New Glarus Raspberry Tart
• 4.5 - an extremely tasty and well-brewed beer that ranks very highly in its style as well among most all beers; superlative in almost all respects, but may have some minor imperfection that barely keeps it out of the pantheon; examples are Ballast Point Victory at Sea, Surly Abrasive, Ballast Point Sculpin, Anchorage Love Buzz, Bells Hopslam
• 4.25 - a very tasty beer that I'd drink any time one was being offered; has a slew of virtuous characteristics worth celebrating, but may not display the same sort of comprehensive depth of excellence and / or balance as higher ranking beers do; examples are Goose Island Sofie, Lagunitas Sucks, Cantillon Kriek, Founder Breakfast Stout
• 4.0 - delicious beer that has much to regard, with strong execution on a number of points; those beers that are good, but not necessarily fantastic, examples of styles that I'm more partial to often notch in here; examples include Stone Enjoy By, Hill Farmstead Florence, Bells Oberon, AleSmith My Bloody Valentine
• 3.75 - solid beers that do very well in specific facets, but may have a certain area where they lack the extra punch needed to elevate them to great beer status; those beers that well-exemplify the few styles that I don't enjoy as much sometimes notch in here; examples include Allagash Witte, Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Stone Arrogant Bastard, Oskar Blue's TEN FIDY
• 3.5 - good beers that are pleasant in most respects, with perhaps some faults that hinder enjoyment; nevertheless, they're still worth having if available; examples include Lagunitas IPA, Oskar Blue's Dale Pale Ale, Yeti Imperial Stout
• 3.25 - beers that while still having tasty points, suffer from noticeable flaws or boringness; examples are Goose Island Matilda, Founders Porter, Saison Dupont Vielle Provision
• 3 - beers that feature distractingly evident flaws in craft; would not recommend, hyped or not; examples are Bell's Two Hearted, Full Sail Berliner Weisse
• 2.0-2.5 - this far down the line, it's harder to differentiate by quarter-point increments, hence the switch to half-points; beers with these rankings have flaws that assert themselves early and often; not worth purchasing or even trying; examples include Cisco Grey Lady, Cisco Whale Tale Pale Ale, Dogfish Head / Sierra Nevada Rhizing Bines
• 1.0-1.5 - dear god, these are horrible concoctions of fermented swill; run for the hills, do not pass go, do not collect $200; under no circumstances would I recommend that you purchase this beer, even to give to a; examples include Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, Abita Light, the various weak, urine-tinted liquids that you used to play slap-cup in college

The ratings as they stand are subject to re-appraisal. I take every chance I have to try the top-rated ones again, because (1) it's delicious, and (2) it lets me make sure that I've both absolutely and comparatively rated that given beer fairly. As for those beers further down the rungs but not in the basement, I plan on reviewing them again to ensure that I didn't just get a skunked/ruined bottle the first time or two. 

I have a lot of respect for the hundreds of brewers worldwide who work day-in, day-out to deliver their wonderful fare that we beer-lovers enjoy. My aim in providing critiques is not to disparage or libel unfairly or ungratefully. Rather, I hope that by trying a larger cross-section of beers from many breweries and styles, I can develop a better palate and higher level of enjoyment of good and great beer, and then in turn be able to help friends and acquaintances explore this tasty world of barley, water, malt, hops, and more.