Beer Advocate overhauls top beer lists
Within the last hour or so, it looks like Beer Advocate has made some significant changes to its top beer lists.
[8/10 Update: The Bros' official word on their "experiment:" http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/2952755]
The most significant change is that only beers with at least 1,000 ratings qualify. This means that Westvleteren 12 has been knocked off the list of the site’s best beers in the world. The beer has 921 ratings to date.
In addition, there is a new “Buzzed” list that rates new beers that are earning praise from the rating community. You can still view top beers by style and country.
There is no official thread on the changes or why they were made yet though they are being discussed by members here. There is certainly a debate as to whether the changes are beneficial. Coincidentally or not, they come a little over a week after a handful of brewers expressed their opinions that hyped and rare beers were getting too much attention on Beer Advocate and fellow rating site, RateBeer. [ed. note: link to the ProBrewer thread? Perhaps deleted?]
View the new Beer Advocate lists here.
RateBeer has tweaked its top beer lists as well from time to time. The current version doesn’t appear to have a minimum number of reviews needing to qualify in order to be high up on the charts. For example, AleSmith Kopi Luwak Speedway Stout with 31 reviews is currently ranked #5 in the world and Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel en Fût de Bourbon Américain currently sits at #101 with 24 reviews.
What do you think the minimum # of reviews should be in order to qualify for a top 100 beer list? Or should there be a minimum at all? Vote in the poll to the right.
Beer Advocate overhauls top beer lists
[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]
