How I Approach Beer Reviews

I wrote this intro for my first submission to www.FoodbeatNW.com. I'm posting it here as well.

This is my first time writing for someone besides myself, so I figured a little intro was in order.  I thought I should probably give at least some background on what my intent for this blog is, and how I’m going to structure it. I intend it to be more educational than your standard beer review blog. I have a strong passion for brewing and craftbeer, and I love sharing that passion. That passion is fueled by gaining knowledge. If that’s what you’re into—and if you want to know more about beers from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho—follow along. If not, grab a beer and your remote and head back to the TV. Either way, relax and enjoy your brew.

For every review I post, I will try to give you a peek into the brewery.  I’ll do my best to get a contact within the brewery whose beer I’m reviewing and give you a peek into the mind of a brewer, too.  I’ll do my best to share what they tell me about their beer from their perspective—after all, it’s their creation.

I’m a beer lover and a homebrewer, and I recognize that not everyone reading this is the latter.  So, the questions I ask the breweries and the brewers will try to balance the needs of the lay beer drinker with the curiosity and needs of the homebrewer.  Remember, I’m shooting for educational, and I want to be educational on several fronts.

Last, since I want this to be informative as well as educational, I’ll give a style-based review.  I am a Recognized Beer Judge in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP), so I feel like I need to share something about beer styles and have some method by which to evaluate them.  After all, “The purpose of the BJCP is to promote beer literacy and the appreciation of real beer, and to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills.”

There are plenty of arguments for and against standardized beer styles, but there’s no space here for that discussion. Suffice it to say, I’m an engineer by education, and I fall on the side of having standardized specs because I like to have something to measure the end result against. (Plus, this is my review blog, so I get to write it the way I want. J) There are plenty of professional brewers who feel differently, and there are plenty of beers that don’t fit into a particular style. That’s cool, but I’ll give you my reviews as if I were judging the beer for a competition, leaving out the final score, but settling on an overall qualitative description. Let me just set the expectation now, though: I don’t buy into a five point system, or the A-F grading system. I’m using the BJCP’s methods. There are several other websites and forums available where you can get reviews based on other methods and evaluation systems.

[Editor's Note: I hope you enjoy the reviews and are able to learn something from them.]