Statement of Purpose and the Rating Systems

The goal of this blog is to document and share the results of a two week long, 5 country European beer vacation completed in April 2008. We hope that these notes will help beer drinkers the world over in their search for new and interesting beers to try...as well as to help point out those beers we think can be safely skipped.

There are two raters who participated - myself and Dale. Each of us recorded our in-the-moment impressions of these beers when we tried them, which should make for some interesting reading in retrospect. The rating scales we use are quite different, so allow me to explain:

*Dale uses a 10-point scale where he rates a beer from 10 (Excellent) to 1 (Ass). This scale has a long history of use, dating back to our freshman year dorm room where we positioned beers along the room's moulding to indicate their relative deliciousness. In his world, a beer only receives a 1 if he is unable to keep it down, thus negating the wonderfulness of the alcoholic effect.

*I, on the other hand, use a 6-point scale I've dubbed the "6 pack" rating. This scale also has a long history of use and comes in handy when going to the store to shop for beer. Simply put, it answers the question: "Of a 6-pack of this beer, how many would I drink in a sitting?" This focuses primarily on the drinkability of a beer and is premised on the fact that good things come from drinking beer. This scale factors in both taste and drinkability, recognizing that higher alcohol content and denser beers may score lower because they fill up the stomach faster.

Both of us put our tasting notes down as well, and at the end we'll rank our top three. Happy reading!