Untappd as a (is a) Tool

I think I’ve posted before about the comments and ratings that people give via Untappd.

Untappd never ceases to amaze, we can get glowing lovely comments and lots of Stars then the same beer in the same venue can get an anomalous review and rating, which makes you wonder why.
You worry that maybe the drinker has detected a fault in the beer, I’d be more than happy to phone the pub and get them to take a beer off sale if there is any issue as its better than anything being sold when its not right.

This was a ‘less than 1 Star’ rating.
You begin to question why people that don’t like certain styles of beer continue to try them, you can see a common theme in the checkins that these drinkers make, if they don’t like IPAs then their checkin 5-stars will go to that malty best bitter, ‘cos thats the style they prefer.
Surely it is more sensible to NOT RATE something you already know you don’t like?

Then there is another group of Untappd drinkers that have this pre-set expectation of all beers, so rather than tasting a beer on its merits alone you set your bar up at ‘Cloudwater’ level and expect all other beers to match.
Here’s a recent couple from the same drinker.

I struggle with comments like this, and you read their other beer checkins and find similar comments that seem to expect something way before even taking a sip. Yet the Star ratings are actually pretty good.

I’ll admit that I do occasionally slate some supermarket-bought beer, then things that are Branded up to look like ‘Craft’ then when you taste it its way-way of the mark industrial, mass-produced, homogenised blandness. So I am no angel.

I think its good to drink beer with an open mind.
How will you ever be satisfied with a pint if you buy things you know you don’t like or set your bar so high that everything lesser is just pants?

…and Yes, I did respond in kind to the two reviews above.
I will happily show any of these drinkers around our little brewery and have a chat face to face to help me understand their thought process while Drinking / Reviewing. Maybe we all need educating a little.

Its only beer. Ha! (Its clearly a passion, and one that turned into a business)