First paragraph - Here I attempt to analyse/review my perception of the beer. I try to get across exactly how my senses register the beer in the hope that this applies in some way to other peoples perceptions; if it does then you'll know what the beer tastes like, if it doesn't then a comment would be good telling me why I'm off the mark, subjectivity is half the fun when reviewing a beer anyway. This paragraph will include the following information:
- Beer colour in the glass
- Head colour, retention & lacing
- Beer aroma
- Taste / flavours: upfront taste, middle and finish. Then the body of the beer and drinkability.
Second paragraph - Musings on some or all of the following:
- The brewery & its history
- The history of the beer in question
- The style of the beer
- Other beers which are brewed by the same company or are of a similar in style to the one in question
- Any other (often random) facts
I'll finish of with a bullet-point summation of the beer's vital statistics, which I'll do my best to ferret out:
- MALTS: TYPES OF MALTED BARLEY USED & OTHER CEREAL GRAINS IF APPLICABLE
- HOPS: VARIETIES OF HOP USED
- IBU: INTERNATIONAL BITTERNESS UNITS (RANGES FROM 0 [NO HOPS] TO >100 [EXTREME BITTERNESS]
- ABV: ALCOHOL BY VOLUME - THE STANDARD MEASURE OF STRENGTH IN THE UK (ABV = ABW X 1.25)
- EXTRA INFO - BOTTLE CONDITIONED?, UNFILTERED?, UNPASTEURISED?, ETC...
I don't feel a rating (e.g. out of 10) would be too helpful as the aim of a review is to try to get across to someone who perhaps hasn't tried the beer exactly what it would be like to try it. I'm trying to give the reader a vicarious taste of the beer. I may say how authentic the beer seems to be to the style it is categorised as (I often use beer advocate as a rule of thumb if I'm unsure as to the exact style of beer I'm reviewing) or how balanced I feel the beer to be, but I won't really go into whether I like or dislike the style and why (hence no personal rating system). I think its clear that I like porters and stouts above pretty much all other beers, but I like to try (and review) any style of beer I can get my hands on, hence the Belgian specials section. Sticking to one style would surely make Jack a dull boy.
