Anonymity.
Restaurant reviewers used to guard their identity vigilantly to make sure that they would receive “typical” service from waiters and chefs.
In the age of Social Media, that is out the window. Reviewers get “outed”. Famous Reviewers are “gets” for a newspaper or website. So they focus marketing attention on them because they are a draw to a segment of readers.
What does this have to do with craft beer? I think craft beer needs a little secretive tasting research. Because there are so many people Tweeting and Untapping, you are not immediately pegged as a beer blogger or writer. You can sample a flight from a brewery without getting extra attention. Everyone is reviewing so you can slide by unnoticed.
I prefer that on a first visit to a bar of brewery not to reveal that I write about beer. I want to see how customers are treated. I want to hear what the bartenders are talking about. I want to take in the whole picture. I can learn from the unguarded moments.
You can have great moments talking with your favorite brewer too. But the dynamic is different. You can’t tell someone that a beer is bad without trying to soften the blow or thinking about which words to use before speaking. If you don’t know the people that filter can come off and a different, more permissible one comes on.
There is much talk about “critical” writing but I believe that isn’t the largest writing problem that beer people have. It is way down on my list of issues. What I think is more pressing are not abandoning the methods used in the past by restaurant reviewers and the like. They worked for the most part.
Reviewers went to a restaurant multiple times. They sampled multiple dishes. They are upfront about their tastes. They are honest about their review process. Then they review. And that review can be glowing and positive or acerbic and negative. Neither opinion is wrong or less “journalistic”.
For your next first visit to a new establishment. Try incognito and see how it works for your writing.
