Criticism is a buzz word in the world of beer blogging. Mostly revolving around the topic of “There isn’t Enough”. That bloggers are playing it safe and letting breweries skate when they should be called out.
I am of the school that positivity leavened by realism doesn’t make one non-critical. But what gets lost in the “cheerleader” or “evangelist” debate is timing. When and where do you criticize a beer?
There are some who may want to try a beer multiple times over a span of time to see if a beer is progressing or moving backward or in stasis. That is fine if it is a core beer. Not so good, if it is a specialty one-off.
Do you criticize when a brewery is young? Or do you wait for it to find its sea legs? That method is foiled because some breweries are strong out the gate and can create unrealistic (or is it the converse) expectations. In SoCal, both Bottle Logic and Societe set high bars that other start-ups have not matched.
Do you speak to the brewer or to PR person? At a festival with thousands or quietly one on one? E-mail or in person?
These are all questions to ask yourself after you have formulated your constructive criticism. I know there are times when I simply do not want to hear any criticism. Whether delivered well or not. And since it is hard enough for married people who live together to recognize those “bad times”, you can imagine that opining about why a beer might not be up to snuff to a brewer who may have just spent time cleaning a kettle might be more difficult.
On this blog, I attempt to lay out why I don’t like a beer without outright stopping other people from trying that beer. My method is to be hopeful until I get let down repeatedly. But that doesn’t mean that anyone is off the hook. If beer 1 is bad enough to warrant a negative review, I will say so on this blog with a caveat that I hope it gets better or that I may not be the best palate for a particular style. Because the goal of criticism is to improve the NEXT effort. The goal is not to give your blog credibility or to drive someone to anger.
The way to get better beer is for people to be honest so that a brewer can then either use the opinion or not. Then the blogger can choose to either buy their beer or not.