Rating system gives equality to novice, expert opinions

Shopping for beers is fun, but it can be intimidating for a newbie. With the number of new craft beers growing rapidly and the variety of different styles available (there are 138 beer styles encompassing subcategories, according to the Brewers Association), finding a beer that suits your tastes can be daunting.

Many retailers use beer rating shelf tags to help guide customers in their beer selection. These tags display an overall rating similar to wine ratings, along with simple tasting notes.

The most common rating system comes from the website RateBeer, which allows anyone to rate and review more than 240,000 different beers. Its mission is to "serve the craft beer community as the premier resource for unbiased, consumer driven information about beer and breweries."

The site has hundreds of thousands of users posting tens of thousands of beer reviews and ratings monthly.

As an open rating site, both novices and experts can participate. Ratings are based on a 50-point scale comprising five categories: aroma, appearance, taste, palate and overall impression. Users can also write short descriptions about their tasting experience. Ratings for each beer are used to calculate the 100-point scale commonly seen on retail shelf tags.

This open-community ratings system differs from wine ratings that are normally produced by select experts.

RateBeer boasts more than 270 master beer tasters, but their ratings carry no more weight than any other users’. In fact, the overwhelming majority of reviewers are not beer-tasting experts, and often, beers are reviewed based on personal tastes rather than with the brewery’s intended style and taste in mind.

My advice: Any beer that scores more than 90 points will be a great beer. But don’t just make purchases based on overall scores. It’s important to read tasting notes to see if a beer will appeal to your personal tastes.

The beauty of beer is the wide range of flavors in different styles. If you are not accustomed to sour beer, for example, a 100-point Lambic from Belgium might be a shock on your taste buds.

Use beer ratings as a guide to finding new beers, and experiment with different styles and flavors. The best part to all of this is that great beer is relatively inexpensive. Trying a few bottles of 90- to 100-point beers will cost you less than a comparable bottle of wine.

Here’s one of my finds, if you’re ready to dive into something deep, rich and decadent: Courage Russian Imperial Stout from Wells and Young’s Brewing Co. in England. This beer rates 99 points on RateBeer, and deservedly so.

Its recipe dates from 1795, when it was originally brewed for Catherine the Great of Russia and shipped across the Baltic Sea.

Full of robust espresso and chocolate flavors along with subtle hints of roasted smokiness, it finishes with wonderful lingering notes of plums and figs. Find 9.3-ounce bottles at Tamura’s for about $7.

Tim Golden shares his obsession with all things craft beer monthly in the Star-Advertiser food section. See his blog, “Beer in Hawaii,” at www.beerinhawaii.com.