Rating Philosophy

We know that we are not using the standard rating system used by competition judges that an educated beer connoisseur may see on websites like Ratebeer and Beer Advocate. The Indy Beer Barons are not Ratebeer or Beer Advocate. We do understand that you have to look at things like aroma, color and body, but we don't think that most craft beer drinkers are going to turn a great beer down because the color isn't spot on for what we expect from a style.

Here at the Beer Barons we prefer to take an overarching approach to our ratings. We're looking for beers that are good to drink, not perfect representations of their specific style. I do believe there is a place for such strict ratings, but there are plenty of other people who do that. Craft beer is a constantly evolving industry, and we celebrate brewers who think outside the box and push the boundaries of what we know to be beer. We'll strive to give you all of the information that we can about a brew.

One face means that we would not like to drink that beer again
Two faces means that we would drink it if it was offered to us
Three faces means that we would buy it if we happened to see it while out
Four faces means that we would go out in search of it
Five faces means that we will beg, borrow and steal to get our hands on it

We love drinking beer, and we want to make sure you understand we are not being ignorant of other rating systems, we just choose to focus on what is important to us.

Cheers!