There were a few questions/comments on social media recently about beer rating---it started when a brewer throw question about if brewer/ brewery owners or those associated with it should be allowed to rate beers( both their own or others)---and then among the comments there were these two:-
"should anyone rate beer at all?"
"should anyone care about others ratings?"
最近craft beer社交媒体上出现这样的对话，有人问说“酿酒师应该被允许发表酒评吗？”， 有人回应笑问说“喝酒的应该写酒评吗？”，另一个人反问“自己喝酒有必要去理会别人口味意见吗？”
这是相当有趣的对话，换个角度看，等于有人问为什么看戏前要先看影评人或网红之类评语才决定看不看，又或是订餐厅前为什么需要先看美食饕客写过文章，既然吃饭的是自己，自己不能独立做决定吗？这问题的答案当然不会一致，因为总会有一群人是会想先看了别人意见後再做决定，当然也会有什么都不看自己决定的人们。
If we were to link the above scenario to daily life situations--it's similar to when one refer to movie critics/ratings before deciding if a movie is worth watching--or say referring to food critics opinions/ratings before deciding if a restaurant is worth visiting. There is no right or wrong in these scenario because it's up to individuals what he or she prefer---to refer or to just decides without referring.
同样情况放在craft beer世界里，也会出现习惯先看别人酒评再决定或一直只凭自己感觉选酒的不同群体，或许不熟悉craft beer文化的人会觉得喝啤酒干嘛还需要看或写什么酒评，不过一旦了解不同类型风味啤酒实在多不胜数特质之后就可以理解为什么酒评的出现是自然现象，因为可以感受到的不同类型美味层次佳酿确实多，对啤迷来说，自己写酒评或看别人写酒评都是普遍不过的事。
无论是在专卖吧或身边有啤迷朋友的基本都见过啤迷喝酒时对着杯中啤酒又是嗅又是小口品嚐的同时一边思索一边手机上打字，边喝边写酒评可以说是很多啤迷的特色指定动作，就像美食饕客会做笔记写心得那样，写Tasting Notes或酒评是不少啤迷表达或记录喝後感受方式之一。
The situation is not any different in the world of craft beer with some preferring to check other's opinions/ratings first every time when facing with a decision to pick a beer--while some just go with own judgement/mood of the day---as for why people who drink beer care about writing comments/ tasting notes or rate beers---the motives can be a little different for everyone--some would do it because of "pro-need" such as preparing for BJCP beer judge certification---some for own beer tasting record--some because of the need to tick/"level up" for beer ratings apps/game.....
Tasting Notes(缩写TN)从字面意义上很清楚说明是怎么一回事，喝酒会写酒评/品酒心得感想的起因动机可以有几个，有人是基于“专业要求“为出发点比如为了啤酒裁判（BJCP）认证考试做准备/贯彻所学，有的纯粹只为提升自身品鉴能力，有的是因为积极参与追逐网站/手机程式“评酒勋章”或“提升级别”所以写酒评。
基于写酒评动机的不同，不同喝酒人会有不同方式整理自己的喝後感受，一般来说，品酒5大原则被认为是正统方式，喝的时候依序以外观，气味，味道，口感和整体感受5大要点为依据进行评断，这方式也是许多啤迷习惯使用的。不过，从另一个角度来看，酒评怎么写可以是件没有绝对结论的事，虽然评酒方式可以一定程度上被规范以减低个人口味影响/误判因素，比如按照啤酒裁判认证（BJCP）品鉴指南进行评定，
For the uninitiated---beer tasting notes is basically about one's tasting experience with a beer much like when eating food---when tasting/rating a beer---the 5 basic principles always in used are:-
Appearance
Smell(or Nose)
Taste
Mouth Feel
Overall
The 5 basic principles are commonly accepted rule of thumb by many---although it must be said that not everyone who rate beer or taking tasting notes would follow 100%---if you are more of a follow the guide type---click here for The Beer Advocate tasting notes guide
但也可以是很个人认知的事，网上可以看到各式各样酒评，这其中有比较专业详尽的，但也有很个人化的意见，大致上也长短不一，比如有类似这种
“开瓶倒入酒杯後颜色呈琥珀色，气泡适中不过很快消散，入口微酸爽中带红葡萄酒木桶余韵，酒体中等，口感有坚果，覆盆子，松针，麦芽糖，尾韵带回甘略微干涩显得不够圆润“等等一个酒评中随时可以出现十多二三十个不同食材味道技术性形容词“长文慎入”型酒评， 又或是简单一两句完结的”感觉像喝不甜的巧克力沙冰，好喝极了。”类型短评。
Obviously there are all kinds of tasting notes/ratings out there in the www---and that's understandable since a same beer will be sampled by many different people who would feel/rate it differently--partly due to personal preference in beer taste or beer styles--and partly could be due to one's understanding/appreciation level of a particular beer/beer style.
In short---tasting notes/ beer ratings are basically other's opinions--of course some are great reviews while some could be a waste of time---while looking up to some good reviews would help newbies in some way--but the most important thing in beer tasting is still about how one understand the taste profile/changes/nuances of a brew by actually drinking one.
一定程度上，酒评反映的是个人意见，不同人对味道对食材理解或表达方式不太一样，同一款啤酒不同人喝也可能会有很不一样喝後感受，如果要问什么样的酒评对新朋友比较有帮助，答案是虽然看较专业详尽的会有所帮助，但喝酒这回事还是需要自己品嚐累积不同类型风味品酒经验之后才能逐步提升味蕾鉴赏力，一直看别人酒评虽然可以提供基本概念，说到底酒还是要自己喝过才能真正了解。1
有句老话说“尽信书不如无书”，放在喝酒境界中适用，他人意见是可以借用，不过最重要还是味蕾体验，别人酒评只是或有用或废话的文字，光看不喝单凭想象是没办法实际感受评断的。
There's an old Chinese saying"JIN XIN SHU BU RU WU SHU" "when one only totally believe in books then might as well do without books"---in simple words it means don't just believe blindly what others says---one need to form his/her own opinions too---and that's exactly the scenario when it comes to viewing others tasting notes/beer ratings---end of the day it would still be you who decides after sampling a beer if it's good enough---others ratings can be useful tips or trash opinions wasting your time---and imagining how a beer might taste is certainly NOT the way to go.
After all---a beer is for tasting/drinking--not viewing.
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