TOPIC:

I'd LOVE to see the paper feedback sheets brought back.

I have to echo Atticus's feelings; it seems like you either get only a little positive feedback (if things didn't turn out so well) or lots of positive feedback and questions (if it did turn out well); more specific feedback (especially in areas for improvement) would be more useful. -I think judging each other's beers would require us to be more thoughtful in our assessments and make us not only better brewers but better consumers.


Adam

"Biertourist":2mp31oi6 wrote: I'd LOVE to see the paper feedback sheets brought back. [/quote:2mp31oi6]So: print them, bring them, hand them out with your beer and collect them.

"Biertourist":2mp31oi6 wrote: I think judging each other's beers would require us to be more thoughtful in our assessments and make us not only better brewers but better consumers.[/quote:2mp31oi6]I agree. But we'd have to put a much stricter limit on numbers of attendees and beers to make it work. Some people seem to want to bring beer every single month. I think they should be allowed to.

Should we look at the rules again?

I've said that a few times about getting feedback.Sometimes I think it can be a bit difficult for newer members or people who are looking for [i:1b8cd79p]critical[/i:1b8cd79p] feedback, or to get some tips on certain aspects of brewing.It often depends on seating!
Also sometimes people don't want to offend when giving feedback.

I know some people think the onus is on the brewer to seek that out but I think that is easier said than done.

The tastings are a good excuse for meeting up and sharing beers.the last tasting I was at was great fun cos it was just really laid back withbottles being opened randomly.I think limiting the spaces wouldn't be great as some people might not feel welcome if the numbers were too much-and anyone who has been at an ICB event would agree this is never the case-but by specifying limits it might appear like that.

So what to do? Maybe people could indicate on the meetup list why they are bringing the beer.
eg.I like this beer but its not quite right,some help needed on tweaking it. or someting major wrong help. or just cos you like it and want to share it and don't need/want any opinions.

The feedback bit would put the onus on the brewer to print out the feedback sheets,hand them out with his/hers beer +/- a brief explaination what sort of feedback they want.

Also maybe the regulars could leave a bit more space for newer members to bring beer?

That first big one, we had nearly 30 people and, I think, 8 beers to taste. Everybody got lots of feedback on the beers, I thought, and it was a grand night, with some commercial examples of the beer types being tasted thrown in too.

This worked, as the number of beers to be tasted was limited, but brewers had to bring enough to cater for a taster for more people. I think it was like 6 bottles of each beer, or maybe 4, I can't remember. So it can work to get defined feedback for your beer, even with large numbers of people. I think even when there's less people, of there are too many beers, there's just not enough time to get constructive feedback, it turns into a free-for-all, and after a while, palates get jaded too.

So, what to do? You can keep it as it is, and perhaps throw out tasting slips to get filled in, and it'll be the craic. Or, if you want to make sure it's treated as a [b:16k2vzqf]Tasting Session[/b:16k2vzqf] in order to get constructive feedback and talk about one beer at a time, then limit the amount of beers to 6 or 8 so there's time to think about them, and I reckon still have the craic.

Essentially all it'd need is a small set of rules to give everyone a fair chance to get their beer tasted by their peers in a "guided tasting", or whatever the expression might be. I can safely say, since I have been absent for two years, it's actually really valuable. Other brewers tasting your beers is not the same as getting your office mates to have a go at them. I want constructive criticism, and it's the likes of feedback from TBN, Séan, Thom & Co. that I'm missing now! <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->


By the way, there were a couple of accounts written on that monster session:
A drinker's account[/url:16k2vzqf]
A brewer's account[/url:16k2vzqf]

This needs a new thread <!-- s;) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s;) -->

Oh, and for the historic record, here is the thread that started it[/url:1b16vjd8] <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->