Two Nerd Party

Here's my rating scale for beer. At some point, I'll come up with one for food.

The scale goes from 1 to 10, with 1 being bad and 10 being good. Ratings 3-7 are based on party experience.

7 means that after coming home in the afternoon, I'd happily open one of these beers and have it with dinner, or by itself. At a party, I'd like to start with a 7, both to get me into the "party mood" (I'll probably drink it fairly quickly), and because later on I might not be able to enjoy its more subtle flavors. A 7 has an excellent flavor and is easily drinkable. The Shock-Top I just rated is a 7.

A 3 is at the other end. At this point, the party's gone past its peak, one or two party poopers have already gone home (but I of course haven't noticed), and I'm in very high spirits and trying to sustain that. I don't really care what I drink, as long as it's got some kick and doesn't taste like a penny in the sewer. PBR might be a 3.

You can probably extrapolate the remaining values from that. Steel reserve is probably a 2 (doesn't meet the penny-in-the-sewer requirement). I can't think of any 8+ beers off the top of my head. I don't like giving anything in the far extreme; I expect to meet a 1 or a 10 maybe once every few years. Both 1 and 10 beers must be truly amazing: they are unique and outstanding in their own ways.

Keep in mind that beers rated below 5 aren't necessarily bad, just as beers rated above 5 aren't good in all situations. Every beer has its place. As I mention above, some beers belong at the beginning of a great party, and some belong somewhere in the murky, blurry shadowy depths at the end.