With all of the new breweries popping up in New York City, how can one figure out which breweries and beers are a cut above the rest? Luckily, the blog brewyorknewyork.com made it easier for New York craft beer drinkers to see which breweries are churning out product of the highest quality. In their October 28, 2014 article titled “The Top Beers Brewed in New York City: Fall Edition,” they used data from the popular craft beer app Untappd to rank the best beers and breweries in the Big Apple.
Here is the methodology they used for their rankings:
We pulled the ratings for every beer brewed in New York City and their ratings. We also had a cutoff of minimum check-ins (100) for a beer in order for it to be included, so we could get a fair sample size. This means some smaller, newer breweries weren’t included, and only beers brewed in New York City by breweries that also brew outside (Brooklyn, Sixpoint, Bronx) were included. We also excluded one-off beers that are out of production or have been relatively inactive on Untappd for more than one year.
Breweries that have several beers on rotation with stellar ratings on Untappd found themselves at the top of the list. I wasn’t surprised by Other Half claiming the coveted number one position with their recent incredible releases such as Green Diamonds and All Green Everything. However, for Brooklyn Brewery to come in at number two makes me question the integrity of Untappd data and reminds me that the New York City craft beer scene has a long way to go.
Here is the Brew York breakdown by brewery:
I wasn’t satisfied with this ranking at all. I trust Brew York’s methodology, but I don’t think Untappd as a craft beer community could provide reliable data. (More about that later.) What I decided to do is to use a similar methodology as Brew York, but substitute Beer Advocate for Untappd. Here is what I uncovered.
Brewery | Weighted Rating | Beer Advocate Rating |
Other Half Brewing Co. | 93 | 98 |
Sixpoint Brewery | 90 | 92 |
Singlecut Beersmiths | 87 | 95 |
Brooklyn Brewery | 87 | 87 |
Kelso | 86 | not rated |
The weighted rating was based on each brewery’s five most rated beers on Beer Advocate. I calculated the weighted average of the five beers for each brewery. Some of my favorite new breweries in NYC didn’t make the cut, as they didn’t have nearly enough ratings. Finback, Transmitter, and Gun Hill do not have any beers that have been rated by at least 50 people on Beer Advocate. As you can see, Brooklyn Brewery is second to last using Beer Advocate data.
Here’s a comparison of the highest rated beers on Untappd and Beer Advocate. Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Ops is a great beer, but number one beer in NYC? NO WAY!
Brew York’s List (based on Untappd)
BierWAX’s list (based on Beer Advocate)
Brewery | Beer | Rating |
Other Half | All Green Everything | 97 |
Other Half | Green Diamonds | 94 |
Other Half | Citra | 93 |
Other Half | Hop Showers | 93 |
Sixpoint | Hi-Res | 93 |
Singlecut Beersmiths | Billy Full Stack DIPA | 93 |
Brooklyn Brewery | Black Chocolate Stout | 93 |
Brooklyn Brewery | Black Ops | 93 |
Kelso | Industrial Pale Ale | 93 |
Sixpoint | Resin | 92 |
I do have to give props to Untappd for their slick and easy to use app. Compared to the design of the BeerAdvocate app, stylistically Untappd is miles ahead. I am very interested in a demographic comparison between Untappd users versus Beer Advocate members. Which community is comprised of more seasoned craft beer drinkers as opposed to craft beer newbies? Indeed, this would impact the accuracy of the site’s beer ratings. My hunch, not grounded in data at all, is that Untappd has a large number of members who are fairly new to the craft beer scene. I’m all for an app that makes it easier for new craft beer drinkers to explore other beers, beer styles, and breweries. Untappd has done a great job building on the momentum of the exploding craft beer scene across the country.
Beer Advocate is not without its own flaws. The site as a whole tends to favor DIPAs, Imperial Stouts, and one-off beers that are almost impossible to find unless you wait on line for half a day. Very good lagers and other excellent lower ABV craft beers barely pass the high 80s grade on Beer Advocate, so no beer rating community is without its own idiosyncrasies.
I salute Brew York for doing this regular rundown of the best beers and breweries in NYC. I’m curious to see how things change by next season. I wonder if they would consider utilizing Beer Advocate and perhaps RateBeer in addition to Untappd for future editions of this NYC best-of list?
Addendum: I have been in touch with Brew York via Twitter and they offered these comments with regard to why they feel Untappd is the better craft beer community to rely on for drinking data. Read from bottom up!
Thanks to the good folks at Brew York for offering their contrasting point of view. Hey, I might even rejoin Untappd now!