Beer rating is assessing and evaluating beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

 using a point system. The process is similar to that used in beer judging competitions, such as those organised by the Beer Judge Certification Program

Beer Judge Certification Program

The Beer Judge Certification Program or BJCP is a non-profit organization formed in 1985 "to promote beer literacy and the appreciation of real beer, and to recognize beer tasting and evaluation skills." It has been described in the press as a "hands-on ... study program designed to teach aspiring...

 (BJCP) in America, though the participants are consumers so it may be termed a score-rated recommendation system. The rating system may be a simple 5 marks, and may be organised by a beer store or pub chain

Pub chain

A pub chain is a group of pubs or bars with a brand image. The brand may be owned outright by one company, or there may be multiple financiers; the chain may be a division within a larger company, or may be a single operation. Examples include Chef & Brewer, Wetherspoons, Walkabout, Taylor Walker...

 such as Wetherspoons

Wetherspoons

J D Wetherspoon plc is a British pub chain based in Watford. Founded as a single pub in 1979 by Tim Martin, the company now owns 815 outlets. The chain champions cask ale, low prices, long opening hours, and no music. The company also operates the Lloyds No...

 in the UK; or it may be more involved, such as the systems used by beer rating websites such as BeerAdvocate and RateBeer.

BeerAdvocate

BeerAdvocate is an online beer rating site which also rates bars and beer stores. It was founded in 1996, by brothers Todd and Jason Alström, and is based in Boston, USA.

As of July 2011, BeerAdvocate's database contained about 1,450,755 ratings of about 60,000 beers.

The Oxford Bottled Beer Database

The Oxford Bottled Beer Database was founded in 1992 by Sparks Computer Solutions Ltd, and contains reviews and ratings from site users. The site has ratings from all over the world, though mainly concentrates on Europe. As of February, 2007, Oxford lists approximately 2,700 beers.

RateBeer

RateBeer was founded in May 2000 by Bill Buchanan as a forum for beer drinkers to exchange information and share opinions of beer. In June 2000, the Canadian beer writer Josh Oakes joined RateBeer and eventually became editor-in-chief. In June 2001, the web-site consultant Joe Tucker joined, eventually assuming full ownership of RateBeer.

In August 2006, RateBeer's annual press-release of the highest rated beers on the site caused concern when various world media reported that supplies of Westvleteren

Westvleteren Brewery

The Westvleteren Brewery is a Belgian brewery founded in 1838 inside the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren in the Belgian municipality of Vleteren, not far from the hops-producing town of Poperinge and the medieval city of Ypres. The brewery and its beers are usually referred to as...

 12 were sold out due to being listed as the "Best beer in the world" on the site.

As of January 2010, RateBeer has 2,470,000 ratings, and claims to be the "most accurate and most-visited source for beer information". based on Alexa.com data The ratings are considered manipulation-proof. It lists over 110,000 beers from over 9,680 breweries.