2018 Beer Goals + 2017 Year-in-Review

Beer Talk
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I think we’re close enough that we can reasonably start this thread now :slight_smile:

A year ago, a bunch of us listed off some of our goals and also took a look again in July to see how we were doing. Time to revisit those goals and come up with some new ones!

First, take a look at your 2017 goals and give a little progress report. After that, take a look forward to 2018!

Here are my two goals from 2017:

17 countries with 100+ ratings: Right now, there are 6 countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Canada, Germany, United States) that I have 100+ ratings from, so I’d like to get that up to 15 this year. A couple of them will occur quite shortly (96 from England, 92 from Norway) and a few won’t be that hard (Sweden, Spain, France, Italy, Denmark). Getting to 15 would be safe, so it would be fun to hit 17.

This one I missed the mark on. Even though I managed to get all of the countries I listed to 100 with relative ease, I definitely didn’t get close to 17: I started with 6 and finished with 13. Definitely overly ambitious, though I was probably assuming that I would come out of :hong_kong: Hong Kong and :cn: China with 100 ratings of each.

Reach 90 countries: I’m currently at 76, though I think I’m at the point where the easiest ones to access are pretty much gone. Sure, the shop around the corner sells beer from the DRC and Cameroon (which I’ve obviously done already), but I’m basically at the point where I need to get out to some new countries this year (that said, I squeezed in thirteen countries last year, so I just need to pick something different this go around) to add to the list.

This goal I knocked out of the park, as I picked up 22 new country ticks to reach 98 countries. It wasn’t even because of one singular trip (though three weeks in :cn: China and :hong_kong: Hong Kong managed to get me :hong_kong: Hong Kong, :taiwan: Taiwan, and :laos: Laos), because I just had a combination of good luck and a highly beneficial trade.

I have three beer goals for 2018:

  • 20 countries with 100+ ratings: I’m going to be a bit more humble this year and hope that I can maintain the same pace in 2018 as I did in 2017. I have a few countries that I can safely get over the line next year: :czech_republic: Czechia (70), :estonia: Estonia (87), :hungary: Hungary (81), and :portugal: Portugal (68). I’m going to Hungary in the spring and the other three should be easy to accomplish once I move back to Amsterdam. Beyond that, I know of a couple of events coming up in Brussels next year that should give me some help on countries like :lithuania: Lithuania, Scotland, and :serbia: Serbia.
  • Reach 115 countries: I have no idea how the hell I’m going to manage this one, but I managed to overshoot this year’s goal by eight. I’ve reigned in my goal a bit from the pace I had this year, but why not, eh?
  • Enter the top ten in the country h-index: I loved this stat when I first read about it and find that I sit in 31st place at 27 countries with 27+ ratings. I have the second-lowest number of ratings on the top 100 list from that thread, so it’s pretty easy for me to climb up the rankings. As it stands, I only need to get that number up to 35. Easy!
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From the mid-year thread:

“I apparently didn’t comment on that thread, but my only goal lately has been to climb the list of people who have rated the most beers made in Georgia (USA). I have made it to #3 and will hopefully make it to #2 this year. When I make it to #2, I will pass an inactive rater, and I may never make #1, as the #1 person lives in Atlanta and has so much more access than I, unless a lot more breweries open down here in South Georgia. Once breweries open down here, I will rate incessently and be #1 in GA!”

That went exactly as expected… I hit #2 and and still far behind CyberCat, who lives in ATL. There still aren’t any breweries where I live, and our only growler store that got GA beers went out of business, so it’s a slow crawl from here unless some breweries open near me.

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This is my ‘Beer Goals’ list from the initial thread:

Stay in the top 200 raters (currently 185th on 6604 rates)
Stay in the top list for most breweries (currently 71st on 1861 breweries)
Get into the top 25 of most countries sampled (currently =44th on 123 countries)
Stay in the top list for regions (currently =37th on 116)
Stay top rater of Shropshire beers (currently well in front with exactly 300 rates).
Do all of the above without having to drink over 1,000 different beers in 2017.

I am now (22nd Dec 2017) 168th in the rating rankings 7803 beers, 20 plus backlog.
62nd in the unique brewery listing. A huge increase, now on 2086.
Only 41st in most countries sampled (130 different ones)
Equal 46th for Regions (117, so only one new addition)
Still top dog in Shropshire.
Sadly drank a lot more than 1,000 beers so far in 2017.

2018 Goals:

Stay top dog in Shropshire (338 rates so far).
Add some more English County’s onto my ‘Region Place Reviews’ (34 so far).
Drink around the World (130 currently).
Add some more Regions sampled (117 so far).
Drink a little less ‘crap’ and drink a little more ‘good stuff’.

<*))))))><

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I’d say keep this thread as 2017 Year-in-Review and start a separate one for 2018 Goals…

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Off-topic ;D but we were also in need of a thread that kept the links to the previous one while looking forward.

If there are some links to previous editions of yearly goal threads, please post them and I’ll add them to the first post :slight_smile:

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Any nearby states you could poach? :stuck_out_tongue:

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My only goal was to get all styles to 10. I started this year with 47 styles under 10 ratings, and was able to get 25 styles to the magic number. I’ve basically exhausted my local options for the lesser styles unless something new comes out. California Commons are just not fucking common.

2018: The goal is to continue getting the others to 10, but now to get the styles over 10 to 25 ratings. I’ve already started on this, it’s working pretty well. Also, rate 1 Polotmavy.

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Although I didn’t list it here, I only had one goal for 2017: find 10 new country ticks.

Ended up bagging 25, including some rarish ones such as Abkhazia (a local Abkhazian restaurant opened and started importing beer, thus saving me a trip to Abkhazia), Turkmenistan (a fellow ratebeerian kindly exchanged one of the Turkmen lagers he got from an acquaintance), and Northern Cyprus, which I actually visited.

In 2018 I’d like to find 20 more countries (taking me to 115), but it’s hard to see where they will come from. Got Iran lined up, and hopefully I’ll make a trip to Nagorno-Karabakh (or Artsakh as it is known these days) and pick up their single beer that is listed here, plus another that isn’t on ratebeer, if it’s still being made.

Second goal would be to once again become the biggest rater of Russian breweries. Currently in second place (and 20 breweries behind). It’s by no means a hard task, but requires a lot of free time (which I don’t have) to seek out beers by minor craft brewers and regional macros, and visit brewpubs.

Third goal is to hit 50 Armenian rates by taking a trip there to check out the local craft scene, which only appeared this year. And if that isn’t possible, at least continue to be the biggest rater of Armenian beers (and there aren’t many, to be honest).

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Get to 1,000 unique breweries - done

Be #1 unique NY brewery eater - nope and moved out of state not happening

Try every RI brewery - not yet

Get 10 of every non-beer style - need a few more sakes but NYC has much more availability then where I now live.

Progress on 15 of every style, new regions, countries - light progress on all fronts.

Qualify for Ultimate New Englander award - I posted this award every year in New England forum but no longer exists so maybe Site News anyways no luck here either.

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I used to do okay in FL, but there are so many crazy tickers there I’ll never catch.

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Considering my current and surrounding states…

I’m #2 rater of GA beers…
#20 of Alabama beers…
#39 of Tennessee beers…
#16 of South Carolina beers…
#5 of Florida beers…

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It looks like I hit two out of three: Over 100 Geuze rates and Over 500 place rates.

I started heavily country-ticking this year and just hit 150 with two more on the way. Increasing that as much as possible will probably be my main goal for next year.

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  1. Hit 5k - which would allow me to miss one or the other festival and tune down my ticking pace a bit.
  • 6.4k and counting. No tuning down at all, though…
  1. Finish my ongoing Schlenkerla Grand Slam, i.e. get all their seasonals from the Holzfass within one year. I started with Kräusen in August, and only miss Fastenbier. Maybe I can do a double cycle?
  • I missed Urbock - it was worth it, though (I visited other Franconian breweries on the weekend I meant to do Urbock…)
  1. Make it to 100 De Molen beers, or maybe any brewery with 100 ticks
  • done.
  1. step my game up to 1000 German beers and 500 Belgian beers.
  • done.
  1. more US states
  • done.
  1. Finally get an Ice Cider!
  • 14 and counting :wink:

goals for 2018: 8k overall, Schlenkerla Grand Slam, 10 of each style, and hitting 100 countries :slight_smile:

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I’m new to this, so I just have 2018 goals.

1. Get as close to 1000 as possible - min. 850.
You guys are going to laugh at this, but I’m a slow rater. If I do get 500 until New Years, and do get around as many new ticks as this year, passing 850 is absolutely doable. 1000 might depend on point (2).
2. Visit at least two festivals.
Because it’ll help with (1) and is wicked fun.
3. Have at least 1 tick of each beer style + half of the Sake styles.
4. Get up to 50 countries.
This means I’ll also continue my tour of asian pale lagers whenever I find one, as well as actively seek out new country ticks of quality beer.

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  1. Get to 7k rates
    Done
  2. Get 100 rates in 20 states
    Done
  3. Visit some new states and get place rates in each of them
    Visited Texas and Idaho, plus I added a couple In Germany. Overall a success.
  4. Break the top 50 place raters list
    Getting closer, but still have a lot of work to do to get there. I will keep this one for next year.
  5. Break the top 25 mead raters list
    Done
  6. Visit more Ohio and WV breweries
    This was a success. Visited many ib both states.
  7. Never pay for a packaged IPA or other Pale Ale style (draft is allowed)
    I did this once by accident. So I will try again next year.
  8. Tick a Polotmavy (ISO!)
    Done!
  9. Break into the Belgiephile list
    Done

2018 Goals

  1. Visit more Ohio and West Virginia breweries.
  2. increase H Index in states, countries, and styles.
  3. join the top 50 place raters.
  4. reach 100 rates in more states
  5. reach 70 country rates
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As for 2018 Goals

Get 10 of every non-beer style repeat goal

Get to 90 countries I’d really like 100 but not really feasible.

Get to 100 regions

Not really 2018 goal but rate beer from 1250 unique breweries before I hit 5k total rates.

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Fully enjoy as many great beers as possible.

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2017 Goals

  1. Finish states (only need Arkansas)
    Completed.

  2. Finish “other” styles now that I finished all beer styles (only need a Sake-Honjozo and Sake-Taru)
    Still need both of these. Didn’t try too hard to get them though.

  3. Get a country tick for Africa
    Completed.

  4. Rate all Nebraska Breweries (11 to go currently +3 more slated to open in 2017)
    Got mostly complete then a few more opened up under the radar. 9 to go + 4 more opening soon-ish

  5. Get to 2,500 rates (About 660 rates needed)
    Still need 94 more. Won’t happen and don’t plan to try. Will likely end up about 60 short.

2018 Goals

  1. Hit 3,000 rates. (Will need approximately 550. Slowed down a bit lately so this is realistic.)

  2. Rate all Nebraska Breweries. Again, with new ones opening and distance so far apart, I currently plan to have to try 13 new ones and some would be difficult due to location and hours but possible.

  3. Hit 500 different breweries. Need 31 more. Very possible if I want to put in some effort.

  4. Hit 50 countries. Need 6 more. A bit trickier and would take some traveling or trading.

  5. Finish styles. Still need Sake-Taru and Sake-Honjozo. Again, possible if I do a trade or travel.

  6. Hit 500 Nebraska rates. Only 33 to go. Super easy. Might have before the end of 2017 haha.

  7. Meet at least one new Ratebeerian.

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These are the goals + baselines: after “//” half year check. /// almost year check

  1. Taking one white month - January vs beer, cider, mead, sake… (If failure- add 1 day per beer, will happen since I’m going skiing with the 12th of Jan) // Done! ///

  2. 10 new countries, currently 151! // 166 and a few planned, thx hard digging RB’s friends. /// At 169 so home safe!
    2b. Remain with the top 25, currently at 23. // Place 14! /// Currently no 15.

  3. 40 new Swedish breweries, currently 226! // 258 at the moment so will be reached!///283 - almost 60
    3b. stay within top 10 raters of Swe brewers. // 4th place for breweries and 4th for beers. /// 3th for both

  4. Drink less crappy beers. Currently at 3,21 // 3,23 - might be hard to adjust vs trying beers that will never recive high average vs few ratings /// 3,24

  5. 7,5 k beers. -at 6649 now // Done, 2 days ago ///
    8133 / OK

  6. Remain within the top 10 raters in Sweden. And reach 160 overall // at place 8, and at place 169 - (the last one will be hard to reach /// 154;)

  7. Remain within the Stouties Group! Currently at pos 49.// at place 42 and this year
    it’s Porterfestival in November. /// 39 currently

Yeah, all goals fulfilled, not all were hard to overcome… 2018 will be back hopefully in an new tread;)

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2018 Beer Goals

  1. Get to 170 unique Countries. I’m currently at 150 with 5 new ones coming and two more very likely.
  2. Get to 20K beers.
  3. Get to 2,500 Unique Breweries.
  4. Get Traditional Ale, Baltic Porter and Amber Lager over 100 rates.
  5. Get six new styles over 80 rates.
  6. Get nine new styles over 60 rates.
  7. Get nine new styles over 50 rates.
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