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BrewPalace.com FAQ

This FAQ will help you to better understand what the BrewPalace is all about, and a bit about its history and its construction. It also explains how the beers are rated, and what the rules for the BrewPalace collection are.

Table of Contents

1. What is The BrewPalace?
2. About the Bottle Collection
3. How are the beers rated?
4. Release Summary

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What is The BrewPalace?

The BrewPalace began years ago as note taking and bottle tracking device for an extensive beer bottle collection.  Instead of simply collecting the bottle, I have created what has become a very large database of the beers that I've had and the bottles they come in. I capture very detailed information about Companies, Beers, and Bottles, and can provide statistical information regarding the information I've captured.  With a lot of time on my hands, I have taken the bottle collection and its database to the next level, where it is now called The BrewPalace. 

The BrewPalace's goals are a bit different than the humble beginnings of the original collection.  The BrewPalace aims to be a place for the exchange and organization of beer information among beer fans.  Sometimes I'm able to kick off the discussions by adding his insight, but the rest is up to the beer lovers to provide their perspectives.

Note that this site is not intended to be the be-all of beer knowledge; far from it, it is intended to capture a good amount of information on each of the bottles, beers and companies that I have in my collection.  If I don't have a bottle by a brewery, then you won't see any information on it in the database.

The BrewPalace and the Bottle collection are entirely sampled by me in CA.  This site is entirely developed and maintained by me (although poorly at times).  Since I'm no longer 22 anymore, doing more than 150 new bottles per year is a bit difficult, particularly since I want to keep my weight down a bit. 

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About the Bottle Collection

One of the foundations of The BrewPalace is the extensive Bottle collection.  The bottle collection has been my main hobby since 1994, growing to consume every available square foot of wall space in The BrewPalace.  Although The BrewPalace is referred to by some as a "condo", it is in fact much more than a dwelling. Every bottle is displayed on wooden shelves, spread throughout the rooms and hallways of the palace. 

Mst bottle collectors have some rules governing their collection; here are mine:

1. I rate all of the beers, with no input from anyone else.
2. I must drink the beer, nearly always all of it.  No empties are considered. For the larger bottles, I will share them with friends. Some people have a few sips and pour the rest out, which is a crime. What's the point?
3. Only bottled beer factors into the rating. (This includes ceramic and plastic, not just glass)
4. Homebrews are included, but each bottle must have a label, even if it is done with a crayon. If you have a homebrew that you want rated, sent it to The BrewPalace and you'll see it appear on these pages within a few days.
5. Different bottles for the same beer are included.  Bottles differ in size, country of origin, label type, and the occasional label error.  Seasonal beers have multiple bottles only if their labels are significantly different. For seasonal recurring beers (e.g., Winter Ale 2001) I'll do all of them (or try to)
   

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How are the beers rated?

I follow a simple rating guideline, not one of the fancy ones by professional beer tasters.  I think by rating a beer relative to the ideal of its style assumes that all styles of beer are equally good.  I am not so giving.  I rate the beer using an absolute scale, as shown below.  Factors such as color and aroma are meaningless to how good a beer is, and I they are not considered anywhere in The BrewPalace.  Note that my ratings will show a bias towards sweeter, fuller beers as opposed to Pilsners and Lagers.

Rating	Rating Qualifier
5.0	A truly wonderful and perfect beer.
4.5	Excellent, but something is just keeping it from being a 5 star beer.
4.0	Good enough that I would want to buy and drink a six pack of during a week or so.  In other words, I wouldn't get sick of it.
3.5	Good, but not quite enough that I would want to drink a six pack of it in one week.
3.0	Nothing special, fairly average
2.5	Slightly less than average
2.0	Bland or minimal taste, mildly difficult to finish
1.5	Can barely finish the bottle
1.0	Can't finish the bottle

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Release Summary

Release	Date Released	Major Changes
1.7 BrewPalace	7/22/2001	Release devoted primarily to look and feel changes. Rewrote every page to better use CSS, and fit into a standard structure and color scheme Made sure the site works perfectly in IE 5.5 and Netscape 6. Finally, the Netscape version works, and looks good to boot. Removed the Java Menuing system, replacing it with an HTML based tabbed interface Moved the whole tree down one level to the root, in hopes of getting robots to work with the site better.
1.6 BrewPalace	3/15/2001	Added a new report for Rating Distribution Added brewery totals in the brewery details page Added a parent linking feature between companies Added full support for Beer Glasses, including Edit screens, a room in the Museum and a metric in the Collection Summary Report Minor internal database clean-up Added stuff for WebHosting and Advertising Added 3 new reports to the Database locator, giving the ability to show logos, labels, and bottles Registered the name BrewPalace.com, and linked into major internet search engines Added full support for User polls, including complete web based Poll editing and management screens Made a new logo Added a boat load of editing screens for list, links, polls, lookups, etc.  You can't see these. Reworked the homepage some more.  It still needs work.
1.5 BrewPalace Initial Release	3/4/2001	The second live release, but the first for BrewPalace. Coined the name BrewPalace and created the logo Overhauled the user interface, relying completely on CSS Moved the reporting code into VB Added thumbnail support  Put in a usable Links section Added value-add services such as Recommendations and Beer of the Month Added the Museum section Enhanced the Database Locator Added the Java menuing system Changed the way security works Reworked the homepage Added broader support for states/providences/counties (including drilldown from the country reports)
1.0 Initial Release	2/1/2001	The frist live release. What does live mean anyway?
0.92 Beta	1/24/2001	Complete overhaul of the site, primarily focusing on look and feel.  Added the Menu buttons, changed the coloring scheme, and added a few common web features.
0.91 Beta	1/13/2001	Added the ability to submit and upload pictures for labels and company logos.
0.90 Beta	1/5/2001	Initial Beta Release

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