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Overview
This is the system used to rate beer on The Man F.A.Q.
I’ve read many food/beverage review articles, and visited many Web sites. When it comes to my passion — beer — I’ve taken some of the best ideas from all over and developed a ratings system:

The Steps
Appearance (15%) — The first-look presentation. How it looks as it’s being poured into a glass. The head thickness and color. The color of the beer itself, and any cloudiness.
Aroma (30%) — The next sense, the smell of the beer. Is it overpowering or too faint. How the smell builds anticipation for the next step.
Flavor (40%) — After taking a sizable sip, how the beer affects the taste-buds. After letting a second sip linger in the mouth, taking notice of the flavors of the beer itself.
Bite (10%) — One thing to think about here is the aftertaste. Is the beer drinkable, and on what level. Does it come off as too heavy or too light on any of the taste characteristics. Is the alcohol overpowering, or does it work well with the style.
Bumper (5%) — The final five percentage points are left up to the judge’s discretion.  This is where some of the intangibles come into play. It’s the smallest category in the rating process, but these five points can be the difference in an A-list beer and the rest.

The Process
Pour the beer and look at it in the glass. Notice the head, the colors. After this, score the first two categories (Appearance, Aroma). Take two sips, score the next category (Taste). After a third sip — repeat as needed — score the fourth category (Bite). Only after scoring the first four categories is the beer finished. The overall beer drinking experience — how it made you feel is only one possible questions asked at this stage — can then come into play in the final category (Bumper).

Application
For the application, each category is given a rating between 1 and 100. That number will represent how much of the category’s possible percentage will be applied toward the total grade. So, if a beer rates a 75/100 on taste, then it will receive 30 of its possible 40 percentage points for that category. The category totals are added up, and the final outcome is also a score out of 100. For ease of overall rating, a letter grade is then assigned — just like in school.

The Final Grade
A+ (≥ 97, You must drink this before you die)
A (93-96, If you’re within 30 miles of a retailer that sells it, it’s worth the drive)
A- (90-92, Worth the few extra bucks, especially for a special occasion)
B+ (87-89, A solid staple to have around the house)
B (83-86, The one that stands out in the “What’s on tap” section of your restaurant menu)
B- (80-82, If you’re at your local sports bar watching the big game, you’ll be glad to see this one on tap)
C+ (77-79, You’re going to that friend’s house who “doesn’t really drink,” and this is probably what’s in his fridge as “the good stuff” he bought for you)
C (73-76, As expected, quite average. Beats out the yellow fizzy stuff in a plastic cup)
C- (70-72, Doesn’t really stack up. Drink this as a last resort.)
D+ (67-69, Likely comes out of a can from a cardboard box)
D (63-66, Just bite the bullet and be the DD for the day.)
D- (60-62, Has that asshole at work invited himself to your house for the cookout? Buy a six-pack of this and serve it to him all day)
F (≤59, What’s the point?)

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