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Preguntas
Theakston River's Answer - Similar Ales in Beer History
I have an observation about the similar ales that are suggested in Beer History.
I discovered Beer History (I rarely get time & have all on to update ales), decided to fill in River's Answer while I was there.
However, I do not agree that the featured ales are similar. The suggestions do not appear very pertinent or similar. The first time I visited the page the ales listed below were suggested, which were the ones that caused me to make this comment; a second batch of ales were offered as similar when I went back into the review, they are not much like the beer in question either.
- Who suggested them?
- Had they actually drunk any River's Answer - or the other ales for that matter?
- If style or tasting notes were used to produce the listing, then they are wholly inadequate, or not entirely honest.
- Pandora - Brewsters Brewing Company
- Pacific Pale Ale - Meantime Brewing Co
- A Wynters Ale - Salisbury Brewery
- Gordon X-Mas Ale - Gordon Finest Beers (Anthony Martin's, Heineken)
Respuesta
Hello!
The Beer History feature was only launched this week, so it's very much a 'first take' of sorts - which is why feedback like this is very helpful.
Your points regarding the 'Similar Beers' facility are very pertinent. In fact, from your list I can immediately see a bug: bottled beers should not be recommended to replace cask ales. I have put this on our fix list and this will be addressed soon.
With regards to the overall recommendation system, it is a bit more complex than first meets the eye. The basic fall-back are the beer styles and tasting tasting notes, yes; however, the algorithm will evolve to take other factors into consideration and, eventually, greater prominence: drinker preferences, feedback and behaviour, pub ratings and localised feedback, other factors that are part of the back end of our system - to name a few.
Nevertheless, these factors will only come to play once the Beer History system is more settled in and widely adopted. At the moment, the 'Similar Beers' bar is on a learning curve. Over the next few months, as the extra factors come into play and we improve the feature based on the feedback we receive, we expect the results to become increasingly more accurate and relevant. The goal is certainly to have suggestions based on measurable factors that users will find more than just helpful.
I hope this helps explain things a little, but please do let me know (or email us at info-at-perfectpint.co.uk) if you have more questions and/or comments. And certainly please do keep the feedback coming, however critical it may be, as that is the only way we can make this a service you find useful.
Updated at the bottom.
Hello!
The Beer History feature was only launched this week, so it's very much a 'first take' of sorts - which is why feedback like this is very helpful.
Your points regarding the 'Similar Beers' facility are very pertinent. In fact, from your list I can immediately see a bug: bottled beers should not be recommended to replace cask ales. I have put this on our fix list and this will be addressed soon.
With regards to the overall recommendation system, it is a bit more complex than first meets the eye. The basic fall-back are the beer styles and tasting tasting notes, yes; however, the algorithm will evolve to take other factors into consideration and, eventually, greater prominence: drinker preferences, feedback and behaviour, pub ratings and localised feedback, other factors that are part of the back end of our system - to name a few.
Nevertheless, these factors will only come to play once the Beer History system is more settled in and widely adopted. At the moment, the 'Similar Beers' bar is on a learning curve. Over the next few months, as the extra factors come into play and we improve the feature based on the feedback we receive, we expect the results to become increasingly more accurate and relevant. The goal is certainly to have suggestions based on measurable factors that users will find more than just helpful.
I hope this helps explain things a little, but please do let me know (or email us at info-at-perfectpint.co.uk) if you have more questions and/or comments. And certainly please do keep the feedback coming, however critical it may be, as that is the only way we can make this a service you find useful.
UPDATE: Hi - having looked at the code, there were two bugs actually. Both the beer format (i.e. cask/keg/bottle) and the style (e.g. bitter/IPA/mild) were ignored. These have now been fixed so, from now on, you should only see beers that are of the same format and beer style in the 'SImilar Beers' panel.
Servicio de atención al cliente por UserEcho
Updated at the bottom.
Hello!
The Beer History feature was only launched this week, so it's very much a 'first take' of sorts - which is why feedback like this is very helpful.
Your points regarding the 'Similar Beers' facility are very pertinent. In fact, from your list I can immediately see a bug: bottled beers should not be recommended to replace cask ales. I have put this on our fix list and this will be addressed soon.
With regards to the overall recommendation system, it is a bit more complex than first meets the eye. The basic fall-back are the beer styles and tasting tasting notes, yes; however, the algorithm will evolve to take other factors into consideration and, eventually, greater prominence: drinker preferences, feedback and behaviour, pub ratings and localised feedback, other factors that are part of the back end of our system - to name a few.
Nevertheless, these factors will only come to play once the Beer History system is more settled in and widely adopted. At the moment, the 'Similar Beers' bar is on a learning curve. Over the next few months, as the extra factors come into play and we improve the feature based on the feedback we receive, we expect the results to become increasingly more accurate and relevant. The goal is certainly to have suggestions based on measurable factors that users will find more than just helpful.
I hope this helps explain things a little, but please do let me know (or email us at info-at-perfectpint.co.uk) if you have more questions and/or comments. And certainly please do keep the feedback coming, however critical it may be, as that is the only way we can make this a service you find useful.
UPDATE: Hi - having looked at the code, there were two bugs actually. Both the beer format (i.e. cask/keg/bottle) and the style (e.g. bitter/IPA/mild) were ignored. These have now been fixed so, from now on, you should only see beers that are of the same format and beer style in the 'SImilar Beers' panel.