1) If a point is worth stating, it’s worth stating over and over and over again. For the CBBC crowd (that’s Can’t Be Bothered Clicking – an acronym I made up and will surely not catch on anywhere (And, yes, I know that, technically speaking it’s not an acronym, because that specifically refers to initials that are pronounced as a word, eg “Scuba” or “Anzac”. But it sounded better than calling it an abbreviation or a contraction (great, I’ve started a beer review with a grammar lesson. And multiple sets of brackets within brackets (what a dick)))).

2) Okay, enough with such randomness. The focus of those links mentioned above is hype, and how it might not always be a good thing. Get people talking about your product may sound like nothing but a good thing – word of mouth and all that.

3) But I’ve found that the hype you hear from Twitter about a beer can have an affect on what you think of it – before you get the chance to try it. It leads you to create high expectations in your head. If the reality meets those expectations, well, that’s just super. But if it doesn’t, then perhaps that’s not so super. Not that any of this is the beer’s fault – I’m the fool ramping up his expectations.

4) I faced this when I spotted a local bottlo had some cans of 3 Ravens Juicy IPA. They posted a pic of it on their Instagram feed and I went there the very same day to buy some – solely because of the huge buzz I’d heard on social media about it. That buzz made it seem like the most awesome of awesome beers.

5) And it is a good beer, don’t get me wrong (and the hype on Twitter is not the brewery’s doing). But I found myself wishing I could have tasted it blind, without my expectations having been pushed through the roof. For what it’s worth, it’s a New England IPA – which seems to mean it’s cloudy and throws a lot of citrus juice characters.

Free or paid for?: I bought a four-pack and, despite hype-raised expectations, I’m glad I did.