Ever wish you could harness the power of the collective intelligence to help you find that perfect stout or pale ale? RateBeer may well be the link to help you find that ultimate brew. Touting itself the most accurate and most-visited source of beer information, Rate Beer has an impressive index of beers which are all, well, rated.

Beers can be viewed by latest ratings, category (such as style and country of origin), a top 50 list, annual top beer lists, and any beer or brand you want to search for to see how it fares against the rest of the world of beers. There is subscriber style "premium content" on the site, which mostly revolves around additional rankings like "Beer God's Top 50 Beers" and rankings by state. But all the core features of the site are available for free - which is perusing the main rankings and contributing your own ratings of beers you have enjoyed.

The site also has an event calendar that is fairly stocked with beer-related events, a guide to beer in different areas utilizing Google Maps by highlighting the best places to down a brew around town, and forums for those that like talking about beer almost as much as they like imbibing it. The only downside that we perceive is that the layout and interface are somewhat unintuitive, especially for those of us who are sensitive to usability. But, it's no deal breaker, and is far outweighed by the volume of information and ratings available on the site. Happy brew hunting.

[via LifeHacker]