Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Recently the beer ticker app Untappd unveiled a new badge, the Century Club. You would earn this commendation when you checked into the same beer 100 times.
I might be close via Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but other than that, I cannot name another beer that would even threaten that triple digit number. I reckon that over 20 would be a high number for me.
I think it is both a sign of my reduced use of the app and my curiosity that will bar me from getting this badge and I think I am OK with that.
With each year my use of the Untappd app skews more to researching beers and breweries than it is on checking in beers. But there is still enough data to see a couple points of interest in what I drank last year. And without further ado…..
More interesting was this drop in style variety….
Maybe next year, I will need focus on checking in to the non-IPA styles or, alternatively not check into IPAs as much.
It seems like the beer world is challenging my now shakier stance against variety packs. I skew more towards single sku’s. But Sierra Nevada, Firestone Walker amongst others have me shifting. And that shift is even more evident in this cool box from Hop Culture / Untappd / Halftime that features a Prideful group of beers. Check out the list HERE.
Untappd, your home away from home for ticking has recently released the second in their Next Exit video series. This time the town is Baltimore where I spent some time when I was younger. Hop Culture’s Kenny Gould takes a ride with City Brew Tours to search the city for craft beer.
AND
Episode three – Brooklyn is also available too. Episodes seem to be dropping quicker now.
Yup, Untappd is hitting the small screen with a travel show hosted by Kenny Gould from Hop Culture. Starting in Pittsburgh…
I didn’t fill out my 2021 March Madness bracket like usual this year because both the Ducks and Beavers are in and I had to give them some wins. But if you are not a basketball fan, you can upvote your favorites on Untappd.
“From March 18th until April 5th, use Untappd to check-in beers from your favorite participating brewery. During any given round, the brewery in each matchup with the most check-ins will move forward. The winning brewery will get their very own Sponsored Brewery Madness badge for all their triumphant fans to unlock!”
Has it been ten years? Untappd has partnered with Dogfish Head for “a sour beer recipe called “I Remember My First Check-In” and the base recipe will be available to breweries and homebrewers that want to participate in the celebration, giving all an opportunity to create their own version of the beer.”
Here is where the creativity of brewers will kick in, “All participating breweries are asked to source at least one of their ingredients locally and directly from a grower or supplier. Brewers are encouraged to release their own version of “I Remember My First Check-In” starting October 18th…with a special badge to pair with it.”
Who doesn’t like a good raffle? And you can win some serious beer too. Follow this LINK Whale Hunters and buy a few tickets to help the Make-A-Wish foundation. Personally, I went for the Cantillon package.
Beer Advocated purchased by Untappd. To be more precise, by Next Glass, the owner of Untappd. And no, they are going to merge their ratings systems. They know better than anger that fan base.
This follows upon the “other” beer rating website (RateBeer) being bought by SABInBev. Quite frankly, I have not used RB’s site since I do not want Big Beer to grab any of my beer data and since the Beer Advocate magazine stopped, I haven’t really dropped by their website either. I have had subscriptions for pretty much every beer magazine down the pike, included Craft Beer & Brewing currently but minus Beer Paper LA and blogs, the writing game is pretty scattered now.
Which means a more than likely, money or time losing situation for a passion project (like this here blog). I can’t fault Beer Advocate for going this route. It will allow them to focus on events or other projects that could not have been done due to the lack of cash or hours in the day.
The question is, what is the future of sites like Beer Advocate and RateBeer. Both have passionate defenders but I feel the initial rush of giddy beer drinkers has passed and the middle ground of fans no longer deep dives into topics like they once did. I certainly do not even add everything I taste onto Untappd, and that really just requires wi-fi and a working finger.
Perhaps, there will come a time when there are different levels of beer rating services catering to passionate niches of people. Who knows what the future will hold.
Each time that Bud and Miller Lite hit the Untappd Top 10, I wonder if there is an intern somewhere with multiple fake accounts, making sure that the brands stay relevant in this corner of the beer universe. Who else would tick these beers and to this degree.
Diatribe aside, there is little that would make one go “Wow” from this list. The fact that Guinness blew away all other comers by a healthy margin despite having multiple variants is a healthy sign. How Lagunitas is #3 is a thinker but maybe that is due to a nationwide footprint and possibly global and nothing to do with the shuttering of locations. But landing #2 and # 3 has to take that sting out a bit.
I was hoping to see more craft represented. Really only (3) on the list with BrewDog, Bell’s and Sierra Nevada and all of them are on the larger side.
I am looking more forward to the deeper statistical dives that Untappd will release.