Have you ever had a craving for on specific beer but don't know where that it is being served? Or have you ever been at a restaraunt, not recognized the odd beers on the menu and wanted to know more about what you are getting yourself into? Or are you looking for something new - a beer that you haven't tried before? With all the huge flavors being created by craft breweries these days, the world of beer drinking can often be a frightening and intimidating place. Fear no more, there are mobile apps and websites galore that can help you navigate through the vast and tasty ocean of incredible, and sometimes horrible ales, lagers, bitters, and brews.
Tap Hunter - "Helping you find awesome beer at local bars, bottle shops and tasting rooms"
Tap Hunter allows you to search your city by bar, or by beer. So if I'm looking for a place that is serving Pliny the Elder, I can search all my local bars. Or, if I'm in an unfamiliar city, I can bring up a list of bars that will have a solid choice of beers on tap. Created a few years ago by my neighbor, Flash Gordon (not kidding), Tap Hunter has expanded its coverage from San Diego to Austin, Chicago, Denver, LA, Orange County, Portland Oregon, Philly, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. I travel a ton, and Tap Hunter covers all the major cities that I go to. They will also give you a heads up on any events coming to town, like the
"Great American Beer Festival" happening in Denver next week. If it isn't in your town yet, bug your local beer bars to reach out to Tap Hunter. To my friends in Leesburg, VA, sorry to add to the bad news after the Nats took a dump last night, but I don't think Tap Hunter is coming to your town anytime soon. It's FREE too.
Beeradvocate - "Respect Beer"
These guys have done their homework and pretty much put my critiques to shame. If you're looking for something new to try, or sitting at a bar considering going off book, take a quick look at these reviews. They are pretty spot on. While a good review from Beer
advocate certainly won't gaurantee that you will like a beer, it's better than shooting from the hip. For example, Dogfish Head My Antonia was a beer presented to me at my beer swap group, The League of Extraordinary Beers. It's rated really high, and I am sure it's a quality beer. Dogfish Head has some of my favorites, but My Antonia is not my cup o' tea.
Today's Beer
Think daily pinup, but with beer instead of ladies. I'm still trying to figure out the practical use of this app, but the presentation is wonderful. Each day, there is a different beer that you can ogle in a bottle, or as a draft. The 3D tool alows you to rotate around the image and see it from all sides - hubba hubba. BONUS, you can also look at yesterday's beer! It's a fun app, and if you have trouble setting goals for yourself, you can use this app to decide what beer you are going to drink today.
I hope you feel a little less overwhelmed after reading this and if you have other apps or websites you want to suggest, let me know.
