In our latest blog, Lonerider’s Derek Tenbusch talks a bit about using social media and specifically about his favorite app Untappd.

As the “social media guy” I am charged with figuring out all the ways that we can use the various social platforms to spread the word on all things Lonerider. This of course can be challenging as the social media landscape is always changing.  Twitter and Facebook of course remain very important for us as a way to stay in touch with our audience and to get out information on what is happening at the brewery. More importantly they are both great ways to LISTEN to our audience and hear what they think of what we are doing.  Instagram is becoming more and more of a force, especially with the younger (but still old enough to drink beer) demographic. But perhaps my favorite of all, being a beer guy and all, is Untappd.

Untappd allows you to “check in” to the beers you drink, much like you check in to locations you visit on Foursquare.  In fact, when you check in to the beer you are drinking, you can also add your location just as you would on a location based app.

As you can see on my Untappd profile, I have checked in 362 times to 261 distinct beers.

Now if you are new to Untappd, or perhaps new to craft beer, this might seem like a lot.  It actually is not that many.  For comparison, our brewery manager Kevin has check in to over 1,000 distinct beers!  I have work to do to catch up to that! Typically, I tend to check in to a beer when I am trying it for the first time. And I definitely have not checked in to every beer I have ever had, although I try to remember to do it most of the time.  If for no other reason that trying to keep up with my dad’s “distinct beer”  tally!

Now while the idea of having a record of all the beers you drink is cool in and of itself, Untappd actually does much more than that.

You can add friends on Untappd which allows you to see what they are drinking, where they are hanging out and even “toast” (think of it as the beer drinkers version of the Facebook “like” button) and leave comments on your friends check-ins.  Untappd will even make recommendations for you based on other beers that you have tried and liked.

You also have the opportunity to earn “badges” for different accomplishments within Untappd. For example, I have earned (among others) the “I Believe in IPA (Level 10)” badge for having tried 50 different IPAs!

 

You can also read reviews of beers, follow your favorite breweries, add your homebrews, and post photos.  You can even create your own “wish list” of beers that you are interested in trying.

If you already use Untappd, you know how much fun it can be.  If you are not using it, and you enjoy beer –which I assume you do since you are reading this– I strongly encourage you to check it out! it is available as an app for both Android and iPhone. And once you get signed up it is incredibly easy to use. I hope to see you checking in to your favorite Lonerider beer soon.  Cheers!

You can follow Derek on Twitter @loneriderderek