13 Comments

I drink less these days so I use UNTAPPD less in general but definitely gave up on using it in any beer festival situ or doing every beer I taste at a tasting room and just jot down what I remember or stood out.

Also - it’s summer! Get off the train and take a boat trip from NYC to Rockaway Brewing or down to Carton in atl highlands and enjoy some sun on the ride!

Expand full comment
Jun 2, 2022Liked by Chris O'Leary

After more than 11 years on the app, I still love cataloging beer data on Untappd. Ratings are interesting, but I love looking back at venues around the world and seeing what I've had there along w the picture. If I'm on my own at a beer spot, I'll do the full Untappd geek-out. If in a social situation, will take 10-20 seconds at the beginning to snap a few pictures of the beer(s) and menu and put my phone away.

Expand full comment
Jun 2, 2022·edited Jun 2, 2022Liked by Chris O'Leary

I had a similar epiphany with Untappd. I was an obsessive beer logger/rater, but last year at the beginning of the Kills Boro pizza festival I had a sudden realization that it had long served its purpose for me, which was to help me get a better understanding of what kind of beers I liked and what breweries I kept coming back to. It had at some point just become paperwork. And the prospect of a day of sampling beers and then pulling out my phone to log them suddenly felt silly. So I went cold turkey. I haven't really missed it at all except that it would be useful to be able to know if I have tried a beer before when I'm staring at a menu. I still use it as a reference tool.

Expand full comment
Jun 2, 2022Liked by Chris O'Leary

Totally agree. Used it when it 1st came out. Loved it especially since it was connected to SWARM/4Square. Then it became a chore...so stopped using it. But since we have been back in breweries and our favorite bars, Ive started using it again for references and logging in of my beers. Still tedious.

Expand full comment
Jun 9, 2022Liked by Chris O'Leary

Same progression for me and most of my friends! My desire to continue checking in waned at roughly the same time as my friends on the app, so the social part of it lost its luster. I’ll still check in a beer if I remember to do so, but more times than not I enjoy the beer and never think about picking up the phone.

Expand full comment
Jun 3, 2022Liked by Chris O'Leary

I expected a post about a train in one direction hitting up multiple breweries - but multiple breweries in each direction? Huzzah!

I'd like to actually try Port Jervis by rail but I don't think I could convince my spouse so luckily we happened upon Fox N Hare by car a few months back. Interesting space, good stouts. Nearby Erie Hotel is a thumbs up too. There's a brewery north of there that I'd like to check out too but forgetting the name, also Fox themed: Shrewd Fox.

Agreed about UnTappd. Paperwork is a an interesting/accurate at times comp. As someone else commented, most of my ratings are 3-4, so, meh. I try not to be obnoxious when I'm with people at breweries but I do like to check-in at home when I have a couple of new brews.

Expand full comment

I agree with you on Untappd. All my beers, unless mass produced or really sucky fall b/w a 3 and a 4, so there's definitely no variety in my ratings. However, I love Untappd for 3 reasons, 1) where to find a brewery when in a new town and 2) where I might find a specific beer, and 3) to log a beer so that I can double check later whether I've had it. If I miss some along the way, so be it.

Expand full comment

Feeling the same way. If you were to look at my Untappd now, you would assume I'd given up my craft beer obsession. Always found it awkward enough (plus I'm one to always snap a photo to "prove" i had it and to serve as a snapshot in time). My camera roll now literally consists of pictures of beer that will not see the light of day. It remains a bit of talking point i have more pictures of beers on my phone than of my son.

Expand full comment

Chris, first and only time we met in-person was at Pony Bar in HK and you were four or five sheets (500 beers?) into filling out your tasting history from that venue. It was around that time that I started to track my beers using Untappd as it was easier than keeping notes. I still like to check-in occasionally but am not nearly as obsessed as I was about logging every beer. I was in Denver in mid-March and spent a glorious sunny Saturday afternoon at RATIO Beerworks. No King of Carrot being poured but I did enjoy their Mexican lager and one of their saisons. Cheers!

Expand full comment