#beerapp

[beatmajestic]

😂😂😂...Facts. I definitely had this app when I got my first iPhone back in 2008. . . . . #oldappsonmyphone #beerapp #iphone3g #oldtech #timeflies #goodtimes #thingschnagesofast https://www.instagram.com/p/CE-H-tcjNt-/?igshid=1cn36d3f2g2k8

[bubbles412]

#happypatty #untappd #guiness #BeerBadge #SocialApp #BeerApp @hilary412 (at Im Around!)

[foosye]

42 Craft is a new spot for the foosye® crew. Great beers #ontap and big selection as a bottle shop. AND they have their own app! #crazy we had an excellent @wilmingtonbrewingcompany IPA. #craftbeer #ncbeer @beericana #bottleshop #beerapp #technology #customerappreciation (at 42 Craft Beverage)

[hugharmitage]

Will Hawkes Craft Beer London app - interview

Beer journalist Will Hawkes launched his Craft Beer London mobile app in 2012, and for many it has become an indispensable, interactive guide to drinking in the capital. You never feel too lost with this on your phone, for whichever unfamiliar location you find yourself in, it’s easy to plot a route to the nearest pub serving a quality pint.

Will has a talent at crafting light-hearted and informative reviews of the app’s extensive list, so you always get a good idea of what to expect before rolling up at a pub for the first time. I don’t think it’s led me astray yet.

The app came about in a very organic fashion, and at an ideal time for Will. “Derek Lamberton, the developer, wanted to do a beer app,” he told me. He'd already produced a number of coffee apps, like London's Best Coffee.

“We discussed it, came up with a name, the details, etc. It was perfect for me as I'd just left the Independent and was looking for stuff to do.”

The app updates all the time, and it seems a wonder that Will can keep on top of all the great pubs and breweries that London continues to pop out on a weekly basis. It turns out that he doesn’t trawl the streets, squinting through pub windows at taps to see if sufficiently tasty beer is on offer. Suitably for the mobile age, he uses Twitter instead. “Sometimes people email me,” he said, “but more often someone tweets about it.”

When it comes to selecting pubs, Will’s choices are dictated solely by the quality and range of beer on offer, but he admits that his criteria has changed over time. “There are pubs that got on the app 18 months ago that wouldn't now.” Each pub is rated out of five on the app, although none have received a dreaded one-star review as of yet. And he tries to keep the ratings current, altering them if feedback or a change in operations demands it.

“If a pub's got a vast array of cask, keg and bottled beers, its likely to get a top rating as long as the beer is in good shape,” he told me. “I hope people don't take the ratings too seriously - the app is just meant to point you in the right direction.”

The app was followed by a book - a handsome, pocket-sized guide to some of London’s best pubs. I wondered if it was difficult to let go of the control that the app gives - with the ability to revise and update information as necessary - when making the change to print, but apparently the opposite was true. Will described it as “quite a relief”.

“Once it’s done, it’s done,” he said. “Although I did have a few worried moments when it looked like The Catford Bridge Tavern, which was included, was going to close before the book came out. It didn't - although it has shut now.”

Asking Will about his expectations for 2014, he said that he thinks that craft beer will become more and more mainstream, with beers from larger brewers like Camden and Meantime continuing to show up in more mainstream pubs, as well as a further increase in beers from the US on the scene “to take advantage of the perceived quality of American craft beer”.

“There'll also be an increased push-back against the whole idea of 'craft', focusing on the quality and clarity of some London brewers' products,” he added. “Bigger brewers will continue to enter the market, some with more success than others.”

He predicts that new breweries and pubs are going to have to pick up their game to compete in the exploding marketplace. “New London start-ups will have to be increasingly savvy - the days when you could learn on the job are over. Craft beer pubs will have to produce a more rounded offer... The Well and Bucket is an example of where the craft beer boozer is heading.”

We couldn’t leave without asking for a tip on who Will thinks are the London breweries to keep an eye on in 2014. “I think Fourpure have a decent chance of success: moderate-strength keg and bottled beer with the hop punch that punters want. Alpha State will continue to dazzle the cognoscenti. Oh, and Burning Sky.” You heard it here first.

[pine-apple-princess]

Her blog is indie and its super cute!