Standing in a crowded bar, just getting a drink ordered can feel like a gargantuan feat. You might barely have any room to move as you’re desperately trying to get the bartender’s attention. You just want to flag them down to order something, so you have to know what you want and order it in as few words as possible. A quick look at the beers on tap would work just fine, but if you can’t get close to the bar, it’s almost impossible to see what they have.

You have no shot at reading the tiny labels of each individual draught, let alone the bottles or cans in the mini fridge behind the bar. Knowing what the bar has beforehand can make your life a whole lot easier. Plus, you don’t want to order that double IPA you accidentally had last week that made you feel like you were licking hops for an hour afterward. Whether you’re a pilsner fan or prefer a stout, it’s best to remember what kinds of beers you like, track them accordingly, and know where to find them. Let me show you how an app lets you do all that.

Related

What is Pinter? Home brew beer device explained

You may have seen the ads on TV or Facebook but wondered what Pinter actually is or does. Find out more here.

It keeps track of what you’ve tried

This can save time while ordering

As someone who likes to try as many different kinds of beer as possible, I’ve been using Untappd for many years, and it has changed how I approach ordering at a restaurant and any trip to a liquor store. What I love the most about it is that you can use it as an easily searchable notebook for drinks — the interface is simple enough to use, and you can even look up a given a brewery or venue, too. Typing something into the Discover menu will populate a list of beers that either have that name or a similar name. I’m always shocked at how many times I type something in and the name is shared by 10 different beers.

If you’ve had the drink you’re looking for before and checked it in, a small green check mark populates next to the name. I utilize this any time I’m at the grocery or liquor store when I’m looking for a new six-pack to try. If I type in the name and see I have a check mark next to it, I’ll move on to try something else.

Related

Keeping track of where movies are streaming drove me crazy until I found this app

I decided to stop using streaming service watch lists. Here’s why.

You can rate beers while you’re drinking them

Give them a particular score

Untappd keeps track of what you think of each brew you check in by letting you rate them. This gives you a fuller picture of what you thought of it at the time you tried it. Unless you’re some kind of savant, you probably don’t remember every single beer that you’ve ever tried. So why not make it easy on yourself and the beers you have? There’s a sliding scale that goes from zero stars to five stars in increments of 0.25. I’ve been told I’m a harsher grader than some, as many of my ratings land in the 2.5 to 3.5 range.

A nice feature Untappd has is that when you look up the beer, it will give you a cumulative rating that combines every score people have given it. As you’re doling out your rating, you can also leave notes for yourself or for others that highlight different things about the beer. There are also profile notes you can select, which can label the beer with different adjectives, like “malty”, “tart” or “hoppy.” They give a more complete look at the taste profile for users who come to the beer later on.

Related

Apple’s new feature can solve your dinner dilemma

With iOS 18.4, Apple is introducing a new food section on Apple News+, allowing users to explore food stories and recipes.

You can see what a restaurant or liquor store has at that moment

This is a huge help in a crowded bar

As mentioned in the introduction, there are times when you just can’t see what beers are on tap somewhere. If you open up Untappd and type in the bar or restaurant, you can see what people have checked in there recently. The logos of the beers, more often than not, will also come up, helping you decipher what the draught handles are.

The restaurant or bar, if they are members of the Untappd community, will have a gold check mark next to their name. If you find that, it means that the restaurant regularly updates on the app what their beer offerings are, letting you know the information is current. Arguably the best part of this feature is using it to find places to purchase specific brews — let’s say you want a six-pack of Newcastle Brown Ale. Above the check-in button in the app, there is a Find It button. It gives you a list of all the places that sell that beer within a 1- to 100-mile radius, depending on your search parameters.

Related

6 tricks I always use to make sure I’m buying flights at the cheapest time

Did you know there’s a ‘magic window’ for booking your flights? Here’s data-backed advice straight from Google and Expedia that could save you money.

You can buy beer through the app

If you can’t find it near you, have it shipped

Not only can you search for where to buy certain beers, but you might be able to buy them through Untappd. There is a Shop function that allows users in certain states to have beers and seltzers shipped to them. (Untappd doesn’t just have beers listed, as you can check in many hard seltzers and canned cocktails as well.) A neat feature within the Shop function is having Untappd build a personalized 12-pack for you based on beers that you’ve liked or breweries you’ve been.

Not all brewers offer the shipping option, but it is possible that you’re able to get harder-to-find beers. If you don’t want to drive 300 miles to try out a new brewery that people are raving about, you might be able to get them to send you a few bottles of their well-known witbier. There’s also merchandise available from different breweries, including glassware, hats, shirts, bottle openers, and more.

Related

I tried Amazon’s new AI shopping tool, and it’s way more useful than I expected

Not everyone wants to wade through product listings all day, so I had Amazon’s AI read them aloud. Here’s what happened.

Show your friends what you’re trying

Connect with fellow beer lovers by using Untappd as a social media app. You can friend people and see what types of beers they are checking in, while also admiring the photos of their brews and being jealous of the cool places they’ve visited. Of course, you can also add those tags to your own posts, giving others picture-envy of your beertime. You help out the app when you tag the locations because it helps them keep tabs on what beers are available at what establishments.

Untappd has badges that you can earn and share with friends as well. These can flag the number of bars you’ve visited or the amount of a specific type of beer that you’ve had. Along with badges, breweries and restaurants offer promos that you can take advantage of. Tag your friends when you’re enjoying a pint together to give you some nostalgia to look back on the next time you’re scrolling the feed.

Untappd is an encyclopedia I use for remembering what beers I’ve liked, but the feed helps me remember the fun had while enjoying those beers.