What are you drinking?

If you know me at all, you know that I am addicted to social media and my iPhone (some say I have a problem). You also know that I love beer. You put all three of those things together and I present to you Untappd and Pintley: two native apps on the iPhone and Droid platforms that allow you to socially share what beer you are drinking, where you are drinking it and what you think of it.

I hadn't heard of Untappd until summer of this year, probably because it didn't have a native app and was simply web-based ... and I find web-based apps super frustrating. I like the app because it's stripped down to the basics. Simply create your profile, search for some friends, click the "drink up" tab and check-in to the brew you're drinking. You can also check-in to where you are drinking it and leave a comment so you can remember what you thought of it. Untappd can also be linked to Foursquare, Twitter, and Facebook to make it hyper-social. You can even earn badges; my latest is the "Playing the Field" badge for drinking 10 different beers in a row. It's not as bad as it sounds, I just really only check-in when I'm drinking a beer I haven't had before. Go in to "The Pub" where you can search and see what others are drinking, and, if you dig it, 'toast' their check-in.

Pintley was the first social beer app that I signed up for. I look at Pintley as more of a 'sophisticated' beer app (in a good way). When you first log in it will give you a beer quiz, where you will go through all the beers and rate the ones you have tried. They will then give you a list of recommendations based on your taste preferences. Pintley allows more room to leave your taste notes and it is more convenient to read what others had to say about the same beer. You can also earn points by drinking certain beers or sharing your information on Twitter, Foursquare or Facebook. These points actually count for something, too! Every month, Pintely gives away thousands of dollars in prizes to random point-earners and top point-earners. You can even win craft beer for a year (I'd be in Heaven)!

So, now that you know what to do .... Let's drink together:

Untappd: beer_recess
Pintley: JimmyV

If you like beer and don't want to be a social mutant download these apps. Remember only alcoholics drink alone.

It's Beer Season!

It's the most wonderful time of year again: Beer Season! You may know this season by its other name, Fall, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it. Now, I know what you might be thinking. "Isn't every season beer season?" Well - technically you would be correct, but this is the one season when around the world the glorious combination of water, yeast, malt and hops, commonly referred to as beer, is celebrated and given the proper respect it deserves. If you want a Beer Recess ... this is the time to do it. Don't believe me? Just check out this Beer Festival Calendar.

In America you have the creme de la creme of all beer festivals, The Great American Beer Fest (GABF), taking place September 29 - October 1 in Denver. This is the 30th annual GABF and will feature 2,375 American Beers (yeah, I too would say that qualifies for the use of "Great" in the name.) If this isn't something you would be interested in, well then, I have no idea why you are reading this blog.  The GABF is definitely a priority item on my bucket list, as it should be for every beer fan. You can learn more about the festival here, or follow along on twitter.

Beer Break....

...MMM Sam Adams Octoberfest.

Even higher on my personal bucket list is OKTOBERFEST! The 201st birthday of the festival of all festivals takes place in Munich, Germany September 17 - October 3. Cheers one liter Bavarian beer mugs, referred to as a "Mass", in one of 14 enormous tents full of happily toasted Germans and tourists, then ride a ferris wheel - only at Oktoberfest. A good friend of mine attended this year and returned with this quote: "I will never drink beer without the GIANT mug ever again!"A liter of beer (only beer brewed within Munich, can be served) will run you about 9 Euros and a bottle of water will cost you 7 Euros. Now if that doesn't inspire you to order the Mass of beer, I don't know what will. Things I haven't mentioned are women wearing Dirndls, loads of delicious German food and Oompah music.

Yeah, I dare you to not purchase your plane ticket for next year within the next 10 minutes.

Now if you can't make it to those two Main Events, please refer the the calendar above and be sure to visit a local beer festival and celebrate this joyous season. I personally will be attending two Octoberfests conveniently happening right next to one another, in Jacksonville Beach at European Street Cafe and Engine 15 Brewing Company this Saturday, October 1. If you can make it out, send me a tweet and lets chug a Das Boot!

Cheers!
@Beer_Recess

What happened to Recess?

Growing up I never really enjoyed school. I never liked sitting in a desk listening to  some "old" lady babble about whatever it is she was babbling about,  I definitely understood why the teacher in Charlie Brown sounded the way she did. I am a simple man to please, and the whole time I was in that desk ... all I wanted to do was enjoy a game of Vortex football, play a game of knockout and chase girls. I got to do all those things at RECESS! That is, until it got taken away in 6th grade at the old age of eleven.

I am now 26 years old, trapped in a cubical farm, dreaming of reenacting the scene in Office Space where they beat the crap out of the printer with a baseball bat. The problem is that this is the real world and I don't need jail time for beating up someone else's printer. I have a better solution: I am going to take my recess back! Only now I have another element to add to recess, BEER!

Hence, Beer Recess.

Beer Recess is here to bring the joy of the Vortex football back to the people that have forgotten that they can leave the fluorescent lights, bad coffee and phony personalities behind for a little while. 

I can't tell you exactly what Beer Recess is just yet, but I promise you that if you love good beer and a smile on your face, you will not be disappointed.