Unpack your supplies and find your favorite blind. It's time for some Beer Hunting. Stop by Lowes Foods and pick up a limited edition Wilmington Beer Hunting Box. And then join us on October 23rd when we hear from the Wilmington breweries – Flying Machine & New Anthem Beer Project!
So make sure you get your box, learn some things, and then earn your Virtual Beer Hunting Badge.
How to earn this badge
Check-in any of the beers in the Lowes Hunt Club Box (featuring Flying Machine and New Anthem Beer Project) AND add either the Lowes location that you purchased from or the Lowe's Virtual Beer Hunting venue to your check-in between October 23, 2021 - October 24, 2021.
Time flies when you've built the world's largest social networking platform for craft beer. Where were you eleven years ago? We were just getting ready to launch!
Back in the summer of 2010, Untappd Founder Greg Avola first talked with his business partner, Tim Mather, about an idea to create a social space for those who loved craft beer. At the time, Foursquare dominated with people checking in places where they traveled. And BeerAdvocate had become a top publication with craft beer fans for rating beer.
So Avola and Mather thought: What industries are inherently social but have no current real-time component to their experience? Well, craft beer. And how can we elevate how people collect and rate the beers they drink? Well...
Avola and Mather literally worked straight for twenty-four hours on their vision to create an app that provided a social space for lovers of craft beer. That first prototype of Untappd launched as a private beta in September of 2010.
Without features like photo uploads, ratings, or even a moderation platform, that first version was kind of like wort—just a raw base of bubbling potential ready to be brewed into something magical.
Here we are eleven years later and, oh my, how things have changed.
"It's incredible how much the app and community has grown since I joined," says Kyle Roderick, Untappd's Executive VP of Product who joined the team in 2016. Although, he's been on the Untappd app since its infancy in 2011. "I'll never tire of hearing stories from the community on how Untappd kickstarted their journey into craft beer. I've heard how Untappd keeps friends and family connected through their check-ins and discovery of new beers they want to share."
It's fitting that an app that has changed so many craft beer fans' drinking experience has itself seen many iterations. Summing up the past eleven years is tough. But if you had to boil it down to one word? "Adaptation," says Roderick. "Beer, and other related beverages, are at an all time high for new styles. There are more breweries now than ever. We're constantly watching emerging trends, adding new styles, and trying to keep Untappd as up to date with community preferences and industry changes as possible. We've also worked to keep our app up to date with the latest features our community expects of a search, discovery, and social networking app."
Almost ironically, 2021 has been a year of firsts for Untappd…
….the first time we launched Dark Mode, giving folks a chance to search, rate, and check-in beers in darker hours without scrolling through a blindingly bright app.
… And the first time we're releasing the Untappd 11th Anniversary badge.
With the official anniversary happening on Oct. 22nd, 2021, we wanted to do something special. So we're doing what we do best: Offering up a brand new badge!
The "Untappd 11th Anniversary" badge celebrates 4,015 days, 96,360 hours, 5,781,600 minutes, and 346,896,000 seconds of checking in fantastic beers, rating your favorite pints, taking photos of your all-time top drinks, and unlocking your best badges.
Earning this new badge is pretty simple: Just check-in any one (1) beer from Oct. 22nd - Oct. 24th, 2021. That's it!
In addition to a brand new badge, we're also celebrating with a fresh new look in our store and a fresh new discount code. Take 11% off of the redesigned Untappd store with the code "11CANDLES" through the month of October.
All in all, "the future is bright!," says Roderick. "We're looking forward to more excitement, more growth, and even more folks making their way through their beer journey through Untappd from beer drinkers to badge seekers."
So we hope you'll join us in raising a can, bottle, growler, crowler, glass, mug, stein, or teku: Here's to another decade-plus of uniting a global community of Untappd users and beer lovers.
With its signature rich, malty flavor, medium bitterness, and impressive ABV, the Belgian quad is a beer which has stood the test of time – literally. A subcategory of Belgian strong ale, the quad or "quadrupel" has a fascinating history and delectable flavor profile. The Belgian quad has roots dating back to the sixth century in Europe when monks brewed beer. Both make learning about this storied European style worthwhile. And of course great reasons to try a few.
Technically considered a Trappist style of brewing, Belgian quads are traditionally brewed by Trappist monks in abbeys across Belgium and Europe. The actual term "Trappist" comes from a Cistercian monastery in Normandy, France called La Grande Trappe Abbey. Here, during the seventeenth century, a movement started to return to an austere way of life and religious practice. Those involved earned the nickname, "Trappists."
Historically, Trappists began brewing in monasteries as a way to create potable water. But it was also a means to generate income for the monastery and local community.
Over time the tradition of brewing within monasteries grew.
However, the quadrupel wouldn't make an appearance until 1991 when Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven Brewery, a Dutch Trappist Brewery in the Netherlands, brewed the first quad called La Trappe Quadrupel.
Today, this still remains one of the top Belgian quads in the world. But the style has gained popularity in America and beyond, influencing a generation of brewers. Inspired by the complex flavors from the unique Belgian ingredients in quadrupels, brewers across the United States have dabbled in creating delicious offerings of their own.
It's important to note that this style isn't technically defined by where it's brewed today. In other words, modern world brewers do make Belgian quads without having to brew them in a monastery (although only beers brewed in abbeys recognized by the International Trappist Association can be considered "Trappist"). What really defines this style are the ingredients. Belgian malt, Belgian yeast, and oftentimes Belgian candi sugar are some of the crucial components to a Belgian quad.
We have that magical combination to thank for the rich roasted malt character, spicy dark fruit notes such as figs, raisins, dates, and plums, and the warming booziness of Belgian quads. From one of the rarest beers in the world from a traditional Belgian abbey to an iconic American version from a brewery in upstate New York here are Untappd's 6 Highest-Rated Belgian Quads of 2021:
Powered by Untappd Data (minimum of 1,000 check-ins)
If you're looking for beers that are a little more unusual, tune in to the Drinking Socially podcast for a wild ride into the world of beer, complete with hoppy humor (see what we did there?) and lots of badge talk. Hosts Harrison Hickok and Jon Dispenza drink new beers and explore deep thoughts about the universe, like What beer goes well with sawdust? Join the world of Drinking Socially on Untappd!
Have you been fortunate enough to hang out with a brewer and ask them what their favorite beer is? Did they tell you it was Orval? This beer has become a beer of legends. Hailing from a Game-of-Thrones-esque abbey in the middle of the Belgian woods, Orval has ascended from the shelves of that European country to those across the world. Generations of drinkers now consider this beer to be...well kind of the GOAT.
And no, not the animal people invite to yoga to eat your shoelaces. But one of the best and most well-respected beers of all time! What's so special about this beer? Well, for one it's brewed by Trappist monks (a style that has its own super rich history. Hint: Religion has something to do with it).
On this episode of the Drinking Socially podcast hosts Harrison Hickok and Jon Dispenza are drinking the equivalent of a Pliny the Elder mixed with a Bourbon County and a Hair of the Dog "Dave". Tune in if you're really into chasing Whales because Harrison and Jon are taking it all the way back to 1931 to shed some light on one of the most distinguished of all the Trappist beers!
Consequently, they'll also unlock the "Trappist Travesty" badge which includes (surprise, surprise) drinking beer from Trappist breweries.
HOW TO EARN THIS BADGE: Check-in five (5) different beers from Trappist Breweries. Only breweries with the Authentic Trappist Product (ATP) designation will count!
Introducing the biggest event in the BrewDog bar calendar: their annual celebration of all things craft. Across the globe their bars brew a custom beer with their favourite local brewery, and pit them against each other across an extremely hoppy weekend.
For its ninth anniversary, Collabfest will be rocking beers from over 70 different breweries from 15 different countries, making four amazing days of unique, unmissable beer. All bars will have dozens of beers pouring over the four-day festival, every single one of which will be brand new and never before poured.
Not sure which beer to pick? Head to brewdog.com/collabfest to see the live leaderboard alongside tasting notes for every beer they're pouring. Don't forget to rate your favourites on Untappd!
How to earn this badge
Check-in any four different beers from the event between 20th – 27th October 2021 to earn this year's #Collabfest2021 badge! Check out what's pouring at brewdog.com/collabfest
#Collabfest2021 – 21-24 October 2021. 70+ Breweries. 15 Countries. 1 Epic Festival. Book your table here.
Given the nearly three-decades-long (and counting) devotion by Lagunitas to hop-forwardness, it's no surprise they've found a way to channel that love affair into a double-hop spotlight series—and one that's consistently greater than the sum of its parts. Vol. 3 of StereoHopic brings in the heavy-hitter hops to step things up further.
Brewer's Notes
This third volume shows what happens when the almighty Citra synthesizes with New Zealand's newest star; the mouth-smackingly stellar Nectaron. You'll experience how Citra's pungent notes of passionfruit and guava interplay with Nectaron's juicy yellow peaches, nectarines and mango; resulting in a veritable Voltron of sticky hoppiness. On paper, it's the ultimate titan title bout. But crafted in this brew, instead of fighting, they join forces as a dynamic duo to jam out some harmoniously delicious jazz. Touring your palate with full-frequency, 4-D flavor in a 3-D world.
How to Earn this Badge
Check-in one Lagunitas StereoHopic IPA Vol. 3, the newest installment in the StereoHopic series between October 15 and November 15, 2021.
Lagunitas' never-ending quest to capture the essence of fresh hops continues with the release of Contents Under Fresher, a wet-hopped IPA containing literal tons of fresh-off-the-bine, lupulin-drenched, whole cone Mosaic, Citra, Simcoe, and Sabro hops, rush-picked and delivered to the Lagunitas brewery within 24 hours of harvesting.
So, what's so fresh about fresh hops? Once hops are picked, their natural enemies are oxygen and time, so freshness is über important to protect all their eccentric esters. Getting them to the Lagunitas brewery and into the beer within 24 hours helps keep those highly volatile terpenes intact and ready for your imbibing enjoyment.
Lagunitas Contents Under Fresher is the largest fresh-hop beer release by any brewery in the world, and it's quite a feat to pull off, so enjoy it fresh and paired with a special commemorative Contents Under Fresher (2021) badge!
Bell's should be a household name to most. But, it wasn't always thatway. The brewery actually began with just a soup pot - the vessel Bell's Founder Larry Bell used for his first commercial brew back in 1985! Fortunately for us over the past thirty-five years Bell eventually left the soup pots behind and became one of the most revered breweries in the country. Mostly, for its iconic beers that bucked the trends of the day and continue to innovate even today.
For example, Bell's Oberon is the American wheat beer that has become synonymous with spring and sunshine in a glass.
And Two Hearted Ale has been recognized as the best beer in America for four years running by Zymurgy Magazine. As the brewery's most popular beer, Bell's Two Hearted Ale has made more than just a splash in craft beer culture.
First brewed in 1997, Two Hearted Ale has earned a special spot in Drinking Socially podcast hosts Harrison Hickok and Jon Dispenza's beer drinking hearts. It's actually the beer Hickok has checked in the most on Untappd!
Bell's has always been innovative. They were the first Michigan brewery to open a pub on the same site as the brewery when their "Eccentric Cafe" opened in 1993. Always ahead of the curve, Bell's finally jumped on the Hazy IPA craze in 2019 with the release of the Official Hazy IPA. And they released Light Hearted, a better-for-you, low-ABV, and low-cal IPA inspired by Two Hearted in 2020.
In many ways the story of Bell's Brewery is the story of American craft beer - both on the cutting edge while nostalgically comfortable at the same time. That's tough to do. Kind of like making fashionable cargo pants or drinking coffee in a moving car. But they're doing it! And that's one of the reasons Hickok and Dispenza love this beer community - and Bell's (Honestly, Hickok's check-ins can't lie!).
All this to say that both hosts have been trying to find a way to get Bell's on the podcast since they started hosting. So when they saw the "Always Inspired" badge launch on Untappd they knew the time had come. Tune into this week's episode of Drinking Socially as Hickok and Dispenza drink some great beers and celebrate Bell's Brewery thirty-five years of being "Always Inspired".
They'll also unlock the "Always Inspired" badge which includes checking-in four of Bell's flagship beers including Official Hazy IPA, Two Hearted, Light Hearted, and Oberon.
HOW TO EARN THIS BADGE: These four beers are part of Bell's Always Inspired Badge. To get it, check-in one (1) of the four Bell's Brewery beers—Two Hearted Ale, Official Hazy IPA, Light Hearted, or Oberon— from September 22, 2021 - October 22, 2021.
Porters are more than just "that other dark beer." But over the past decade or so, craft beer consumers have sprinted down a dark, windy, roasty path of the stout. From barrel-aged to fruited to breakfast variations, stouts have become the darling of modern American craft brewers. So much so that along the way we've forgotten that porters are kind of like the OG dark beer! Somehow we've forgotten about the humble porter.
Originating in 18th century London, porters take their name from the London working class that first enjoyed them: boatmen, punters, and porters. Essentially, after a long day of backbreaking work loading and unloading docked ships, these porters would head to the local pub for some refreshment.
The original porters were darker, richer versions of the English mild, brown ale. But in early English brewing culture, premium beers were equated with a higher ABV. For instance, a brewery would have brewed a lower-ABV pale ale alongside an "extreme" pale clocking in at 8% or 9% ABV. English brewers did the same with darker beers. Essentially higher-ABV more premium versions eventually became known as stout porters. Hence stouts are really just an evolution of porters.
Today, porters and stouts continue to battle each other with the latter often coming out on top. But the other dark beer should not be overlooked. From a modern American porter with a peanut butter twist to a straight-up classic English iteration from a North Yorkshire-based brewery, here are Untappd's 9 highest-rated American and English porters. **Please note we are only covering American and English versions in this list. Stay tuned for more to come on the best of coffee, Imperial, Baltic, or other versions of porters later down the line.**
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Porters usually aren't too crazy, so if you're looking for beers that are a little more unusual, check out some of the craziest beers Hop Culture and friends are trying each week. On each episode of The Craziest Beer I Had This Week, we drop a new crazy beer we've cracked. Watch last week's episode and don't forget to subscribe to Hop Culture's YouTube channel so you never miss a beat on the wild beer we're drinking next!
Would you rather unlock a badge that has you drinking beers at a breakfast spot or earning one that means enjoying a hard seltzer? You decide! Core badges are a integral part of the Untappd community. To make sure that these treasures stay fresh and relevant, we've started asking for your help. Lend us a hand by voting on our next round of core badges here. We'll choose the top three and develop them into actual badges that we'll release in the coming weeks.
Here are the contenders:
Breakfast of Champions - check-in a beer at a breakfast venue
S'more Beer, Please - check-in a beer at a campground venue
Wit, Weiss, and Weizen - check-in a beer with "Wheat" parent category
Light On Your Feet - check-in a hard seltzer
Saturday Night Light - check-in a light beer on a Saturday night
Tune into the Drinking Socially podcast for a wild ride into the world of beer, complete with hoppy humor (see what we did there?). Hosts Harrison Hickok (@HarryBeerBeard) and Jon Dispenza (@DrinkingwithJon) drink new beers and explore deep thoughts about the universe, like What beer goes well with sawdust? Join the world of Drinking Socially on Untappd!
Carve out time to drink pumpkin beers and you will be rewarded. Hot take: Pumpkin beer should exist. There, we said it. In fact, we already wrote about it earlier this week. We know these beers can be controversial. Which is exactly why Drinking Socially podcast hosts Harrison Hickok and Jon Dispenza have been drinking them for at least the last eight years.
Hot take: Pumpkin beers should exist. There, we said it. Yes, we get that these fall-flavored beers are uber controversial. And trust us, we do love hoisting a roasty, toasty Oktoberfest or Märzen during the harvest. But Oktoberfest officially ended last Sunday. And we picked up our pumpkins at the patch this week, so you could say we have gourds on the gray matter.
According to data from Nielsen and Forbes, the pumpkin spice industry was a more-than $600 million market in 2018. Unsurprisingly, Starbucks' infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte drove much of this growth, accounting for $110 million of the market. And pumpkin spice ice cream recorded $10 million in sales in 2018.
In the beer industry, pumpkin beers have actually been around since Colonial times. Traditionally, we all eat pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. But during the 17th and 18th centuries in North America, colonists put pumpkin in everything from pies to breads to beers. Why? Because at the time, you could find the product organically growing everywhere. Pumpkin in the morning. Pumpkin in the evening. Pumpkin at supper time!
Brewers would mash and ferment the pulp of pumpkin. Not for flavor like we do today, but simply because it was an easy source of starch they could convert into fermentable sugars. Other common produce used in this way included apples, pears, squash, and corn. Moreover, typical grains that we find in beer today such as wheat and barley weren't as readily available. All this made pumpkins ripe for the picking and brewing.
Photography courtesy of The Hop Review
But as agriculture developed over the years and those other grains became more readily available, these Colonial pumpkin beers fell by the wayside. Plus, as folks from traditional European brewing countries like England, Germany, and what was then Czechoslovakia (today, the Czech Republic) immigrated to America, they brought with them a history of working with traditional brewing grains. They weren't used to working with pumpkin. All in all, pumpkin beers disappeared like Ichabod Crane's head.
Photography courtesy of Untappd user sdpinoy
Until the 1980s, when Bill Owen, Founder of Buffalo Bill's Brewery in Hayward, CA, read about a recipe for pumpkin beer in the writings of George Washington. He wanted to recreate the recipe. So Owen ordered pumpkin seeds, grew literal pumpkins, roasted them, and mashed them into Buffalo Bill's Amber Ale. And after all that work…nothing happened. The beer didn't taste any different. Why? Because in modern times, when we think of pumpkin, we're actually referring to the notes of a pumpkin pie—those aforementioned holiday spices.
Instead, Owens built a beer based on a blend of rich spices against a malty backbone. Poof! Cinderella's carriage turned into a pumpkin. And a trend began.
Today, the Brewers Association style guide defines "Pumpkin/Squash Beer" as being brewed with pumpkin and without spicing, while "Pumpkin Spice Beer" may or may not have pumpkin but does include spices.
Whether brewed with actual pumpkin puree or simply balanced with traditional spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, pumpkin beers continue to polarize craft beer aficionados.
But before you get jacked over the jack-o'-lantern, give one or two of Untappd's top-rated versions a try. We promise heads will not roll. From a barrel-aged version to an autumnal aristocratic classic, here are Untappd's 11 highest-rated pumpkin / yam beers.
Did you know the Wednesday before Thanksgiving – October 6, 2021 - is Canadian Beer Day?
It's a day to celebrate Canadian beer and the people who brew it, sell it, deliver it, serve it and drink it. Help us make this year's Canadian Beer Day bigger than the last. Visit your local brewery or restaurant (safely!), pick up or get your favourite brew delivered to support the Canadian brewing industry.
Canadian brewers directly employ 19,000 Canadians and the sale of beer supports 149,000 jobs across its added-value-chain including the farmer that grows our barley, the trucker that brings your beer to market, the graphic designer creating labels and packaging, your local beer retail expert, to the bar and restaurant bartender and server pouring your favourite pint.
What's new this year? Check out our Shop page for exclusive Canadian Beer Day branded apparel. All funds go to Food Banks Canada.
Want to explore the unique breweries of North Carolina, all while earning a chance to win one of two amazing NC Beer Month Passport Sweepstakes prizes? Throughout October, as you visit independent craft breweries across North Carolina, use Untappd to check-in beers and add a NC brewery location to unlock limited edition NC Beer Month Passport badges and earn entries in the annual NC Beer Month Passport Sweepstakes!
NC Beer Month Passport Badges
To participate, use Untappd to tag the North Carolina brewery you visit and accumulate the following four limited edition NC Beer Month Passport Badges, and up to three chances to win!
Welcome to NC Beer Month 2021!: Your 1st check-in to any beer at a brewery in NC gets you this badge
NC Beer Month Passport Badge, Level 1: Your 5th check-in to any beer at a brewery in NC earns you one sweepstakes entry
NC Beer Month Passport Badge, Level 2: Your 10th check-in to any beer at a brewery in NC earns you an additional sweepstakes entry
NC Beer Month Passport Badge, Level 3: Your 15th check-in to any beer at a brewery in NC earns you a third sweepstakes entry
NC Beer Month Passport Sweepstakes Prizes
Two lucky entrants will win one of the following NC Beer Month Passport Sweepstakes prizes:
Charlotte Sweepstakes Prize Take a tour of award-winning CLT breweries on this exciting trip to the Queen City. Your stay will include the following:
Two-night hotel accommodations
Charlotte Beer Pass for two (includes more than $40 worth of credits to use at participating breweries)
Transportation credits
Two general admissions tickets to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
#CLTBeer swag bag
Outer Banks Sweepstakes Prize Experience the charm, history, and natural beauty of the Outer Banks. Your stay will include the following:
Two-night hotel accommodations
Two general admission tickets to the North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke
An Outer Banks Adventure certificate for two from Kitty Hawk Kites
O'zapft is! O'zapft is! This is the traditional way Oktoberfest -- aka "Lager Christmas" -- has kicked off for centuries. Literal meaning, "it's been tapped!" But really means it's party time, der bruder! Drinking Socially podcast hosts Harrison Hickok and Jon Dispenza -- along with the rest of the world -- are bummed that the city of Munich canceled the actual Oktoberfest once again this year. But fear not! We're keeping the spirit of this celebration alive and well with the help of some classic Märzen's and some brand spanking new Untappd badges!
So drop the needle on your favorite David Hasselhoff record, put some sausages on your George Foreman grill, and spill beer on your felt hats and tubas. This Lager Christmas, keep the milk and cookies in the fridge. We're celebrating with the greatest beers on earth. It's liter-hosen time. Did you see what we did there?
Traditionally, Oktoberfest ushers in a harvest celebration of drinking Märzens and festbiers. And while many Oktoberfest celebrations around the world have been canceled, Untappd invites you to join in on the fall fun by safely hoisting a stein or two of beer from one of the six traditional Munich breweries.
On this holiday episode of Drinking Socially, Hickok and Dispenza lift their steins full of Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen / Original Münchener Märzen as they unlock the "Oktoberfest (2021)" badge.
Toast
