Social Drinking

Someone once said that beer drinking is a team sport. Okay, I admit that someone may have been me, but I can quote myself… I do it all the time. What I mean by “team sport” isn’t just an appeal to get others to go drinking with me so I don’t have to drink alone. It also refers to the joy of sharing beers and beer knowledge with others who are equally obsessed as you are.

His blog was written in iambic pentameter

It can also refer to today’s social media network and that applies to drinking beer. There are lots of different ways to use social media to enhance your craftiness, and here are a few that I routinely engage in:

1)      Read blogs (which is something you are obviously already doing). Beer brewers love to share their experiences and knowledge with anyone who will listen or read, so there are literally thousands of beer related blogs out there. Some, like this one, leave much to be desired while others are fascinating. I recommend going to any national brewery’s website and looking around a few minutes, and you’ll probably find a link to a blog with interesting stories about their brewing, publicity stunts and just about anything else you might want to read about.

2)      Write a blog. If you are knowledgeable, or if you’re just a talented writer with interesting stories to tell. The blogosphere needs you to help saturate things with more blogs about beer and fewer blogs about kittens. You can be as serious or not so much as you wish… there is something for everyone.

Join us, won't you?

3)      Join Untappd. Untappd is an online beer drinking management dashboard that allows you to keep track of what you’ve been drinking and share that information with your friends. You have the opportunity to learn more about your beers and earn badges for your efforts. Plus, I believe the brewers get statistics from Untappd which help them do a little market research and better deliver their products. Untappd is also available as an ap for your droid or iPhone, so you can check in your brews on the go.

4)      Post on Facebook/Twitter. Perhaps the simplest so far, simply write about the beers you’re drinking on your Facebook wall and tell all of your friends what you’re up to. Or tweet about the brews you’re drinking. You can give your critiques of the beers, do your best to describe what you’re experiencing, or just tell people what you’re drinking. You can even take pictures of your beers and post them on Facebook too.

A lineup of beers I posted on Facebook last Christmas

There are a lot of options here. Have fun with it and enjoy craft beer, and remember that we want to know what you’re drinking. So tell the world!

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!