From Untappd:
Back in the summer of 2010, I was talking with my business partner, Tim Mather, about a desire to create a new project in the social space. At the time, Foursquare was the talk of the town. Everyone was using it to check-in as they traveled around the world. Tim and I were both avid Foursquare users back then. With Tim living in California and myself in Massachusetts, we stayed even more connected through Foursquare by seeing where we were both "checking in" to on the app. However, as we got talking and brainstorming we realized that Foursquare check-ins left us wanting more. We posed the question to each other, what industries are inherently social but have no current real-time component to their experience? The beer industry resonated with us. There were other rating networks like BeerAdvocate, but nothing was real-time and in the moment like we envisioned. From there, the idea for Untappd was born! Within 24 hours of ideation, we had a prototype completed and launched a private beta in September of 2010. We had the minimal viable product (which was just a web app in your browser), without features like photo upload, ratings, or even a moderation platform.
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Screenshots of the first iteration of the Untappd App
Fast forward 10 years, Untappd has grown to close to 9 million users with over 925 millions check-ins, and a team of 80+ employees leading to improve Untappd and its' family of products every day. I'm humbled each day to see the passion, innovation, and growth of not only our team but the global beverage community as well. A lot of people ask me how Untappd was able to create this community of beer lovers, and I always respond that we didn't create it, we just cultivated it. We build tools and services to connect breweries with beer lovers, and provide beer lovers with the ability to find their next favorite beer and see what their friends are drinking. I had no idea that this simple idea that was hatched back in the summer of 2010 would evolve to where it is today. It's amazing to see and I'm humbled and honored to be a part of this project and its continued growth.
As we enter our official anniversary of Untappd on October, 22nd, 2020 - we wanted to do something super special, something we have never done before. With that said, I'm so happy to announce this project. We're getting together with our friends at Dogfish Head tp bring you "I Remember My First Check-In"... a unique sour beer that celebrates the connectivity of the craft beer community. Brewers from across the world will have an opportunity to use this recipe and release their own version of the "I Remember My First Check-In" beer while beer lovers can use the app to find their local breweries' version!
We've worked with a lot of partners in the past through our business platform and our sponsored badge program, and were so excited when Dogfish Head Craft Brewery approached us to work together on an innovative way to celebrate that allows us to bring everyone in the brewing industry together. When I had a chance to chat with Sam Calagione about this project, it was clear that they wanted to brew a special beer for us for this grand celebration. We worked together to really make this beer significant and special for the community. I went back through 10 years of Untappd data to look for trends regarding styles of beer. I found that sours had the highest increase in check-ins year over year (163%), a consistent average rating of 3.9 or above, and an average sentiment score of 72% positive among users who had left a review for beer of that style. It became immediately clear that sour-style beers are a spark of the brewing industry and key innovation in the beer landscape for consumers. Additionally, we wanted this beer to be something that everyone could experience and celebrate with - the entire global community of Untappd users and beer lovers.
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The can rendering of thew new beer, recipe by Dogfish Head
We're planning for the beers to start rolling out on the week of October 18th, leading up to our virtual anniversary party hosted by myself on October 24th, from 3pm - 6pm ET where we'll feature some these unique creations, talk to their brewers, and so much more. We're honored and humbled by all the breweries who wish to be part of this project and extremely excited to see what everyone comes up with. In addition to the beer being released that week, there will be a new badge celebrating out 10th Anniversary and this project for checking in any of these beers starting from October 18th to December 31st 2020. Be on the look out for that!
This is something we've never done before at this scale and our goal with this project and our virtual party is to celebrate YOU: the users, the brewers, the bars and restaurants, and everyone in between. Untappd wouldn't be here with your support, dedication to your craft community, and love for the industry, and we sincerely appreciate you. Not many social apps last 10 years, so we are honored to still be here and top of mind in the brewing industry.
If you're interested in learning more about how to join this project as a brewer, how to promote it, or to see an updating list of all participating breweries, head over to our new landing page for this celebration at untappd.com/10. We'll be featuring these special beers in-app on the discover page so you can quickly find them nearby.
To read in more details about this initiative, check out our press release here.
We look forward to the next 10 years!
Greg Avola,
Founder, Untappd
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