I'm Todd Alström, Founder of BeerAdvocate, Ask Me Anything.

Discussion in 'Ask Me Anything' started by Todd, Apr 9, 2020.

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  1. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    If I'm going to reboot this forum, I might as well kick it off.

    For those who don't know me, I founded BeerAdvocate (BA) with my brother Jason back in 1996. It was called BrewGuide back then, less than one percent of the world was online, and it was just the two of us in East Boston publishing our beer reviews using a shell script on my Linux box that pushed content over a dial-up modem. Soon after we added a forum where some of the first beer trades occurred, and then in 2000 we changed the name to BeerAdvocate and opened up reviewing to everyone.

    Today, BA is the go-to resource for millions of users each month, the benchmark for beer reviews, the oldest, largest, and most active beer forum, and host of over 70 world-class beer fests. We've also scribed about beer for numerous publications, published our own print magazine for over a decade, and once had an app.

    And, ICYMI, BeerAdvocate recently joined the Next Glass family. Despite our struggles before this and everything going on now, I remain optimistic for the future. Not only for BeerAdvocate, but the beer industry as a whole. We'll get through this pandemic together and come out the other side stronger.

    In the meantime, ask me anything...
     
  2. beaulabauve

    beaulabauve Savant (1,109) Aug 5, 2011 Louisiana

    Just want to say thank you!
     
  3. Peach63

    Peach63 Pooh-Bah (2,118) Jul 17, 2019 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Do you or your brother by any chance home brew?
     
    hottenot, StonyB, Junior and 4 others like this.
  4. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for our users, so thank you.
     
    thuey, hottenot, cfh64 and 16 others like this.
  5. jhavs

    jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,551) Apr 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Are there any planned updates, added advantages or changes to Beer Advocate that you are able/willing to share that are a result of joining with Next Glass and the addition of resources?
     
    hottenot, StonyB, ChicagoJ and 8 others like this.
  6. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Yep. Our first batch was in the mid-80s. It was a skull splitting 14% Brown Ale that we dumped a ton of sugar into. Years later I'd pick it up again when I lived in England using kits from Boots, then I brewed countless all-grain batches when I moved to East Boston. Jason was living next door, so we often brewed together, and the notes we took inspired the creation of BA.

    I've also brewed quite a few production batches over the years and graduated from the American Brewers Guild in 2005.
     
  7. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Honestly, we haven't even begun to explore the opportunities due to the pandemic. Like everyone else in the industry, our focus has been on getting through these challenging times and finding ways that we can help the industry that we all love.

    That said, we recently migrated the site under the same hosting infrastructure as Untappd. This will ultimately make collaborating and sharing resources easier.

    There's also some beer matching going on. The idea here is that the two platforms would share a common beer and brewery database vs. trying to maintain two separate ones.
     
  8. jhavs

    jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,551) Apr 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Thanks! Makes perfect sense in the current situation. I'm excited to see the progression.
     
    hottenot, StonyB, 2beerdogs and 9 others like this.
  9. vdoz3

    vdoz3 Devotee (393) Feb 25, 2009 Vermont

    What inspired the shaved head?
    Any words of inspiration for my brother (who just shaved his head)?
     
    woemad, hottenot, AlcahueteJ and 5 others like this.
  10. DIM

    DIM Grand Pooh-Bah (4,134) Sep 28, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    What role do you see BA/Untapped having in helping the craft beer industry recover?
     
    hottenot, StonyB, ChicagoJ and 6 others like this.
  11. JayORear

    JayORear Grand Pooh-Bah (3,034) Feb 22, 2012 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Any chance the new infrastructure will be able to handle direct photo-hosting?
     
  12. Ranbot

    Ranbot Pooh-Bah (2,389) Nov 27, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    @Todd, Can you explain your thoughts on the NEIPA and how/why they changed over the years? I remember you leaving some pretty scathing reviews and comments about the early NEIPAs from Treehouse, Trillium, etc. but I think they were scrubbed from the site and you seem to have softened/changed your view. Or maybe you haven't, but keep your opinions more private to not upset colleagues, partners, or site users. Care to elaborate?

    FWIW, this isn't intended as a "gotcha" question. I personally appreciated your contrary opinion to the hype. You've seen a lot of beer trends come and go over the years and I'm honestly curious how you evolved on this one.
     
  13. bwarner2015

    bwarner2015 Crusader (407) Mar 25, 2016 Connecticut

    Thanks for all you do to keep BA as great as it is!
    Question: Heady Topper is listed as a NEIPA on BA. Do you agree with this categorization?
     
    woemad, hottenot, pjbear05 and 7 others like this.
  14. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    The future was showing, so in the late 90s I started to cut my one hair with clippers on a regular basis. Eventually I just start shaving my head with a razor.
    Moisturize, use sunscreen, and never let anyone rub your dome unless it's wanted.
     
  15. FBarber

    FBarber Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,161) Mar 5, 2016 Illinois
    Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Todd, having been intimately involved with the craft beer scene since 1996, what is your favorite development in the industry since that time and what is your least favorite development in the industry since that time?
     
    woemad, Shanex, hottenot and 13 others like this.
  16. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I don't have any specifics to share at this time, but ways that we can help the beer industry recover is something that I'm personally exploring with the team and other organizations.
     
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  17. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    As mentioned, we haven't even begun to explore features like this. That said, we basically supported this with the beta app, so there's definitely a good chance.
     
  18. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I've had some incredible examples of the style, but most are mediocre at best. I could say this about any style though. As for my thoughts changing over the years, read: Turbid Times (2014) and then It's Official: New England India Pale Ale Is a Style (2017).
    That was Jason, not me.
    I'm not concerned if someone gets upset about my views about a beer style, and getting upset about something so unimportant is silly AF.
     
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  19. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,254) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    Staff Super Mod Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    It's more of a DNEIPA, but I agree. Heady Topper has been around long before the modern NEIPA was established as a style, but if the style was around when the beer was added in 2004...the beer probably would've been tagged as an NEIPA then, too.
     
    woemad, hottenot, StonyB and 11 others like this.
  20. MuleHopKickin

    MuleHopKickin Aspirant (293) Jan 8, 2010 New Jersey
    Trader

    Hey Todd, I was just talking with some buddies that all hit the Extreme Beer Festival a few years back and we were recalling what a great time that was! I remember meeting you at Dogfish Head in Rohobeth Beach where you and Sam were brewing up the batch for that upcoming EBF. Raising a glass to post Covid beer festivals and really hoping Belgian Fest makes a return, caught one up in Portland a few years back, that was anther great time! Cheers!
     
    Uptownal, woemad, hottenot and 7 others like this.
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