Beeradvocate > Untappd

I find the grade inflation on UT is even worse than it is here. I don't look at ratings on either site before I try a beer, but when I check in a beer on UT, I generally laugh at the scores, they're so ridiculously high.

 

Untappd has moderators who's job it is to fix these. Brewers I believe can do this as well. Obviously it doesn't always work out so well. You even get a special badge or something to be a moderator.

 

I can't speak to the process of adding a beer to Untappd. I used Untappd for about a 3 month stint, and then stopped double logging my beers here and there. After all, I wouldn't log a beer in Untappd until I had a BA derived score from a review.

I've thought about playing catch up, and logging all my beers over a weekend (I made my account private and unsearchable), but I don't know that the benefits outweigh the cost. The benefit being able to quickly verify if I've had a beer or not.

 

It is laughable when every beer on tap at a craft beer bar is 4+. I know I'm bad (but working on it) about inflating my ratings compared with statistical averages, but at least I don't put everything in that high of a territory.

 

BA whomps ass over UT!!!

 

Untappd is a little more unrefined.....People on untappd will give a pilsner, lager or stout a low rating because it's not a NEIPA.....that sort of stuff drives me nuts.

 

I'm not even going to talk about RateBeer. It's dead to me since they sold out. Anyway...

UT is basically social media with beer in it. So as long you keep that in mind (you're getting 140 character blurbs about a beer and scores are being swayed by a TON of people that might not know what they're talking about) it's OK to use. Honestly I just forget to "Check-In" a lot of times so I'm barely on there.

BA is more of a community that's a bit more involved and a knowledge repository. I (generally) trust scores and reviews here more than I do the ones from UT. The fact is that UT has a pretty huge casual audience that might not have much experience (not that it's bad but it has an impact on how they might perceive sub-par stuff). I've seen beers that are OK at best get consistent 4's and 5's.

My only real gripe about UT is that it fuels the FOMO in a lot of people. There's an "incentive" to just order a ton of flights and small pours just to check-in a lot and get more medals, "Toasts" (Likes) and whatnot. Doesn't help that it's just another thing that keeps people glued to their phones when they should just be enjoying beer and good company.

 

On UT I give everything a 4, unless it's really good or bad. My average score here is probably under 3.5, and if I give a beer a 3.5 here, it's a really good beer, but if I give a beer a 3.5 on UT, that's a really bad beer.

 

I have to disagree with you. Nothing is lacking re BA on my mobile.

 

I just look for thoughtful discourse. And humor. I really like that this place has room for an old fart like me....I like to tell stories...

 

Nothing is lacking but, viewing threads with lots of pictures like WBAYDN isn't always a smooth experience. Plus you need to upload pictures externally. On Untappd it's all on one spot no?

 

Untappd directly from your mobile is its greatest asset. And the friends, local mostly, previous traders surprisingly.

 

BA used to have an app. I do miss it but having the shortcut makes it not so bad....

 

I guess I don't really take into consideration the ratings on either site before I try a beer. For example, Dragon's Milk by New Holland brewing is rated fairly high on both and when I tried it my taste buds were not a fan of it. I pretty much use both BA and UT to keep track of beers I've had and the breweries I've went to.

 

I've use BA exclusively to rate and review and have shied away from using UT. But with all the new local breweries popping up it's much easier to find ratings on local beers on UT. I will at some point give UT a try just for that reason. But the community here at BA is unmatched and this will always be my go to site.

 

I have been a user on here for 14.75 years (or so) & I was a lurker prior to that as I found the idea of reviewing & rating beers daunting. It was my FerMentor, Lew Bryson (@therealbeerfly) who CANvinced me to make the plunge. Back then, I had a few choices - 1) BA, 2) RB, 3) both. I knew many ppl who opted for #3, but I felt like it would be too much juggling & so I chose #1 for one simple reason - the reviews were often MUCH more thoughtful than on #2, which were more often akin to a quick check-in.

I have remained on here not out of any sense of loyalty, having: been ousted as a volunteer BeerFly Guide; lost a LOT of reviews when a CANsolidation was made when Serving Styles were eliminated; been told that I could no longer have a Press Pass unless I was actually covering the event (fair dinkum, but then why should I pay for my travel & lodging when I would spend a LOT of the day posing for photos instead of drinking AND pay my own admission?), ad nauseum. Instead, I am invested in terms of my time & all of my reviews, both beer & places, plus my (in)famous CANQuest (tm).

On the other hand, I REALLY enjoy UT for a sense of fun! I was turned onto it early on in its existence by @unclejedi & found it to be a much-needed flipside to BA. I could check-in without reviewing a beer! As I upgraded my phones, I became an acCANplished photographer & it inspired me to branch out beyond beer & into cider, while The ex-Old Lady still gets credit for turning me onto mead. Yeah, I chase badges & I CAN manipulate their system on ocCANsion, but by and large, my check-ins are legit. CANversely, that is all that they are: check-ins. 14,300+/11,800+ (C-Is/Unique) later, I have NOT ONCE given a beer a rating! I just make up funny Tweets using the words in the product's name.

BA for sit-down, generally at-home, thoughtful reviews. UT for pleasure & fun. YMMV.

 

BA for the forums and if I'm looking for a more detailed review.

But I prefer untapped for checking in beers and quick reviews. I rely mostly on the average score there when I'm looking to see if I'm interested, not what people say. And also the pictures people post help.

 

Me too. I think UT and Rate Beer are more transactional and BA is more of a community.

 

Haha I just logged in my first beer on UT, been a member for a long time. It is a beer so bad I didn't want to even add the brewery and beer to the database here, and just gave it a 1 and three word description of how atrocious it is on UT.

To find out what is pouring and where in real time, UT is where it's at, and I constantly use it for that feature. To use it for anything else is silly, BA is so far superior in every other way

 

BA is a hell of a lot better if you're looking to learn about beer, but I've met more people using Untappd.