How to Track the Beer You Drink
Tracking beer well means going one step past the check-in: scoring what's actually in the glass — six quick axes and a line — so that when a brewery's hazy IPA shows up on a menu next year, you know whether past-you loved it or just logged it. With thousands of breweries shipping new releases weekly, beer has more one-time encounters than any other drink. The tap list moves on; your notes are what's left.
Check-in vs. journal
A check-in says I had this. A journal says this is what it was like. Untappd built the world's check-in layer and it's excellent at that job — badges, community ratings, what's pouring nearby. The journal layer is the quieter, more personal one: your scores, on your axes, comparable across years, visible to the friends you actually drink with. That's the lane Crumble's free beer add-on lives in — and the two coexist happily. (Crumble Plus adds an AI label scan on top.)
Six axes for the glass
- Sweetness — from bone-dry pilsner to pastry-stout dessert.
- Bitterness — the backbone; how hard the finish bites.
- Body — spritzy-light to motor-oil imperial stout.
- Hops — the character, not just the number: citrus, pine, tropical, dank.
- Malt — bread, caramel, toffee, roast; the floor everything stands on.
- Finish — clean exit or lingering encore, and which the beer earned.
Note the format too — draft, bottle, can — because the same beer genuinely drinks differently, and "had it on cask once, revelation" is a note worth having. The radar builds your palate map over time: if everything you score high is heavy on hops and light on sweetness, the next unfamiliar tap list just got easier.
Your shelf, for the bottles worth waiting on
Most beer is drunk the week it's bought, but the cellar corner — lambics, barley wines, imperial stouts with a vintage on the label — rewards records. Shelf entries with dates let you taste the same bottle across years: the same gueuze at one and three years is two different beers, and your journal is the proof.
Breweries and bars on the map
Taprooms, brewery tours, the bar with the impossible rotating list — the venue half is free on Crumble. Log the brewery as a spot, rate the flight, wishlist the ones you haven't reached. A brewery-hopping weekend becomes a trip with its own recap, and your friends inherit the good taprooms through the shared map.
The rest of the shelf
The same shelf-and-sessions journal covers whisky, wine, specialty coffee, tea, and matcha — each scored in its own language. One app for everything you pour, all free — Crumble Plus adds the AI label scan.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app to track beers?
Untappd is the biggest by far — check-ins, badges, and a massive community database. Crumble's free beer add-on is the quieter option: a private journal with six-axis tasting notes, your bottle shelf, and breweries on the same map as your restaurants, shared with friends only. Different jobs; some people run both.
What should beer tasting notes include?
The beer (brewery, name, style), the format (draft, bottle, can — the same beer drinks differently), and six consistent scores: sweetness, bitterness, body, hops, malt, finish. One free line for the rest. Consistency is what makes a hazy IPA from spring comparable with the one in your glass now.
Is there a beer journal that is not social?
Yes — that's the gap Crumble sits in. Reviews stay inside your accepted friends list: no public feed, no global check-in stream, no strangers rating your taste. The journal is for you and the people you actually drink with.
How do I keep track of breweries I have visited?
Log the brewery or taproom as a spot — free on Crumble — rate what you drank there, and wishlist the ones you haven't made it to. Brewery-hopping on a trip groups into a trip recap automatically.