Untappd Launches

On October 22, 2010, Greg Avola and Tim Mather launched Untappd as a social platform for beer drinkers. The two founders had developed the idea during the summer of 2010, combining the location-based check-in model popularized by Foursquare with the beer information and rating culture represented by websites such as BeerAdvocate. A basic browser-based prototype had entered private beta in September. Untappd allowed users to record the beers they were drinking, share those check-ins with friends, and gradually build a personal drinking history. Later additions included ratings, photographs, badges, beer discovery, and venue information. Its check-in-centered approach helped move online beer culture from longer-form website reviews toward immediate, mobile participation.