A free app has been launched today in the UK that helps people find new and favourite beers at bars and pubs and share their recommendations.
Pint Please shows where different beers are available, allowing users to search for the nearest place selling a specific brand and, once tasted, give it a rating.
Linking into Facebook and Twitter, it allows people to share their thoughts in the style of social media, including a rolling feed of updates.
Licensees and operators can join Pint Please for free, adding the location, image, description and their beer list for their outlet for no charge.
Those who sign up to the “pro” account will be able to access the analytics via logging into the Pint Please website for a monthly fee of £20 per outlet.
As well as licensees, brewers and suppliers can access the data to see how their beers are performing by region and what brands are selling best.
The data is illustrated in an easy-to-navigate format and gives details on how brands or pubs have been rated by consumers. Individual beers can be promoted via the client site for particular days or events.
The first company to sign up to the app was Peterborough-based brewer Oakham Ales, whose beers include Oakham Citra, Endless Summer and Inferno.
Adrian Posnett, managing director of Oakham Ales, said: “The new app is easy to navigate and attractively designed and I’m confident will be popular with our drinkers, who we know love to share their views on our beers.
“I look forward to reviewing the data provided by Pint Please which will give us a closer insight into what drinkers are saying about our beer. It will also enable us to offer highly tailored promotions to users of the app.”
The team behind the app, which was originally launched in Finland, consists of four founders who were previously coders and designers with Nokia and Microsoft.
Finnish-born chief executive Juha Karppinen said: “The idea came to me when I visited Finnish pubs with friends and ended up forgetting the names of the labels I enjoyed the most.
“Those using our app will be able to receive personalised beer recommendations based on their tastes. The app can also synch with the user’s others social media, such as Facebook and Twitter.”
For the UK launch, Juha has teamed up with Tim Froggett, a senior marketing lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University which has campuses in Peterborough, Chelmsford and Cambridge.
A “Pint Please” student team from the university will be involved in demonstrating the app at venues in these areas as well as this week’s Great British Beer Festival in London.
After a competition among students, Giulia Pilleri designed a special Pint Please beer which has been specially brewed for the launch by Oakham Ales. At 4.1% ABV, it offers soft fruit with a hint of elderflower on the aroma and a sweet crisp fruity taste fading to a dry bitter finish.
The beer will be available from this month and will also be on the brewery’s stand at the Peterborough Beer Festival from August 19 to 23.
To download the app for iPhone, visit http://bit.ly/pintpleaseUK.
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