Un-untappd

Who still uses Untappd?  It seems as though I speak to at least one person per day who has abandoned it, whether it’s a taproom owner who’s fed-up of beer-tickers only visiting to drink whatever’s ‘new’ — the smallest serving, of course; a free sample is even better to increase the Untappd count — or brewers tired of the public demand for ‘new’ beers on a more frequent basis.

Is Untappd determining the drinking habits and tastes of a certain type of drinker, driving him or her in a never-ending quest to continually find something new at the expense of relishing a delicious, enjoyable beer more than once?

Is Untappd undermining loyalty to and patronage of a brewery and its beer, undermining the entire fabric that maintains a buoyant business within the beer industry?

A close friend recently asked after my health — was I well? — because according to Untappd I had not drank a beer since July, and that is extremely unlikely.  Unless I was truly sick.  This is perhaps indicative of the stranglehold Untappd may have upon genuine drinkers who enjoy beer, whether it’s a beer we’ve not drank previously or a beer we’ve enjoyed many times before.

I took the decision to reclaim control of my drinking habits from Untappd because it was verging on obsession: compulsive, costly and somewhat unsatisfying.  Now I drink in a more leisurely manner, unfearful of drinking the same beer or cider twice, rebuilding the loyalty to a beer or brewery that was lost in the quest for another Badge on Untappd.

I took the decision to reclaim control of my drinking habits from Untappd because it urged me to “Always Drink Responsibly”.