Untappd. Ratebeer. Beer Advocate.
We are nerds so we like to make notes on what we drink. We like to get badges. I am guilty as much as the next guy is, but there are times when maybe we need to put the smart phone down and just drink. I read a great post which I posted about a little bit back, and felt that I needed to expand a bit on my opinion.
Our country was basically founded in bars. We used to have a culture that centered around the local bar, where we would gather to discuss politics, religion, women, or whatever the topic of the day might be. Walk into any bar these days and you will see a sea of faces locked down on their phone. Nose deep in facebook, or instagram, or whatever. And then you have us, the drinkers, the people who know better, right? We appreciate what the bar is supposed to be, what a pint glass is supposed to represent. And yet, I still see it, no, I still do it. Untapped as soon as I get that first taste of a new beer. I’m checking in to the bar. I’m rating that new release that I have been itching to try, and I look up and my friends are doing it to.
Please… for the love of all that is hoppy, just put your phone down, or better yet, in your pocket. Beer, and drinking are social events. Enjoy them with one another. The only way for us to break this trend it to just do that… break it. Stop. Talk.