A new way to track your favorite beers on tap

As more and more watering holes are opening both locally and statewide it is becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain exactly what beers are on tap at any given bar or brewery.

With convenience in mind, West Michigan’s Fermented Design has created a Smartphone app that allows users to instantaneously access bar and brewery tap list information.

TappApp, created by Aaron Brummitt, Matt Michielsen, and Brian Gaideski, is available on both the iPhone and Android platforms.

"We developed it because we personally were curious about what's on tap at our neighborhood bars," Brummitt says. "We think it fits a need and we can provide a good value to breweries and beer bars."

For roughly $500, Fermented Design will provide a platform for an establishment to showcase its beers, live event calendar, and other information that patrons will find useful.

"We've got a graphic designer we work with who will custom brand the app for them," Brummitt says. "If they have images they want to use right out of the gate that works well, otherwise we can help them work that stuff out--everything from backgrounds, color schemes and fonts."

Besides a listing of beers on tap, the app also allows establishments to affix descriptions, reviews and prices to each beer, giving patrons an excellent idea of what to expect when they visit.

"Another new feature we are working on right now is to not only have this information in the app but to provide a web widget that they can just put on their website," Brummitt says.

Fermented Design would also like to roll out updates that allow business to provide information about menu options and food and beer pairings.

"Another thing that we’re excited about is the ability to what we're calling 'favorite a beer.' If you have a certain beer you like, you can mark it as a favorite and next time it goes on tap (the app will) send you an alert," Brummitt says.

More information on TappApp and Fermented Design can be found on the company’s website.

Writer: Jeremy Martin, Second Wave Media
Source: Aaron Brummitt, Fermented Design