🍺 50 Beers to 5000 and the Untappd App
From Beer #1 to 5000: How Untappd Played a Key Role
From the Desk of JT, the Beer Logger (B-Logger)
Mission: Explain how Beer #1 turned into Beer #5000
Beer #: 1–5 (the beginning)
Location: Kenosha, Wisconsin → Austin, Texas → Dayton, Ohio
Beer: Alaskan Amber (and a very important brewery crawl)
Vibe: Curious, unplanned, slightly obsessive
Mood: Nostalgic with a grin
🍺 The Two Timelines That Somehow Collided
Before Beer #5000 had its moment at Fifth Street Brewpub, there were two completely separate timelines quietly building toward each other.
One was digital.
The other was deeply local.
And somehow, I ended up standing right where they crossed — with a beer in one hand and a phone in the other.
On one side, you had Untappd, the app that would turn beer drinking into a living timeline.
Back in the summer of 2010, founders Greg Avola and Tim Mather started kicking around an idea: beer is inherently social… so why isn’t there a real-time social platform built around it?
Foursquare had check-ins. BeerAdvocate had ratings. But nothing captured the moment.
Untappd launched as a private beta in September 2010, and by the end of 2011, it added features like ratings and photo uploads — the stuff that made it feel alive.
That’s when I found it.
At the time, I was working on a mobile app for a fantasy sports startup called Armchair Millionnaire, spending weeks in Austin with a dev team.
And yes — I downloaded Untappd partly to study how they built social features. And partly to become a certifiable craft beer geek.
Because that’s what I do.
🍺 Beer #1: A Completely Normal Start
February 12, 2012
- Beer: Alaskan Amber from Alaskan Brewing Company
- Location: San Francisco Grill in Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Significance: None (or so I thought)
Just a beer.
Just a check-in.
No idea what was coming.
🌞 The Austin Trip That Changed Everything
Days later, I was in Austin.
And that’s where the story really begins.
My next four beers:
- Okanogan Black Ale (Dark Ale) – NXNW Brewing
- Old Blevins (Belgian Tripel) – Black Star Co-op
- Samson’s Best Pale Ale (Pale Ale, American) – Lovejoys
- Hill Country Organic Amber (Red Ale – American Amber / Red) – Uncle Billy’s
At the time, this felt like a great little brewery crawl.
Looking back?
This was the launch point.
🛢️ The Moment That Connected Everything
One stop on that crawl stood out:
Not just for the beer.
But for the idea.
That visit didn’t just influence how I thought about beer.
It triggered a phone call that led to the creation of Fifth Street Brewpub – now the oldest cooperatively owned and operated brewery in the United States. Read the full story.
At the time, I had no idea these two stories would become linked.
📊 Logging Beers Became Something Bigger
At first, Untappd was just:
- A way to remember what I drank
- A way to compare notes
- A way to follow social trends
But over time, it became something else:
A timeline, a travel log, a life story.
Each check-in added another piece, another place, another memory.
🍺 The Accidental Journey to 5000
There was no grand plan.
No “I’m going to hit 5000 beers” declaration.
Just curiosity.
Consistency.
And a lot of great stops along the way.
What started as Beer #1 in my hometown…
Turned into brewery crawls, travel stories, and eventually:
Side note… 5000 is true beer geek status, for sure. I enjoyed a lot of beer along the way, while skipping thousands of check-ins at breweries, bars, Great American Beer Festival and other beer fests across the country. There are… get ready for this… many incredibly epic examples of imbibers with 15000, 20000, or even more check-ins. Remember, Untappd started approximately 14 years ago. So… an average of 3 or 4 beers and check-ins per day? Those heights are legendary, and my liver (and brain, legs, checking account) can’t even think about going there.
🔗 The Connection You Don’t See at First
Here’s the wild part:
- February 2012 → First Untappd check-in
- February 2012 → Call about co-op brewery idea
- June 2012 → Fifth Street Brewpub becomes real
Two completely different paths.
Same starting point.
And years later…
They reconnect at Beer #5000.
🍻 Why This Story Matters Before Beer #5000
Beer #5000 isn’t just a number.
It’s a timeline and a life journey documented on Untappd and this blog.
A collection of places, people, and moments.
And it all started with:
- One app
- One beer
- One trip to Austin
👉 What Comes Next
Now that you know how the journey started…
👉 Next Read: Beer #5000 at Fifth Street Brewpub — the full-circle moment (coming soon)
Because where this story ends…
Is exactly where another one began.
Related Links
- 4983 LONDON, ENGLAND – Clubhouse Pale Ale
4984 HUDSON, FL – A Tad Dodgy
4985 PALM HARBOR, FL – Boat Story
4986 NASHVILLE, TN – Smile Lines
4987 NASHVILLE, TN – Red Lasso
4988 LITTLETON, CO – Highliner Hazy IPA
4989 SLOAN’S LAKE, DENVER, CO – Cloudship Hazy IPA
4990 CASTLE ROCK, CO – Las Cruces Lager
4991 DENVER, CO – Lake Lightning IPA
4992 DEEP ELLUM, DALLAS, TX – Cesquena Dorada
4993 KEY WEST, FL – Hakuna Matata
4994 NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Island Pirate Ale
4995 SAVANNAH, GA – Garden of Evil
4996 HILTON HEAD, SC – Liquid Gold
4997 CLEARWATER, FL – Beach Mode
4998 ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Pohlednice
4999 TAMPA (YBOR CITY), FL – Bublina
5000 DAYTON, OH – 50th Anniversary St. Anne’s Hill Pilsner
Beer Tunes! Checkout your new favorite playlist HERE.
