Todd Alström, founder of Beer Advocate, says he is excited about working with Next Glass “in taking BeerAdvocate to the next level.” The release from Next Glass says that BeerAdvocate users can expect improvements to the website and more beer festivals. We clearly have some overlap in user bases but, for the most part, our strongest link is that both Untappd and BeerAdvocate exist to celebrate beer and all the things around it.” However, both platforms evolved to serve different markets and fundamental purposes when it comes to discovering beer. When Untappd launched, Avola says, “it appeared initially that Untappd and BeerAdvocate could be competitors. It didn’t take off overnight, but as smartphones and their apps became more central to people’s lives, BeerAdvocate and RateBeer were slow to adapt, and Untappd far surpassed both sites in popularity. It went online four years before RateBeer, which has been fully owned by AB InBev’s ZX Ventures since February 2019. We've worked hand-in-hand with Untappd Founder Greg Avola over the last five years to improve the Untappd user experience, and we'll do the same with BeerAdvocate to ensure the brand remains true to its long-held central tenet-respect beer.”įounded in 1996, BeerAdvocate was an early online gathering place for beer enthusiasts, as drinkers sought to make sense of growing variety, seek better beers, and share their opinions. “We've demonstrated an appreciation for the integrity of these platforms and the importance of the vision of founders. “Communities like BeerAdvocate and Untappd are important pillars of the brewing industry and deserve good stewardship,” says Trace Smith, president of Next Glass, in the release.

The announcement came today via a news release and a statement from Next Glass, the company that developed Untappd. The company that runs the popular beer-rating app Untappd announced that it has acquired parts of BeerAdvocate, including its long-running website.

Greg avola