7 Essential Beer Apps You Should Download Right Now

You can pick up homebrewing as your new stay-at-home hobby.

Shutterstock/Jennifer Bui/Thrillist
Shutterstock/Jennifer Bui/Thrillist

We love beer. When we're not drinking it, we're talking about it. When we're not talking about it, we're obsessively learning about it -- how to brew it at home, what beer judges actually look for in an IPA, and where to go to get our next fix. Sure, we've already told you about the 12 best beer apps (including Untappd and TapHunter), but that was barely scratching the surface of what a beer app can be.

Here are seven additional beer apps -- from virtual beer pong to homebrewing guides -- for the kindred spirits who are just as consumed by beer as we are.

BEX Cellar

iOS: Free
The Beer Exchange is a website that connects beer nerds with stout-stacked cellars to freely trade beers with other folks across the country. The app allows you to "create a cellar." From there, you can find trading partners, manage trades, and become the best beer trader without ever leaving your home. That's right, now you can beg a guy with a Dark Lord bomber to trade him one bottle for your entire cellar... on the go. He'll probably still say no, but you tried, and that's what counts.
 

Beer Style Reference Guide

iOS: Free
Android: Free
If you're not a homebrewer or a serious beer snob, but want to learn more about the intricacies of beer, then download this app ASAP. This app takes the guidelines beer judges use when, umm, judging beers in competition. For example, under American IPA, it says the "hop flavor is medium to high, and should reflect an American hop character with citrusy, floral, resinous, piney, or fruity aspects." And who among us doesn't enjoy a nice mouthful of resin? Other than this guy. Or some of these experts.

BeerMenus

iOS: Free
Since the only thing that will stop you from drinking beer is not being able to find it, BeerMenus has an extensive list of bars, restaurants, and even stores, and can alert you when a beer you love is available or when a bar has changed its tap list. It's especially useful when you're in a city filled with bars; check the map and easily determine which has the best tap list for you before selecting a watering hole.

Brew Town

iOS: Free
Android: Free
You ever go into a brewery and think, “How hard can owning one be? I could do this.” News flash: you probably can’t! You have to deal with brewing, designing beer labels, and distribution. Luckily, you don’t have to blow your 401k doing those tasks in real life when you can do it within Brew Town, a Minecraft-ish looking freemium game that takes a deep dive into the brewing world. This beautifully animated app also allows you to roll up your sleeves and develop beers (brew a melon pilsner, we won’t judge!), showing that it’s clearly made by beer lovers who also love mobile games. If you love drinking and gaming too, it’s worth the download.

BeerSmith Mobile Homebrewing

iOS: 7.99
Android: 3.99
BeerSmith is a must for the modern homebrewer who stopped using pencil and paper the second computers came along. The app makes finding new recipes to brew, and eventually brewing them, a snap. There are plenty of tools in-app to make it easier, like a timer, unit converters, and seven calculators ("hydrometer adjust, infusions, alcohol/attenuation, mash adjust, weight/volume, refractometer and carbonation").

HomeBrewTalk

Android: Free
The only thing left to do after brewing beer is to talk about brewing beer (while you drink the beer you just brewed), and this app gives you the easiest way to access the HomeBrewTalk forums, where you can educate yourself and be the best damn homebrewer you can be. 

Beer Pong Free

iOS: Free
Beer pong is the sport of kings (and also a game some Dartmouth students made up), but since it's typically verboten to play at work, Beer Pong Free will fill the Beirut-shaped hole in your soul in the meantime. If you really need more virtual drinking games to play while in isolation, we also have a list of those here.

Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, get Eatmail for more food coverage, and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.

Lee Breslouer is a former senior writer for Thrillist, and is trying to be the best damn beer drinker he can be. Follow him to English-style IPAs: @LeeBreslouer.