The Bar Towel

As I grow my cellar and begin to build a trading network, I figure it's about time that I start keeping track of what beers I have on hand, and what beers are on my wishlist!

After searching the web for platforms that allow users to log the beers in their cellar and facilitate trades, I came across a few, each with their own pros and cons:

- CellarHQ (http://www.cellarhq.com/) - I know a bunch of you use this one, but it appears as though it's somewhat unreliable. In fact, I never got further than the homepage, which states "An unexpected error occurred. We'll get this fixed soon." Perhaps one of you who use this site can confirm whether this is a temporary glitch or whether it's been down for some time? The main pro in my opinion is its simple interface; however, it's a bit TOO simple for my liking, and doesn't appear to allow users to include and differentiate between FTs and ISOs.

- The Beer Cellar (http://www.beercellar.me/) - Like CellarHQ (simple), but it actually works, AND you can add both FTs and ISOs to your list. The only downside in my eyes is that it doesn't appear to let you search for other users by location (an important feature for me, since I live in the boonies and will likely only be able to trade with other Essex County folk or Michiganders).

- The Beer Exchange (http://www.thebeerexchange.io/) - New as of a couple months ago, this one is much more sophisticated. Not only can you list your FTs & ISOs; the site actually finds potential trades for you (or so it claims!). Users can create profiles, message each other, rate trading partners, you name it. Only problem is, it doesn't currently allow you to search for other users by location.

- Bottletrade (https://www.bottletrade.com/) - Also looks new, and quite sophisticated. Seems to have a lot in common with Beer Exchange; however, you CAN search for other users by location on this site. The downside - it wouldn't let me add a beer to my "cellar" unless I specified every detail about it - size, quantity, bottled on date, etc. (which is a deal-breaker for me, as I'm looking for something quick & easy).

Hopefully, with time, one site will reign supreme (like Untappd), unite beer traders everwhere, and have all the kinks worked out! Come to think of it, Untappd should really be the ones adding the FT/ISO component...?

How does everyone else feel about all of this? Any preferences as far as "cyber cellars" go?

Mike

And please forgive me if this is a repeat topic! The closest thread I've come across only dealt with CellarHQ (and its problematic crashing): http://www.bartowel.com/board/viewtopic ... highlight=

I use CellarHQ, but I am thinking of switching. As you mentioned, it is somewhat unreliable. In addition to that, there are some little things missing that I would like to be able to add, like whether or not a beer is FT. I've seem some other ones that look a lot better, but I have been too busy to figure out which one I want to change to.

I am also interested in the opinions on this...

I've never found anything that works better for me than a Google Docs spreadsheet. I too wanted to be able to put in different things like is for trade, price paid, etc.

I use the Brewvault App myself.

squeaky wrote:I too wanted to be able to put in different things like is for trade, price paid, etc.

Now that you mention it, I see that The Beer Exchange doesn't allow you to include things like "price paid" in a beer entry. It doesn't even look like there's a place to enter the age of the bottle.

BottleTrade, on the other hand, actually requires that you include a number of details (including age), and has the option of listing the purchase price, etc.

The Beer Cellar simply gives you the option of creating "Notes" for a beer, which other users have to click on to see.

sprague11 wrote:I use the Brewvault App myself.

Is Brewvault for mobile only? Call me old-fashioned, but I'd actually prefer to use a PC for this kind of stuff!