Now serving in Chicago
Back in June, this column posted two articles detailing online resources for finding craft beer wherever you are. The websites covered included beer rating sites with traveler's aid functions (Ratebeer.com, BeerAdvocate.com) and sites whose purpose was to show any bar, restaurant, brewpub, liquor store or homebrew shop on any section of a Google map, like BeerMapping.com.
All of these sites have been alike in that they depend on their users for content and updates. New places are suggested to beermapping by the users, those rating a beer on ratebeer have the option of indicating where the beer is available. But bar or restaurant managers have generally been too busy to master these resources.
That might change with BeerMenus.com, which just launched a Chicago edition. The site offers a different focus by having bar or restaurant managers post their beer lists, including prices, and whether on draft or bottled. At present, the site presents a clean, CraigsList-style text interface — uncluttered by ads for "Shocking Colon Cleanser Secrets" – with an option to search by establishment or by beer. There's also a list of upcoming events at participating establishments. Most of the places on the site are those trying to build reputations as "good beer bars:" while you'll find 42 places serving Budweiser, you'll also find, say, the one place in town with Harpoon Leviathan Saison Royale on tap – it's Local Option, at least as of November 17.
Brothers Will and Eric Stephens, with freelance programmer Elliot Draper, started BeerMenus.com after seeing that there was no online beer resource maintained by the places that sell beer. Will told me they launched the site in New York City in April, 2008, and now have 650 bars contributing. They later expanded to Philadelphia, now with 150 bars. "We only launched the Chicago site a month ago (Oct. 13), and it's really been spectacular. We've already got 115 bars signed up." There are also 36 places maintaining beer lists on their Milwaukee test site.
Will says their goal was to make BeerMenus.com easy to use for busy bar and restaurant managers. "We created a web application that lets the bar owners themselves update their beer lists, instead of depending on the beer drinkers. The users have told us our site is very easy to use and to keep updated. When we launched in New York, we were able to show the managers how the site worked ourselves, and they really got into it. And the owners started spreading the word to other bars, so now one contact leads to several places signing up at once."
The site has helped Chicago craft beer drinkers find their favorite brews already. Stephen Palmer, owner of Palmer Place Restaurant & Beer Garden in LaGrange, told me he's seen several new craft beer fans stop in the three weeks he's been on the site. "They've made it really easy to set up the beer menu and keep it updated," he added. The administrators are very helpful talking through any questions or problems."
The site is free for the bar owners; the Stephens expect to cover expenses by selling ads to users promoting events, or to related advertisers. Bar patrons can propose new beer bars for the site, and can update beer lists, but changes will be confirmed with the owners.
So far, Will says, BeerMenus.com remains a three-person operation. "I'm working for the site full time. My brother is the designer, he has a day job elsewhere; and Elliot is a part-time programmer."
BeerMenus.com has gained a lot of buzz in its brief existence, with mentions in local print, TV and online media, and growing traffic. Will says they are taking suggestions on which cities to target in the future. "We're still focusing on the Chicago market right now. We want to have a market covered densely before we expand. But we will probably want to do the San Francisco Bay area next."
Since BeerMenus.com depends on its members to keep their lists current, there is always to issue of members who don't update regularly. Sometimes it might be because their taps just don't rotate very often, but other times it can be a tight schedule or loss (your correspondent has been checking one brewpub's Facebook page every week, waiting for them to post something more current than their Oktoberfest 2007 party). Will notes that their site helps visitors know that thier information is fresh. "Each time a bar's list is updated, the new list is time-stamped so you can see how recent it is. We hope to keep adding features that will make our site more usable for bar owners and craft beer fans."
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