DraughtClub.com is a new, free, interactive Web site providing beer ratings and reviews. It also holds a weekly interactive Happy Hour Taste Competition comparing 4 or 5 similar beers.

1. New Web and Facebook Sites Launch Linking Worldwide Beer Enthusiasts
DraughtClub.com Offers Fun, Interactive Suds-Sharing Forum for Hop Fans
Calling all microbrew and craft beer lovers. A new
interactive beer rating Web site has been recently
launched to help hops and barley fans choose new beers
they might want to try as the micro and craft brew market
rapidly expands. DraughtClub.com is the brainchild of a
small group of metro Washington, D.C. environmental
scientists and engineers (aka the “Draught Board” with
humorous names like Chief Bottle Washer, Siren of Suds
and Hokie Hopstress) who have decided to share their
beer opinions via a virtual beer rating Web site. The club’s
slogan: “now happy hour has a goal” references their
Friday Happy Hour Taste Competitions where they taste
and evaluate a selection of 4 or 5 similar beers. The
Happy Hour Taste Competition is a virtual, interactive
experience that is open to all club members and results in
rankings for similar style beers. The Web site also has its
own, unique rating system generally based on a six-pack of beer. Since its launch, the
Web site has seen increased monthly traffic with over 3,000 page views and 700 visits
from people in 112 countries—some from as far as Australia and China.
DraughtClub.com hopes to attract more members to its site to allow for a greater range
of information sharing and opinions about all things suds related. Membership is free,
but users must vouch that they are 21, or older, in order to register. Once registering,
users list a valid e-mail address and activate a link sent via email. After the user
responds to the link, they can provide their own beer ratings (referred to as Draught
Numbers) and participate in the Happy Hour Taste Competitions.
Here’s how the DraughtClub.com Web site works: the rating system (draught numbers)
is based on a six-pack of beer, or a 0 to 6 scale with 0 being the lowest rating: “I won’t
drink even one of these” to 6 being the highest: “I’ll take the whole six-pack.” The
Draught Board members added the “Keg” designation for those beers that are
exceptionally good. Images of small beer bottles or a keg are visual icons used to rate
a beer. In addition to highlighting the number of bottles or keg for the rating, Web site
users must also provide a brief personal review statement to complete the rating
process.
A listing of all the rated beers can be found under the “Beer List” tag at the top of the
home page. With a list that expands weekly, there currently are about 700 listings of
rated beers, members can also find the 0 to 7 ratings and personal reviews. In order for
a beer to be listed, at least one of the Draught Board members must sample it and post
a rating/review. The list can be displayed either by rating (the default listing, highest to
lowest) or alphabetically. The site also has a search capability for Web site users
looking for a particular beer. The advanced search capability will allow one to search by
beer style, country of origin, brewer (manufacturer), or alcohol content.

2. One feature that sets DraughtClub.com apart from other beer rating and review Web
sites and adds to the fun and interactive nature of the Web site are the Happy Hour
Taste Competitions. On Fridays between 5:00 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time,
members can join in a virtual taste competition comparing 4 or 5 similar beers against
one another to determine a competition ranking. The week’s selections are posted in
advance so members can pick them up for the happy hour tasting. During the
competition, each member’s personal rankings are posted to the right of the list and the
overall rankings appear in bold to the left. Although beer ratings can be incorporated at
any time, submitting Happy Hour Taste Competition rankings can only be done during
the happy hour timeframe (5:00 p.m. to midnight Eastern time).
The results of the every Friday’s Happy Hour Taste Competitions can be viewed either
through the Event Calendar (right side of every page), or on each specific beer page on
the lower left side. Clicking on the Event Calendar dates displays a box of events for
that date. Clicking on the event name (Happy Hour Taste Competition) will display the
results for that competition.
For those members who feel the Happy Hour Taste Competitions may be too difficult to
attend, the Web Site also chooses a Weekly Special Tasting Selection. One single beer
is selected in order to promote people trying something new and participating in the
rating process. Suggestions are accepted from all Site members and the selection is
posted on the home page at the beginning of the week.
The Draught Board tag at the top of the Home Page will display short bio’s for each
Board member along with a link to their personal rating lists. Web site users can easily
follow each Draught Board member’s ratings; this can be especially useful if a user’s
beer tastes are similar to the tastes of a particular Draught Board member helping to
provide overall guidance on beer selections.
DraughtClub.com has also established a page on Facebook providing an interactive
forum where the Happy Hour Taste Competitions can be discussed as well as any other
issues visitors might like to talk about. The Draught Board generally submits posts on
each week’s Happy Hour Taste Competition along with the Weekly Special Tasting
Selection so members know in advance what beers will be rated and ranked.
The real goal of DraughtClub.com is to provide a virtual forum where beer lovers from
across the world can share information and opinions on a fun, interactive and free Web
site. For more information visit www.draughtclub.com or contact Ross Pickford at
ross@draughtclub.com.
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