Twitter Drinks You Need

Just a bit of fun... There was a piece on the Guardian website today entitled 'Twitter Feeds You Need' and, as it turns out, a load of celebrities follow a load of celebrities. So far, so not very interesting.

It did make me wonder, however, if there was a beer equivalent, who people would suggest to follow, and (which makes it slightly more personal than the usual #FF stuff)  why? I noticed a brewery on Twitter the other day (name escapes me) with something like 3000 followers having tweeted once - so I'm guessing the reason to follow them is probably their beer rather than the insightful comment they're providing. Strange thing is it probably popped up because of the 'X' 'Y' and 'Z' follow kind of thing, which isn't as good as a first hand recommendation. Anyway, feel free to share any, it's nice to be positive about things sometimes so give me some tips!

So here we go (3 isn't entirely arbitrary, I'm unashamedly nicking it from the 'paper):

Boak and Bailey @BoakandBailey
I think Twitter and beer is about the conversation, and B&B's blog/tweets reflects that. Get involved!
Jamie Carmichael @JLCarmichael
Jamie's from Williams Bros. and might not have popped up on the Twitter radar yet. Healthy irreverence.
Will Glass @ItalyBrews
I'm sure we all follow loads of perspectives on UK & US beer, have a read about Italy.

And of course all the beery folk I follow, because why wouldn't you? They're all great! (That's going to have to work as an apology for all of you not mentioned above, especially those who do all the re-tweeting and support of my random thoughts!)

Decisions, decisions...

I don't think it's a particularly controversial point to suggest that most reviewers of beer, be it bloggers or untappd/ratebeer users, strive for a certain degree of objectivity. Having said that there are always other factors that can colour judgement. Similarly, when faced with a multitude of choices as to what beer to actually spend your cash on, it's almost impossible to be completely objective, even when you are thinking about an internet order rather than the sharp-end - standing at the bar with other customers breathing down your neck, their palpable thirst willing you to get a move on and make a decision.

Beer... There's a lot of it about (c/o Beers of Europe's Video)

There's the obvious parts to the decision making process. Have I tried it before? Have I enjoyed other offerings from the brewery? You might be attracted by good label design, or have had a beer recommended via friends, Twitter or Facebook.

It's this that made me think that with social media being so prevalent there are other factors that have little to do with the intrinsic qualities of a beer that might draw you to choose it over another. I'd be more inclined to buy a beer if I've had a positive experience with the brewery through these media, as far as I can see it's all an extension of good customer service, and good customer service is always a big selling point for me. The flip side is that some breweries just use social media as an extension of their advertising programme - and if it feels like that, then for me it can really reduce appeal.

I'm not going to name names, and how pleasant a brewery comes across on the web is far from being the only way I choose a beer, but I do have a sort of mental 'yeah or nah' list in terms of how supportive some breweries appear to me as a novice blogger.* Is it just me or do others have similar lists, and what is it that gets breweries on one side or another?

*Have a look at this brilliantly encouraging post at The Tale of the Ale if you are a 'noob' (Reuben's word!) like me and are unsure if any breweries are supportive of bloggers!