Glasgow according to Untappd users
Untappd is a social media app that is most easily described as “Foursquare for beer”. If that doesn’t mean anything to you either, Untappd involves using a smartphone to check in whenever you drink a beer at a particular location. Fun? Maybe. Useful? Possibly not very much, unless you use it to stalk your friends. Or you’re already a ticker and use it to track your drinking instead of your old notebook.
This is the sort of data that is just fun on an individual level, but starts to become interesting as it accumulates. And there’s now enough data that we can start playing with it.
When we started plotting these checkins on a Google Map for Glasgow Beer Week in 2011, Untappd was still very new and there weren’t many users in the city, but we were confident that the number would grow. And it has. In 2012, the first full year of mapping the checkins, there were just over 10,000 checkins in and around Glasgow from a total of 326 unique users. The most dedicated were:
From over 10,000 checkins there were 1959 unique beers. Now there are of course some massive caveats meaning that analysis of this data cannot mean very much. It is representative of Untappd users and not beer drinkers as a whole. And the dataset of 10,000 is not that huge in the grand scheme of things. It would be nice to know how many beers in total are downed yearly in Glasgow, just to point out how insignificant we are. Let’s take individual beers first of all.
What’s immediately noticeable here is that, despite the Untappd demographic being weighted against it, Tennent’s Lager still manages to come top, showing how heavily it dominates Glasgow drinking. A strong showing for Fyne Jarl too, and there’s a lot of Guinness being consumed. But I don’t see any other mass-market beers on the list, no Fosters or Carlsberg. For the breweries themselves, adding up all their checkins, these were the most popular from a total of 665 unique breweries:
Look at that! Mikkeller ahead of Tennent’s! Tennent’s clearly benefits in the first table from having one flagship product, whereas Mikkeller’s checkins are spread over a selection of different beers. This is also true of Guinness and, to an extent, WEST.
And, now, the most popular places to drink the beers – here are the top scorers out of 530 unique venues.
The extreme lead achieved by the Brewdog bar is due to a combination of it being attractive to the same demographic as are using Untappd, and it being a very ticky place where one visit might lead to checkins on half a dozen beers or more. But look at the strong showing for Inn Deep. The place has only been open for four months and it’s number four on the list. Extrapolate the figures over a whole year and it would be a clear second, with around 200 checkins between it and Brewdog.
The State Bar is ahead of both the Bon Accord and the Three Judges, which surprised me until I remembered it’s a regular haunt of two of the most active users.
That the most popular beers only reach the low hundreds out of 10,000 checkins shows that there is a massive “long tail”, with hundreds of beers having one solitary checkin:
And the least popular breweries:
This is the sort of data that is just fun on an individual level, but starts to become interesting as it accumulates. And there’s now enough data that we can start playing with it.
When we started plotting these checkins on a Google Map for Glasgow Beer Week in 2011, Untappd was still very new and there weren’t many users in the city, but we were confident that the number would grow. And it has. In 2012, the first full year of mapping the checkins, there were just over 10,000 checkins in and around Glasgow from a total of 326 unique users. The most dedicated were:
| Glasgow’s top Untappd users | |
|---|---|
| User | Number of checkins |
| gimrie | 593 |
| Stewart | 572 |
| Netclectic | 485 |
| robsterowski | 365 |
| AdamSh | 327 |
| weetabixface | 321 |
| chriscjchegs | 317 |
| glasgow_red | 226 |
| RingRabbit | 224 |
| tombie | 213 |
| stephdrinksstuff | 204 |
| WeeAl | 197 |
| emmar | 191 |
| GJDunbar | 178 |
| werewegian | 177 |
| alasdairwclark | 162 |
| elvislution | 158 |
| tiggtag | 150 |
| FleshersHaugh | 148 |
| BeerBore5000 | 137 |
| marty80 | 116 |
| willmill | 111 |
| el.loserio | 104 |
| dunc_williams | 97 |
| axdain | 97 |
| stumac84 | 89 |
| Sibon | 84 |
| KieranFurie | 83 |
| montusama | 82 |
| hardtoignore | 79 |
From over 10,000 checkins there were 1959 unique beers. Now there are of course some massive caveats meaning that analysis of this data cannot mean very much. It is representative of Untappd users and not beer drinkers as a whole. And the dataset of 10,000 is not that huge in the grand scheme of things. It would be nice to know how many beers in total are downed yearly in Glasgow, just to point out how insignificant we are. Let’s take individual beers first of all.
| Most popular beers | |
|---|---|
| Beer | Number of checkins |
| Tennent's Lager | 126 |
| Fyne Ales Jarl | 119 |
| Guinness Draught | 115 |
| West St Mungo | 101 |
| BrewDog 5 A.M. Saint | 94 |
| Williams Bros Scottish Joker I.P.A. | 75 |
| BrewDog Punk IPA | 75 |
| West Munich Red | 73 |
| Harviestoun Brewery Bitter & Twisted | 59 |
| Fyne Ales Avalanche | 57 |
| Caledonian Brewery Deuchars IPA | 55 |
| West Hefeweizen | 51 |
| Belhaven IPA | 46 |
| Belhaven Best | 46 |
| BrewDog Tokyo* | 45 |
| Cobra Beer Partnership Cobra Premium | 44 |
| BrewDog Dead Pony Club | 43 |
| Black Isle Brewery Blonde | 41 |
| Thornbridge Jaipur | 41 |
| BrewDog / Mikkeller I Hardcore You | 38 |
| Fyne Ales Hurricane Jack | 38 |
| BrewDog Libertine Black Ale | 37 |
| Williams Bros Caesar Augustus | 36 |
| BrewDog Paradox Jura | 35 |
| Harviestoun Brewery Natural Blonde | 33 |
| The Kelburn Brewing Company Goldihops | 33 |
| Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Lager | 32 |
| Orkney Brewery Dark Island | 32 |
| The Kelburn Brewing Company Cart Noir | 31 |
| Nøgne Ø Pale Ale | 31 |
| Fyne Ales Zombier | 31 |
| BrewDog Jack Hammer | 31 |
| Stewart Brewing (Scotland) Edinburgh No.3 | 30 |
| BrewDog Hardcore IPA | 29 |
| Cromarty Brewing Co Red Rocker | 28 |
| BrewDog Zeitgeist | 28 |
| Williams Bros Blackball | 28 |
| Fyne Ales Rune | 28 |
| Cromarty Brewing Co Happy Chappy | 27 |
| Williams Bros Double Joker DIPA | 27 |
| Coors Brewing Company Blue Moon Belgian White | 27 |
| The Kelburn Brewing Company Jaguar | 27 |
| Williams Bros Draught | 27 |
| Fyne Ales Vital Spark | 27 |
| Hawkshead Windermere Pale | 26 |
| Williams Brothers Brewing Company Birds and Bees | 26 |
| Harviestoun Brewery Schiehallion | 26 |
| Tempest Brewing Co A Face With No Name | 25 |
| Budweiser Budvar Premium Dark Lager | 25 |
| Williams Bros Profanity Stout | 25 |
What’s immediately noticeable here is that, despite the Untappd demographic being weighted against it, Tennent’s Lager still manages to come top, showing how heavily it dominates Glasgow drinking. A strong showing for Fyne Jarl too, and there’s a lot of Guinness being consumed. But I don’t see any other mass-market beers on the list, no Fosters or Carlsberg. For the breweries themselves, adding up all their checkins, these were the most popular from a total of 665 unique breweries:
| Most popular breweries | |
|---|---|
| Brewery | Number of checkins |
| BrewDog | 962 |
| Fyne Ales | 565 |
| Williams Bros | 527 |
| WEST Brewery | 295 |
| The Kelburn Brewing Company | 210 |
| Tempest Brewing Co | 191 |
| Mikkeller | 165 |
| Tennent Caledonian Brewery | 163 |
| Harviestoun Brewery | 161 |
| Houston | 137 |
| Guinness | 129 |
| Magic Rock Brewing | 126 |
| Tryst | 117 |
| Orkney Brewery (Sinclair Breweries) | 112 |
| The Kernel Brewery | 101 |
| Stone Brewing Co. | 99 |
| Cairngorm Brewery Co. | 96 |
| Dark Star Brewing Co | 88 |
| Summer Wine Brewery | 80 |
| Hawkshead | 77 |
| Evil Twin Brewing | 73 |
| Isle of Arran Brewery Co. | 71 |
| Stewart Brewing | 70 |
| Belhaven Brewery (Greene King) | 69 |
| Strathaven Ales | 69 |
| Cromarty Brewing Co. | 66 |
| Flying Dog Brewery | 66 |
| Caledonian Brewery (Heineken UK) | 65 |
| Inveralmond Brewery | 59 |
Look at that! Mikkeller ahead of Tennent’s! Tennent’s clearly benefits in the first table from having one flagship product, whereas Mikkeller’s checkins are spread over a selection of different beers. This is also true of Guinness and, to an extent, WEST.
And, now, the most popular places to drink the beers – here are the top scorers out of 530 unique venues.
| Most popular venues | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Number of checkins |
| Brewdog Bar | 1693 |
| The State Bar | 811 |
| Blackfriars | 528 |
| Inn Deep | 495 |
| The Three Judges | 486 |
| Bruadar | 296 |
| The Bon Accord | 280 |
| The Laurieston Bar | 226 |
| The Counting House (Wetherspoon) | 225 |
| Drum & Monkey | 159 |
| The Hengler's Circus (Wetherspoon) | 143 |
| WEST Bar, Brewery & Restaurant | 141 |
| The Curler's Rest | 130 |
| The Society Room (Wetherspoon) | 103 |
| The Sir John Moore (Wetherspoon) | 99 |
| Clockwork Beer Co? | 92 |
| The Pot Still | 91 |
| Sir John Stirling Maxwell (Wetherspoon) | 84 |
| The 78 | 80 |
| Brel | 74 |
| The Good Spirits Co. | 67 |
| The Camperdown Place (Wetherspoon) | 64 |
| Tennents Bar | 63 |
| Glasgow | 61 |
| newlands | 56 |
| Jackson's Doghouse | 54 |
| The Esquire House (Wetherspoon) | 52 |
| The Three Craws | 52 |
| The Lab | 49 |
| The Edward Wylie (Wetherspoon) | 48 |
The extreme lead achieved by the Brewdog bar is due to a combination of it being attractive to the same demographic as are using Untappd, and it being a very ticky place where one visit might lead to checkins on half a dozen beers or more. But look at the strong showing for Inn Deep. The place has only been open for four months and it’s number four on the list. Extrapolate the figures over a whole year and it would be a clear second, with around 200 checkins between it and Brewdog.
The State Bar is ahead of both the Bon Accord and the Three Judges, which surprised me until I remembered it’s a regular haunt of two of the most active users.
That the most popular beers only reach the low hundreds out of 10,000 checkins shows that there is a massive “long tail”, with hundreds of beers having one solitary checkin:
| Least popular beers | |
|---|---|
| Beer | Number of checkins |
| Rudgate Brewery Brewdolf | 1 |
| Bear Republic Brewing Co. Big Bear Black Stout | 1 |
| Brooklyn Brewery Sorachi Ace | 1 |
| Cairngorm Brewery Co. White Lady | 1 |
| AleSmith Brewing Company Old Numbskull | 1 |
| Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Baby's Got A Temper | 1 |
| Coopers Brewery Limited Original Pale Ale | 1 |
| The Kernel Brewery Imperial Brown Stout London 1858 | 1 |
| Harbour Brewing Co Double IPA No. 3 | 1 |
| Nick Stafford's Hambleton Ales Blame A Lost Hen | 1 |
| The Potton Brewery Co The Village Bike | 1 |
| John Crabbie & Co Black Reserve | 1 |
| Pictish Brewing Company Siren | 1 |
| Familienbrauerei Jacob Dunkles Weissbier | 1 |
| Mikkeller Dim Sum Beer | 1 |
| Mikkeller Black Hole Barrel Aged Peat Whiskey | 1 |
| Evil Twin Brewing Sønderho Hipster Ale | 1 |
| JW Lees and Co Coronation Street | 1 |
| Gaymers Cider Company (C&C Group plc) Blackthorn Cider | 1 |
| Brauerei Schlenkerla Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche | 1 |
| WEST Brewery Winterfest | 1 |
| Kiuchi Brewery Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout | 1 |
| Houston Houston Killellan Bitter | 1 |
| Grupo Cruzcampo Cruzcampo Pilsener | 1 |
| Batemans Victory Ale | 1 |
| Privatbrauerei Nordbräu Eisbock | 1 |
| Brooklyn Brewery Brown Ale | 1 |
| Burton Bridge Brewery Golden Flame | 1 |
| Goose Island Beer Co. (AB-InBev) Christmas Ale (2012) | 1 |
| Green Jack Brewing Company Trawlerboys | 1 |
| WEST Brewery Weihnachtsbier 2012 | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame Rudolph's reward | 1 |
| Fuller, Smith & Turner 1845 | 1 |
| Robinsons Elbow | 1 |
| Bend Brewing Co. Outback X | 1 |
| Badische Staatsbrauerei Rothaus Radler Zäpfle | 1 |
| Salopian Brewery Conundrum | 1 |
| Belhaven Brewery (Greene King) Scottish Lager | 1 |
| The Potton Brewery Co Fallen Angel | 1 |
| BrewDog Scotch Ale | 1 |
| Old Bear Brewery Estivator | 1 |
| Black Hole Brewery Starry Night | 1 |
| Bruadar House Lager | 1 |
| Burton Bridge Brewery Santi-Freeze | 1 |
| Cotleigh Brewery Ltd. Red Nose Reinbeer | 1 |
| Lake Placid Pub & Brewery Highlander Scottish Ale | 1 |
| Orchard Pig Mint And Lime | 1 |
| Dark Star Brewing Co Espresso | 1 |
| Hoppin Frog Brewery Silk Porter | 1 |
| Greene King Ruddles Best | 1 |
| Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company Wildcat IPA | 1 |
| Mikkeller Vikings Revenge | 1 |
| Stewart Brewing Three Wise Men | 1 |
| Lancaster Brewery Decathlon Gold | 1 |
| Jennings Brewery Cocker Hoop | 1 |
| Whittingtons A Winters Tail | 1 |
| Traquair House Brewery Jacobite Ale | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame Master Brew Kentish Ale | 1 |
| Titanic Brewery Advent Ale | 1 |
| Badische Staatsbrauerei Rothaus Eis Zapfle | 1 |
| Brouwerij Lindemans Faro | 1 |
| Leeds Brewery Monsoon | 1 |
| Habeco (Hanoi Alcohol Beer and Beverage Company) Bia Ha Noi | 1 |
| To Øl Black Ball | 1 |
| Clockwork Beer Co. Thunder & Lightning | 1 |
| Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn Schneider Weisse Mein Grünes (TAP4) | 1 |
| Redwillow Brewery Fathomless | 1 |
| Ayr Brewing Company Doctor Hornbook | 1 |
| The Coach House Brewing Co Ostlers Summer Pale | 1 |
| Bavaricum Wiehenstephaner | 1 |
| Itchen Valley Brewery Dana | 1 |
| Harbour Brewing Co Porter No. 6 | 1 |
| Nethergate Brewery Frank Incensed | 1 |
| RCH Brewery Pitchfork Rebellious Bitter | 1 |
| Oakleaf Reindeer's Delight | 1 |
| Burton Bridge Brewery Thomas Sykes Barleywine | 1 |
| Tryst Double Chocolate Stout | 1 |
| Brouwerij van Hoegaarden (ABInBev) Verboden Vrucht / Fruit Defendu (Forbidden Fruit) | 1 |
| Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn Georg Schneider's Wiesen Edel-Weisse | 1 |
| Gaymers Cider Company (C&C Group plc) Addlestones | 1 |
| Black Isle Brewery Chilli Porter | 1 |
| Stone Brewing Co. Old Guardian | 1 |
| The Kernel Brewery India Pale Ale Citra Chinook | 1 |
| Bowman Brewery Swift One | 1 |
| Grupo Modelo S.A. de C.V. Pacifico Clara | 1 |
| kralovsky pivovar Krusovice Imperial | 1 |
| Pictish Brewing Company Pictish Porter | 1 |
| Brasserie Cantillon Classic Gueuze (2012) | 1 |
| Joseph Holt Maplemoon | 1 |
| Sheppy's Raspberry Cider | 1 |
| Dark Star Brewing Co. Critical Mass | 1 |
| Brodie's Brewery Citra For Breakfast | 1 |
| sachsische braukunst Vollbier | 1 |
| Hydes Racey Rudolph | 1 |
| Brouwerij Lindemans Pêche (Pêcheresse) | 1 |
| Brauhaus Faust Schwarzviertler Dunkel | 1 |
| The Kernel Brewery Pale Ale CSCS | 1 |
| Blue Monkey Brewery Fat Ape | 1 |
| Box Steam Brewery Tunnel Vision | 1 |
| Adnams Southwold Gunhill | 1 |
And the least popular breweries:
| Least popular breweries | |
|---|---|
| Brewery | Number of checkins |
| Brauerei Aying | 1 |
| Wylam | 1 |
| Brouwerij De Koninck (Duvel Moortgat) | 1 |
| Bavaria Brouwerij | 1 |
| York Brewery Company Limited | 1 |
| Otley Brewery | 1 |
| Staatliches Hofbräuhaus München | 1 |
| Boon Rawd Brewery | 1 |
| Kona Brewing Company | 1 |
| Blakemere | 1 |
| Brauerei Veltins | 1 |
| Trent Navigation Brewery | 1 |
| Orchard Pig | 1 |
| Grupo Cruzcampo | 1 |
| Lancaster Brewery | 1 |
| The Coach House Brewing Co | 1 |
| Sheppy's | 1 |
| Privatbrauerei Nordbräu | 1 |
| Bruadar | 1 |
| Lake Placid Pub & Brewery | 1 |
| sachsische braukunst | 1 |
| Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company | 1 |
| Whittingtons | 1 |
| Traquair House Brewery | 1 |
| Habeco (Hanoi Alcohol Beer and Beverage Company) | 1 |
| Bavaricum | 1 |
| Brauhaus Faust | 1 |
| Towles | 1 |
| Bend Brewing Co. | 1 |
| Thistly Cross | 1 |
Woohoo! Do I win a prize for being on top??
ReplyDeleteInteresting stats. Might be a stupid question - but as an untappd user can I ask how you went about gathering and mapping this data? Would be interesting to look into my own area's activity. Cheers
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: I used the Untappd API (https://untappd.com/api/). You can build a query to filter the checkins by latitude and longitude. Then I used a script to parse the response and store the results, and another to work out the most popular beers, etc. There are now Untappd libraries for PHP and Ruby languages to make getting the data easier.
ReplyDeleteVery good and easy ideas to decorate the garden really.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Glasgow garden designers
Ha ha Found this by chance. Nice to see the State Bar and Jarl high on the list. One thing I'd say about my own use of untappd - I don't generally check in a beer twice in the same session and some beers I no longer check in because I'm positive I've checked them in before. Hence my untappd total at the moment of 467 beers of which 322 are unique.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the stats. Werewegian.