BeerAdvocate

What BeerAdvocate does

BeerAdvocate is an online beer rating and review community platform founded in 1996 by Todd Alström and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The platform serves beer enthusiasts and industry professionals by aggregating user-generated beer reviews, ratings, and forum discussions, supported by a registered base of approximately 803,826 members who have produced over 7.1 million forum posts across 262,000 discussions. The core technology is a web-based database and forum system; there are no disclosed APIs, SDKs, or mobile applications, and the experience is delivered through the website.

The business model rests on three revenue streams: a Society membership tier priced at $6 per month, advertising served to non-members, and beer festivals (BeerAdvocate Fests) currently on hiatus. A print magazine operated from 2006 through 2019 across 132 issues before being discontinued. A peer-to-peer beer trading marketplace has been launched to extend the platform's commercial utility beyond reviews. The platform operates with a small team of 1-10 employees and reaches a global audience spanning the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

BeerAdvocate was acquired by Next Glass in February 2020 and reacquired by founder Todd Alström in July 2026, returning the company to independent founder ownership. The platform holds the registered trademark "Respect Beer" as a brand marker. There are no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or external capital partners, and the company is privately held with a community-led go-to-market motion.

Name

BeerAdvocate

Legal name

BeerAdvocate

Website

https://beeradvocate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BeerAdvocate is an online beer rating and review community serving beer enthusiasts and industry professionals worldwide, operating since 1996 with subscription membership, advertising, and event revenue streams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Beer Community & Reviews

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082)

akta.pro primary industry

Alcohol Subscription Clubs & Membership Retail (CRANAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF)

Keywords

• Beer rating platform
• Beer community forum
• Craft beer reviews
• Beer trading marketplace
• Beer travel directory

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Society Membership: Subscription-based membership offering perks including ad removal, exclusive user banner, profile posts, early access to features, periodic discounts, and access to forums forbidden to non-members.
2. Advertising: Banner advertisements displayed to non-Society members visiting the platform, generating revenue from high traffic volumes of millions of monthly consumers.
3. BeerAdvocate Fests: Revenue from hosting world-class beer festivals ranging from 1,200 to 15,000 attendees. While currently on hiatus, these festivals were historically a revenue stream supporting the beer industry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BeerAdvocate operates an online community platform where beer enthusiasts rate and review beers, participate in categorized discussion forums, browse a comprehensive beer styles directory and curated Top 250 ranking, look up breweries and beer bars worldwide through the Places travel guide, and coordinate member-to-member beer trades. The platform is supported by a premium subscription membership called the Respect Beer Society, which removes advertising and unlocks exclusive features.

Product overview

BeerAdvocate is a single, unified online community platform focused on beer enthusiasts. The core offering centers on a community-driven beer rating and review system complemented by discussion forums, a beer trading marketplace, a beer travel guide (Places), and a curated Top 250 beers ranking. The platform includes a comprehensive beer styles directory and a digital archive of past magazine issues. A premium subscription tier called Respect Beer Society provides ad-free browsing and other member benefits. No separate modules, APIs, or acquired products are offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Respect Beer Society Membership A premium subscription membership program offering perks including ad removal, exclusive user banner, username changes, profile posts, access to private forums, BeerAdvocate Karma achievements, early access to new features, and periodic discounts, priced at $6/month with lifetime options available. Payments processed by Stripe.
• BeerAdvocate Beer Trading Marketplace An online beer trading marketplace enabling members to coordinate trades of beers, with ISO (In Search Of) and For Trade listings, feedback systems, and dedicated trading forums. Hundreds of thousands of trades coordinated globally with millions of beers exchanged.
• BeerAdvocate Community Platform (Forums, Ratings & Reviews, Styles Directory, Top 250, Places) A comprehensive free online beer enthusiast community platform providing user-generated beer ratings and reviews, categorized discussion forums, a 100+ beer styles directory, a curated Top 250 beers ranking filterable by country and region, and a Places travel guide of breweries, beer bars, and bottle shops worldwide.
• BeerAdvocate Magazine Archive A digital archive of 132 issues of independent, award-winning beer journalism published from 2006 to 2019. The print magazine is discontinued but archived content remains accessible to community members.

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions of monthly consumers rely on BeerAdvocate for beer recommendations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Next Glassformer ownerOthers · 1 July 2026Next Glass acquired BeerAdvocate in February 2020 and owned the platform for approximately six years. In July 2026, Next Glass divested BeerAdvocate back to founder Todd Alström, returning the company to independent, founder-owned and operated status. Next Glass continues to serve the beverage industry through other platforms including Untappd, Ekos, Ollie, and Oznr.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Tavour: Craft beer delivery and curated subscription service that helps enthusiasts discover and access rare beers — a use case BeerAdvocate's trading marketplace also serves, but executed as a direct-to-consumer commerce product.
• BeerMenus: Online platform listing beers on tap at bars and restaurants across multiple U.S. cities. Overlaps with BeerAdvocate's 'Places' directory and serves a similar beer-discovery mission with a more venue-centric lens.
• Taplist.io: Digital tap list and beer menu platform for bars, restaurants, and bottle shops. While more operator-focused than consumer-focused, it competes for the same beer-discovery use case that drives BeerAdvocate's Places directory.
• Hop Culture: Digital media platform covering craft beer, breweries, and beer culture. Overlaps with BeerAdvocate's editorial and brewery-discovery role but is younger and more digitally native.

Broad incumbents

• VinePair: Large drinks-media publisher covering beer, wine, and spirits. Adjacent in audience and advertising pool, with a broader portfolio that competes for the same consumer and brand budgets BeerAdvocate monetizes.
• Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine: Established beer media brand combining a print magazine, podcast network, and educational content. Comparable to the discontinued BeerAdvocate magazine and competes for beer-enthusiast mindshare and advertising dollars.
• Drizly: Alcohol e-commerce and delivery marketplace connecting consumers with retailers. Adjacent to BeerAdvocate's 'Places' directory but execution-focused on purchase rather than discovery and community.

Others

• Brewbound: Beer industry trade publication covering business, distribution, and category trends. Targets the same beer-industry professionals BeerAdvocate serves as a secondary audience (breweries, distributors, retailers).

Direct peers

• RateBeer: Long-standing web-based beer rating and review platform with a global brewer database. Comparable to BeerAdvocate in audience, content format (user reviews across style attributes), and beer-enthusiast positioning.
• Untappd: Mobile-first beer check-in, rating, and discovery app with a global user base. It is the most direct competitor to BeerAdvocate's rating and community model, and was a sibling asset under Next Glass alongside Ekos, Ollie, and Oznr until BeerAdvocate's 2026 divestiture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BeerAdvocate
• Facebookfacebook.com/beeradvocate
• Instagraminstagram.com/beeradvocate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/beeradvocate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BeerAdvocate