I always wanted to write an article on beer, so today’s your lucky day! I’ve got really into beer lately, not exactly sure why. Maybe it’s because of the winter months. Nevertheless, I set out to find the top beer drinking applications that you or I would want to have with us at any given time.

In this article, I’ll show you the apps I discovered. Some are social, some practical, and some are for the true beer collector in us all. Whether you need to locate the nearest pub or you just want to rate the brewskis you’ve tasted, there’s something here for you. If you’re of drinking age, you should enjoy this list of the best free beer-related applications for the iPhone.

1. Beerby

Beerby (rhymes with “nearby”) allows beer drinkers to log and comment on the beers they drink. If you have ever wanted to keep track of the beers you drink at a bar, you can do it easily with this app.

Beerby’s database consists of over 30,000 beers and, using Foursquare integration, Beerby also allows you to tell friends where you’re drinking and optionally check in with Foursquare at that location. You can also share your activity with friends via Facebook and Twitter, comment on their brews, create goals for you and your friends to achieve, unlock badges, and all that good stuff. You can rate and share photos of your beer, too.

Something to note, as you log your beer at a location, you are also helping to build a database of what beer is available at that spot. Beerby provides a map view that allows you to find drinking establishments nearby and tells you what people have drank recently.

2. Grab Another Beer

Grab Another Beer is another great iPhone app. It’s for those who want to keep a journal of what beers they’ve had and where.

There are over 7,000 beers to browse through with most breweries in the US and some select imports listed. There are badges for you to unlock, and you can share your activity with friends through Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare.

Don’t drink? The app also features some root beers and has plans to add other non-alcoholic beverages in the near future.

3. Happy Houred

Happy Houred helps you find great drink specials and share them with others. This app features listings for over 22,000 happy hours in 2,000 US cities and towns, with more being added every day.

Here’s how it works. First, you choose what you’re interested in: beer, wine, mixed drinks, food, etc. Then, you select the day and time and your phone will find the closest deals based on your location.

Fast-checking and updates from the community help keep the app up-to-date so you won’t find yourself looking at deals that have already passed. All venues have their own complete profiles.

4. BeerCloud

BeerCloud is another great app that helps you pair beer with food, track down your favorite beers, discover all the different styles, and “pull up a full description of nearly any beer in seconds”.

Their database, which is always growing, has over 3,000 beers along with descriptions including product image, style, taste profile, food paring recommendation, strength, color, and bitterness. You can also view over 400 brewery pages to see a list of the beers they produce.

Use the GPS beer finder to track down your favorites. Search includes offerings from over 50,000 bars, restaurants, and stores.

Whether you’re a beer consumer who could use some guidance in making a well-educated purchase, a food lover looking to discover new ways to enhance a meal with a complementary beer pairing, a beer student hoping to learn more about styles, or a traveling beer enthusiast who wants to instantly map the closest stores, bars, and restaurants carrying one of your favorite beers, BeerCloud is an essential iPhone app.

5. RedPint

RedPint is another social beer app for you to investigate. RedPint let’s you share what beer you’re drinking and where, compare ratings, find craft beer, and earn medals.

You can use it to share photos, tag friends in status updates, rate beers, look up information, and “toast” your friends. Link the app to your Facebook and Twitter accounts for added features.

6. BrewGene

BrewGene keeps track of beers you’ve tried and how much you enjoyed/disliked them. The app suggests beers for you to try based on your preferences for the beers you’ve already tried, as well as the preferences of all the other beer drinkers in BrewGene’s ‘genome’.

BrewGene requires no prior beer knowledge to use it. Connect with other beer drinkers so you can compare tastes and learn more about beer in general. The app makes it easy for you to want to try new beers.

BrewGene is for people who want to try unique beers ““ craft beer, micro-brews, imports ““ and who don’t have the time or patience to study the landscape before taking the plunge.

7. Beer!

Beer! also helps you keep track of your beer tasting habits. Use this app to review your notes and ratings, take a photo of your beer, track which kinds you drink the most, and keep a history of your favorites.

You can share your thoughts with others in the community or keep them private if you like. You also have the option to save your data to the server so you can restore it if it’s ever lost.

8. Bar Findr Touch Lite

While this is the free “lite” version of the Bar Findr Touch app, it is still very worth mentioning. The lite version features over 60,000 bars, clubs, and liquor stores, bar search by location, navigation to and from with maps and phone numbers, and a review system of all the locations. You can also listen to your favorite music while using the app.

9. iLoveBeer: Zythology

iLoveBeer offers you a way to impress your friends with your beer knowledge. Use this phone app to find delicious ways to match your beer with your meal or vice versa. You can customize your taste according to preferences in the My Beer section.

The app will also teach you the right way to pour your favorite beers and identify their key flavor elements, and it let’s you share your best pairings with friends via Facebook and Twitter.

10. Beer Counter

Last up on our list is an essential app, especially if you are going to be using the applications I’ve mentioned previously.

Beer Counter, as its name implies, offers an easy way to keep an overview of your consumed beverages. It allows you to look back at how many beers you’ve had in a given day, what they were, and what they cost you. I’ll let you decide how to use this one.

Will you be making use of any of these beer apps? Do you have a favorite?

Image Credit: Pedro Salaverria