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Author Topic: BeerCloud App  (Read 4615 times)

Offline mikeypedersen

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BeerCloud App
« on: January 20, 2010, 07:11:01 pm »
Anyone out there have this on their iPhone or Android phone? You can scan the barcode of most beers and it will tell you info the Brewer has released on that beer; flavor profile, abv, ibu's, etc. Then it also has a sommolier feature where you enter the dish you are making and it pairs beer styles with that. You can even click on the styles and it will list beers in that style. Then click on the beer and it will find the nearest store that carries it (although currently the beer finder only works in 4 or 5 states). Pretty sweet apparently that is also free!
It's pretty awesome for when you are at the store and can't quite figure out what a beer is!

Offline Robert

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2010, 08:08:31 am »
It's alright. Its free, so I have no standing to complain. There are run-of-the-mill commercial descriptions of the beers, usually from the brewer's homepage. Just lift the beer out of the sixer and you can probably get the same description. The barcode doesn't work on the iPhone and the food pairings are set for styles and are pretty basic. But again, it's free and I have it and I use it.
"In three things is a man revealed: in his wine goblet, in his purse, and in his wrath."

Offline bluesman

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2010, 08:20:44 am »
It's alright. Its free, so I have no standing to complain. There are run-of-the-mill commercial descriptions of the beers, usually from the brewer's homepage. Just lift the beer out of the sixer and you can probably get the same description. The barcode doesn't work on the iPhone and the food pairings are set for styles and are pretty basic. But again, it's free and I have it and I use it.

+1

I have it and use it now and then. It's okay for being free. I like browsing for beers of a particular style especially while I'm researching for a recipe formulation. I can quickly find commercial examples of a particular style.
Ron Price

Offline mikeypedersen

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #3 on: January 21, 2010, 08:30:57 am »
I'm suprised the iPhone doesn't have the bar-code reader....

brewboy

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2010, 09:46:50 am »
I got my son to try it after reading about it here and he too says the barcode reader doesn't' work on the iphone, but you can manually input the numbers .

Offline deepsouth

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2010, 10:10:52 am »
i have it for the iphone.  would be a lot cooler if it could scan the barcode.
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Offline glitterbug

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2010, 10:28:46 am »
I'm suprised the iPhone doesn't have the bar-code reader....

I like my iPhone but the limitations and excuses from apple and their fans are really annoying. My next phone will be android based. 
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Offline a10t2

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2010, 10:30:56 am »
I'm suprised the iPhone doesn't have the bar-code reader....
I like my iPhone but the limitations and excuses from apple and their fans are really annoying.

How is a bug in a third-party app the fault of either of those groups?
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Offline glitterbug

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2010, 10:35:45 am »
I'm suprised the iPhone doesn't have the bar-code reader....
I like my iPhone but the limitations and excuses from apple and their fans are really annoying.

How is a bug in a third-party app the fault of either of those groups?

Is it a bug or a limitation of the iPhone API?
A witty saying proves nothing - Voltaire

Offline deepsouth

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2010, 11:23:33 am »
i always thought the shortfalls of the iphone were att's fault.
Hoppy Homebrewers of South Mississippi (est. 2009)

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bottled:     white house honey ale

Offline glitterbug

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2010, 11:46:51 am »
i always thought the shortfalls of the iphone were att's fault.

I'm sure they have some influence on certain things but to blame it all on at&t is a big stretch. Example: Not having copy\paste for 2 years (now fixed) was certainly not imposed by at&t.
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Offline a10t2

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2010, 11:47:17 am »
Is it a bug or a limitation of the iPhone API?

Given that there ARE apps that capture barcodes with the camera, I can only assume it's a bug (or missing feature) in BeerCloud. The iPhone camera API (at least as of 3.1) is a very simple set of function calls. Once the pixels are stored, it's all a question of how good the app's interpretation algorithm is.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2010, 12:05:41 pm by a10t2 »
Sent from my Microsoft Bob

Beer is like porn. You can buy it, but it's more fun to make your own.
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Offline glitterbug

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2010, 12:01:13 pm »
Given that there ARE apps that capture barcodes with the camera, I can only assume it's a bug (or missing feature) in BeerCloud. The iPhone camera API (at least as of 3.1) is a very simple set of function calls. Once the pixels are stored, it's all a question of how good the app's interpretation algorithm is.

I have not kept up with the api. I just remember in the older versions you could try and use an undocumented api but risk app store rejection.
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Offline chauncey

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #13 on: January 29, 2010, 12:24:05 am »
I have an iPhone and several apps that can read barcodes just fine. In fact it reads them quicker than a lot of laser devices. So, it's just a limitation in BeerCloud on the iPhone. Since it's been implemented in the Droid, I'm sure there is an update to the app for iPhone coming at some point. The program has a few other limitations, but I use it, and -- as previously noted -- it is free. I would gladly pay for a full-featured, up-to-date version.

Offline mikeypedersen

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Re: BeerCloud App
« Reply #14 on: January 29, 2010, 08:44:18 am »
Yeah, the problem I have with the app is that I can gather that it is a bunch of East Coast folks who came up with it.  Even tiny breweries like Defiant are in there, but the App has never heard of Odell?

I think it's a really great app, I just can't wait for it to get updated and have more information on it!