
What Are The Untappd Community Awards?
The Untappd Community Awards are a worldwide celebration of the very best in craft beer, selected by the millions of Untappd user ratings received throughout the calendar year.
Countless breweries globally brew amazing beer, and we recognize (and have even heard from a few brewers through the years!) that we could do a better job of highlighting the best non-IPAs and barrel-aged stouts that don’t garner the eye-popping 4.0+ average ratings. While there are plenty of awards to go around for various IPA and Stout substyles, the Untappd Community Awards annually recognize the very best beers in all qualifying substyles.
The Untappd Community Awards recognizes the top three beers in all qualifying substyles across all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. as well as the 50 countries with the most check-ins from the calendar year. For example, for our first every Community Awards in 2024 (highlight rankings from 2023), over 1.5 million beers were rated, meaning fewer than 1.65% of beers (25,302 in total) won awards. Impressively, nearly 30% of brewers (7,427 total) produced an award winning beer!
We encourage you to take some time reviewing the top beers in your area and those that received awards for your favorite substyle. After you’re finished reviewing the Untappd Community Awards recipients, go visit the many great breweries that worked so hard to produce these amazing beverages and try them! And don’t forget to check them in!
What Is the Criteria for the Untappd Community Awards?
- Importantly, Untappd team members had no subjective input on these awards. No brewers received preferential treatment. The only criteria were the objective metrics outlined below based on the ratings of Untappd community members all around the world.
- Beers are ranked by style according to their average rating from check-ins with ratings in the previous calendar year. The date a beer was brewed or released was not a factor.
- One user, one vote per beer! We counted the last check-in from each user who checked in the beer during the previous calendar year. If a user rated a given beer multiple times, only the final check-in with a rating counted.
- For a beer to qualify, it must have received at least 50 check-ins from 50 unique Untappd community members in that calendar year.
- For a substyle to qualify for the Community Awards, there must have been at least 3 qualifying beers in the substyle within the selected geography.
Beers qualify based on the brewery’s primary location, not the location of the check-ins, user, etc. - We did not remove vintages, batches, beers poured with/without nitrogen, etc. In rare instances, a beer of the same name but of different vintages won two or three places in a substyle.
- Beers that are marked "Out of Production" are not eligible for the Untappd Community Awards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the eligibility criteria for a beer?
For a beer to qualify, it must have received at least 50 check-ins from 50 unique Untappd community members within the calendar year.
How were ratings for each beer determined?
Beers were ranked according to their average rating from check-ins with ratings in the calendar year. For the purposes of the Untappd Community Awards, these ratings are static and will not change with deleted or edited check-ins. The date a beer was brewed or released was not a factor. We counted the last check-in from each user who checked in the beer. If you rated a given beer 10 times, only your final check-in with a rating counted. For a beer to qualify, it must have received at least 50 check-ins from 50 unique Untappd community members. Beers qualified based on the location of the brewery’s primary location and not the location of the check-ins, user, etc.
I tabulated a beer’s average manually, and it is higher than award-winning beers. Why was that beer not included?
Many Untappd user accounts are set to private. These check-ins are not visible by scrolling the in-app feeds but were included for the purposes of our ratings. It is impossible to reconstruct an accurate average annual rating without full access to our database. Our Untappd Insights data team has verified the accuracy of the award winners.
What were the eligibility criteria for a brewery?
For a brewery’s beers to be eligible, the brewery must be a commercial brewery. Homebrewed beers were not considered.
How were the substyles determined?
By substyles in the Untappd app. Untappd substyles were inspired by the BJCP’s styles and updated at least bi-annually based on votes from Untappd’s global team of moderators.
How are substyles assigned to beers?
Breweries can associate their beers with the appropriate substyle when they add them via the Claimed Brewery portal. Our global team of Untappd Moderators also helps ensure accuracy.
How were the award geographies selected?
We recognize award winners for qualifying substyles for all 50 U.S. states as well as the 50 countries (including the U.S.) with the most check-ins from the calendar year.
Why were awards given for a certain substyle in one geography but not another?
For a substyle to qualify for Community Awards, there must have been at least 3 qualifying beers in the substyle within the selected geography.
Did any brewers receive preferential treatment?
No. These awards are based solely on the ratings of our amazing community of 11 million+ Untappd users!
Are these awards pay-to-play?
No. Brewers did not have to pay any entry fee for their beers to be considered. All beers meeting the eligibility criteria outlined above were able to receive awards, and only ratings from Untappd users were factored into the awards.
Did a beer have to be brewed or released in the same year to be eligible?
No. All beers that met the beer qualification criteria for the number of check-ins from unique users outlined above were eligible.
What measures are in place to ensure fairness and accuracy in the rating system?
There are measures in-place to filter out check-ins from bots, fraudulent check-ins, and other illegitimate check-in sources. Additionally, by counting only one check-in per unique user, we ensured no individual unfairly influenced a beer’s average rating.
How are ties resolved in the awards program?
Surprisingly, by including three decimal places, there were no ties. For future years, our tie-breaking criteria will be most overall unique check-ins in the award year.
My beer won an award! How do I share the news?
First, congratulations! Our team already put together a variety of assets you can download to help spread the news and celebrate your achievements. On each award-winning beer page you'll find a social media graphic and a digital signage template. Simply download and share!
We also have a variety of assets available in our Media Kit that you can use to customize and make your own!
How can I showcase award-winning beers on Untappd for Business?
We've added the ability to toggle an indicator that shows Untappd Community Award winning beers on our digital menu solution, Untappd for Business. You can find this toggle when you go to edit your menu settings.
How can my business become a sponsor for the next Untappd Community Awards?
Contact us at [email protected] and we’ll be in touch!
Why does the rating for beers receiving awards not match their rating on Untappd?
Ratings for awards are based on an average of the last check-in for each unique user who checked in a given beer during the calendar year. Ratings displayed on Untappd.com or the Untappd app represent all-time check-ins for a beer. Read more about Untappd ratings here.
Where can I find a full list of winning beers?
Award recipients by geography and substyle can be found at awards.untappd.com and within the Untappd app. Press and researchers can apply for access to the full 2024 dataset for qualified projects by contacting [email protected].