5 Top Beer Apps for Oktoberfest

Beer Wizard will help those returning to post-Oktoberfest-life quench their thirst. The app opens with a mouth-watering close-up of honey-colored beer gently sloshing in a glass before displaying a screen with "BEER you know, by FOOD pairing, or by beer STYLE." By selecting one of these three options, users can explore a comprehensive database of American "craft beers," meaning beer not brewed by a "mega-brewery" such as Anheuser-Busch (BUD) or Miller Coors Brewing Company.

Users can navigate the Beer Wizard application by selecting a brewery name, beer name, style and country of origin. Then, users can sort results by selecting a food pairing, such as barbecue, Chinese, or buttery or sharp cheeses. More sophisticated beer connoisseurs can specify color and bitterness by selecting International Bittering Units (or "IBU") to measure the bittering substances in the beer. Light lagers typically have an IBU rating between 5-10, while big, bitter beers can have an IBU of 50-70, according to Beer Wizard.

Finally, users can input their location and select an option for beers on tap.

The app is focused on educating users about quality beer, so although it allows recommendations of beers missing from the database, it warns that all beers go through an extensive vetting process.

This 99 cent app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, but requires iOS 5.0 or later.

--Written by Nathalie Pierrepont in New York

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