The Beer Mapping Project with the Google Maps API: Beer Mashup

Brewing New Solutions

The Beer Mapping Project, launched last October, brings together an unlikely combination–beer, beer lovers, beer brewers, beer distributors, a blog, an idea...and the Google Maps API? 

The project is the brainchild of Jonathan Surratt, a 32-year old e-commerce major and beer enthusiast. Surratt's one-man project utilizes the Google Maps API to deliver mapped locations of recommended spots for–you guessed it–beer. But, not just any beer. According to Surratt, he wants to recommend places where you can find a “good” beer. To compile a list of the best places (how many could he really test alone) he solicits recommendations from beer drinkers across the country via his website and finds high-rated spots from other online resources, such as www.beerme.com, which rates breweries and their beer. Surratt's website, www.beermapping.com, is home to the free maps and has a growing audience and toolset. 

The project was started after Surratt moved to Chicago and brewed up an idea to find the best spots for a good beer in the windy city. A North Carolina native, Surratt started with what he knew. He began his research of pubs, breweries, beer stores and beer bars in both North Carolina and Illinois (his new stomping grounds). Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin cities also made it into the first round of beer bests. He's been adding maps city by city ever since. He has, so far, logged over 3,000 locations in over 22 major cities around the country. Some of the major cities and outlying areas include Boston, San Francisco, Denver, Detroit, Austin, Tampa, and Philly.