TapScout | Noah Dawson

TapScout is a mobile-first application designed for craft beer enthusiasts who want smarter, more personalized brewery recommendations. Using real-time tap lists, user taste profiles, and intelligent matching algorithms, TapScout suggests the best breweries and bars for each user based on what they actually love to drink.

This project showcases my end‑to‑end design and development process, including brand creation, user flows, UI/UX mockups, feature planning, and initial technical architecture.

Overview

TapScout solves a real problem: users often don’t know which brewery or bar will best match their preference, and existing apps either lack personalization or don’t provide live beer availability.

TapScout introduces:

Beer Preference Profiles
Smart Brewery Recommendations
Live Tap List Integrations
Brewery Route Planning
Exclusive user perks, alerts, and rewards

The goal is to make TapScout the go‑to discovery tool for craft beer lovers, while offering unique value that existing platforms (like generic bar finders or social beer-rating apps) don’t provide.

Features

🍺 Personalized Beer Matching

Users select their preferred beer styles—IPAs, stouts, sours, lagers, and more. TapScout then analyzes brewery tap lists and recommends the best matches nearby.

📍 Real‑Time Brewery Discovery

TapScout integrates with brewery APIs or partner‑provided tap lists to show what’s actually on tap right now. No outdated menus.

🔔 Favorite Beer Alerts

Users receive notifications when a favorite beer style (or specific beer) becomes available near them.

🗺 Brewery Route Planner

Plan a perfect night out with a personalized brewery crawl based on your taste preferences and location.

🎖 Achievements & Rewards

Gamification elements encourage exploration—badges, challenges, streaks, and brewery‑specific perks.

Optional community features (in-progress):

Live check‑ins
Local beer discussion threads
Event calendars for tap takeovers, releases, and brewery events

💳 Subscription System

Users can choose monthly or yearly plans for advanced functionality like:

Unlimited alerts
Exclusive deals
Priority recommendations
Early access to new features

Technologies Used

Next.js

Used for the marketing website and upcoming landing page with pre‑order capabilities. Offers fast rendering, SEO optimization, and great developer experience.

React Native

Selected for the mobile app to allow cross‑platform development for iOS and Android while maintaining native performance.

Tailwind CSS

Powers the UI system with a consistent, scalable design language that matches the TapScout brand colors.

Supabase

Backend-as-a-service for authentication, user profiles, database storage, and real-time functionality.

Stripe

Handles subscription payments (monthly / yearly) through secure billing flows.

OpenAI API

Used to assist with:

Beer profile matching
Intelligent brewery suggestions
Natural-language search (“show me breweries with hazy IPAs nearby”)

Branding & Design

I created the full TapScout brand identity from scratch, including:

Logo design (beer tap + bold slab serif typography)
Color palette (amber, deep green, charcoal)
UI/UX mockups (welcome screen, subscription screen, home dashboard)
Component library for consistent app design

The goal was a warm, modern aesthetic that subtly nods to craft beer culture without feeling cliché.

Project Goals

TapScout is an ongoing project. The initial goal is to ship an MVP focusing on:

User onboarding + beer preference profile
Basic brewery recommendation engine
Subscription-based access model
Landing page at TapScout.io
Beta testing in a single city (e.g., Chattanooga, TN)

Future versions will expand to include:

Full social features
Brewery partnerships
Event calendars
Exclusive deals for Pro members

Images

Status

🟡 In Development

Branding: Complete
UI/UX: Early-stage mockups complete
Backend architecture: Planning phase
Landing page: In progress
MVP app build: Starting soon