Next Glass, a new app for iOS and Android, wants to change the way we talk about taste. Commonly referred to as a "Pandora for beer," it recommends new beers and wines based on your reported preferences. The foundation for these suggestions comes from what they call "the genome cellar," a database that contains extensive information on thousands of beers and wines based on analysis from the Next Glass Lab, at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington; and data collected from the Beer Census.

"Beer is unlike wine," explained Kurt Taylor. "We can work with distributors and get all the wine we need. But beer is hyper-localized."

As a result, Next Glass has been traveling and exploring the nooks and crannies of the country, drinking every beer they can, along the way.

"Everyone was, like, 'This is a marketing ploy, right?'" said Next Glass chief operating officer, Trace Smith. "No. This is what we need to do."

After obtaining different beers, the Census ships them back to the Lab for testing and chemical analysis using a mass spectrometer. "If you ever watch a crime show and they run some samples, it's always on a mass spec," says Taylor. The spectrometer gathers information about blood and guts on a compositional level. Why not use it to analyze drinks? If the Beer Census brings them, say, a double chocolate stout, the mass spectrometer can identify which molecules are causing the chocolaty flavor, or which molecules make it a little bit bitter, so on.

"I have a sweet tooth," explained Jim Kittridge, VP of marketing and the creator of the algorithm. "I only like stuff with glucose. The algorithm has literally learned that."

The lab tests around 150 to 200 beers per day. Currently, they've tested 23,000 bottles. They just received another 8,000. The Beer Census continues making it's way around the country, but at this point the genome cellar is extensive enough that Next Glass is ready to launch. According to Smith, one person in Oregon told them that they were doing "the lord's work." After testing the app myself, I can't say I disagree.

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