Plan out your destinations beforehand
Pub Crawl
Free – get it here
Some say that the key to a successful pub-crawl is organisation. It's unfortunate, then, that most people tend to lose their sense of direction after the inevitable pork scratchings make an appearance halfway along the route.
Pubdroid.com's Pub Crawl app helps by allowing a group to pre-set a route before syncing it to everybody's devices, meaning participants are on the same page and can (theoretically) straddle to the next pub in inebriated tandem.
It serves a second purpose too, in providing a list of visited pubs in case anybody loses their possessions or gets lost along the way, which on a successful pub crawl is pretty much a given.
No more lying to the other half
Beer Counter
Free – get it here
BeerCounter is a wonderfully simple app that does what it says on the (alcohol-soaked) tin and then some. The idea is that you press the beer mat every time you've drank a beer. Not only could this increase your awareness of how many beers you've sunk, but it also keeps a tab on how much you've spent, which your hungover self would no doubt appreciate the next morning.
While these two features make this a handy app on their own, digging beneath the surface reveals extra settings that allow you to change the beer price, show the last time you drank a beer, change the currency and post to Twitter or Facebook every time you've sunk an ale. Just don't get too inebriated that you forget to 'accidentally' update your tally.
Never go without craft beer in the capital again
Craft Beer London
£1.99 – buy it here
Whether you're a permanent London dweller or simply planning a trip for the weekend, Craft Beer London will have you hunting down craft beers in the capital like a bear in a swimming pool of salmon.
The app features ratings, photos, reviews and directions to London's pubs and shops selling craft beer, in addition to detailed reviews and recommendations on London's leading craft breweries. It will also keep you up to date on all of the latest craft beer news and dives deep into its history, providing a vital second use during pub quizzes.
BrewR turns brewing into a fine art
BrewR Beer Recipe Manager
Free – get it here
For those seeking a free and uncomplicated home brewing app, BrewR Beer Recipe Manager allows recipes to be drilled down into file detail. You can edit anything from batch sizes to boil volumes, efficiency percentages, weight, gravity and colour.
It also features the option of sharing recipes with fellow GALAXY S4 owners using the handset's in-built NFC function. You could even combine this with the S4's Group Play feature to play the same music tracks while you brew. We suggest Bran Van 3000's 'Drinking in LA' to get you going.
BeerSmith 2 is all about 24/7 access to recipe data
BeerSmith 2 Mobile HomeBrewing
£5.24 – buy it here
The second home brewing app on our list is possibly the most comprehensive of its kind available on the GALAXY S4. At the heart of the app is a 'recipe cloud service' that stores data on ingredients, recipe and brew session data on the web, rather than your phone, meaning you can access your data on any internet-connected device at any time.
Advanced features include an integrated brew day timer with step-by-step instructions, brewing calculators and tools for converting unit rounds. If the £5.24 price tag seems a little too steep, you can opt for a Lite version at £2.49, which allows you to browse, but not create or alter recipes.
Order beers abroad with confidence
Beer Orderer
Free – get it here
Here's an app for the frequent traveller that puts an end to the awkward act of pointing at beer pumps when visiting bars in other countries.
Beer Orderer is a wonderfully simple app that asks two questions: how many beers you want to order, and what language you want to order them in.
After choosing the two, pressing a button brings up a translation of what you've ordered in your chosen language, which you can then attempt to read out loud (in a bad accent), or can simply show the bar tender. Problem averted.
RateBeer has a comprehensive database of beers
RateBeer
Free – get it here
RateBeer, as the name suggests, is all about rating beer. Simply put, if all you're after is a run down of the top 50 craft beers available in the UK, this app has the answer.
Not only that, but the app has a few unique tricks up its sleeve. First off, it lets you use the GALAXY S4's camera to scan barcodes found on beers and other drinks, meaning you can easily find beer served at one pub at other places. It's practically the Shazam of beer apps (look it up if you're not familiar).
Second, RateBeer functions as a kind of FourSquare of pubs, allowing you to check in to local beer places so that your friends can find you. You can rack up your pub tally over time until you've acquired more beer knowledge than Al Murray, which probably isn't too difficult, come to think of it.
