Beer Social

MustLoveBeer.com is a social networking site founded in 2008 by designer Mark Domnick. Domnick is also the creator of MustLoveWine.com, which currently features more than 4800 members. The sites are free to use and are similar in many ways to MySpace, Friendster, and Facebook, but with a primary focus on beer and the people who love it. People on these sites are encouraged to share their ideas on their favorite libation, chat, comment on each others profiles, and compose blogs.

Currently the sites are in their youth, but Domnick has big plans for its future. Domnick, 42, was born in East Boldon, a small village in northeastern England between Newcastle & Sunderland in Tyne and Wear. His family moved to the United States when he was an adolescent. Although not born stateside, Domnick considers himself an American. He has spent many years in places like West Palm Beach and San Diego before settling in Reno, Nevada where he has lived the last three years. His enterprise, Two Budz LLC, features a dozen niche sites, mostly dedicated to dating, with a handful focusing on food and drink. I recently spoke with Domnick about his work with MustLoveBeer.com to find out more about himself and the site.

What was your interest in developing the MustLoveBeer.com social network?

Mark Domnick: I started a few sites around the same time. All niche social networks. We have been tweaking the code on MustLoveBeer.com so that it is a super easy site to navigate. Once we have finished that we will be adding a beer review section where members can add reviews of the beers they have tried and the public can find direction in what beers to look for when shopping.

How long has the site been around?

MD: The site went up earlier this year. I am just beginning now, after enhancing the coding, to give it most of my time and grow it into a social network of avid beer enthusiasts.

What does it take to sign up for the network?

MD: The sign up process is quite simple. Just answer a few questions to make a basic profile and you are in. We try to keep it to a minimum on sign up as we want you to be able to check the site out. You can always go back and edit your profile at any time and make it as detailed as you want. You can also write a blog, post albums, post events, join or make your own groups and interact as you wish. Yes, the site is completely free.

Two Budz LLC features mostly dating mostly networks. Is MustLoveBeer.com anything like that (a dating site for beer enthusiasts)?

MD: No, it is not, but I suspect over the course of time we will have people meeting up and entering into relationships. We are not a dating site but do want beer enthusiasts to make friends and in the course of making friends we often find that a friend can become a lot more than that.

What kind of things do people communicate about with your site?

MD: Since we are just getting our foothold the site could really go in any direction. Our goal is to provide a site where beer enthusiasts can find other beer enthusiasts to chat with, make friends with and discuss beer. To help facilitate this further we will be adding a forum to the site in the near future.

Are you a real beer geek or just someone who saw beer and wine as a marketing opportunity?

MD: I am a wine geek and becoming more of a beer geek. When I was a kid living in England the train we took to school went right past the Newcastle Brown Ale Brewery. Stunk to high heaven but ever since I was younger I have always been a fan of Newcastle Brown Ale. Right now, I am getting more into micro brews and learning their nuances and flavor variations.

Do you homebrew?

MD: Not at this time. Between the GF and work I barely get a chance to sleep. Not that I am complaining. I seem to thrive on four hours of sleep.

What is your palate for beer/favorite beers?

MD: I do not think my palate is diverse enough yet to give a totally accurate answer on that. I tend to go for beers that are medium bodied and will try anything in order to further grasp my likes and dislikes. Some of my favorite beers are; Racer 5, Pacifico, Kalik, Blanche de Chambly, Anchor Old Foghorn and Stone IPA.

What separates MustLoveBeer from the bigger, more populated sites like Ratebeer.com or Beeradvocate.com?

MD: They are both great sites and I have made good use of them myself. I think what makes us different from them is that we are looking at it from a more social networking angle. They have tons of information on beer and I hope we will have an equally substantial beer knowledge base but our main goal is providing a venue for beer enthusiasts to meet and interact. We want to be a friendly, member driven community.

After talking with Mark, we signed up for a free account on MustLoveBeer.com and we wish him the best.  Sign up today and chat with Mark and others who must love beer.