You can check in with your friends on FourSquare, Gowalla or the new Facebook Places, but the only way to find out where your favorite beers are on tap in Portland is to go to Portlandtaps. The brain child of three beer-obsessed Portlanders, Cory Cronk, Josh Baston and Caleb O'Conell, Portlandtaps helps you perform both geolocation and price comparison for your favorite brews, plus find out about special events and discounts at Portland area bars and pubs. They even give you geeky beer box scores on ABVs and IBUs for local beers (measures of alcohol and bitterness, respectively, for those of us slightly less obsessed). The internet doesn't get any more relevant than that. Why does this matter? David Calloway on CBS MarketWatch says that, "If the top livable cities have anything in common, it might be good beer rather than good financial centers." According to the Maine Brewers' Guild, "Since 1986, Maine has been at the forefront of the craft brew movement. Our state is home to over 20 breweries which produce more than 100 different brands." For competitive intelligence, Beer Advocate also has up-to-the-minute reviews of brewpubs in Portland. Angela DiMillo just posted an interview with Cory and Caleb on why Portlandtaps is a "necessity" for life in Portland.

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