Yesterday, I stumbled across one of the coolest online beer sites I’ve seen in quite some time: Pintley. If you haven’t heard of it yet, clear your schedule because you’re about to have a very unproductive Friday. Think of Pintley as a cross between Ratebeer.com and Pandora.com—or even Netflix for that matter (alas, they don’t ship you beer). Users rate beers, contribute their own tasting notes, and then Pintley’s algorithm spits out a list of personal beer recommendations. It’s a bit shaky at first, like all computer-generated recommendations, but the more you rate, the better those recommendations become. If you don’t like making lists, Pintley also has an iPhone app, where you can scroll through suggested beers tailored to your account and read users’ tasting notes while you’re in the aisle at your favorite bottle shop. Link your account to Twitter and let all your followers know what beers you’re drinking. As for me, here’s what the site’s saying I’ll enjoy:

* The Lost Abbey Judgment Day
* Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale
* Founder’s Centennial IPA
* Westvleteren 12

I’ve had them all, and the suggestions are spot-on. Unfortunately, that last one’s not the easiest to get, although I happen to know a guy who has quite the stash of Westy 12.

This Sunday, when I do my pre-football beer shopping, I’m going to give my beer editor knowledge a rest and take Pintley for a ride. What do you think? Has Pintley steered you in the right direction, or left you with a fridge of beer you don’t enjoy?