I'm happy to announce that The Beer Cellar v2.0 will launch next week on Tuesday, March 29th!

Thanks to those who volunteered to help beta test, the new site has come along quickly, and I'm excited to get it into the hands of users. It's a big revamp and, while it's been rebuilt almost entirely from the ground up, the core functionality has been retained and improved. In no particular order, here are some things you can expect in the update:

• Speed: all primary cellar management actions are now performed asynchronously, meaning no more full-page reloads after each add, edit, or delete operation. Existing entries can be edited inline, and new entries can be added dynamically.
• Accuracy: thanks to a new Elasticsearch backend, searches for Beers and Breweries now handle "fuzzy" matches without issue, ensuring you can find the information you're looking for. As a result of these changes, the CSV import process should also achieve more accurate initial matches, and is much quicker when it comes to fixing unmatched entries.
• Features: a bevy of new features will accompany the update, including but not limited to: sortable Drink By dates for entries; user toggles for default sort order and tasting note visibility; the ability to hide the "In Fridge" column; and user messaging.
• Usability: in addition to the improved cellar management flow, the entire site has received a visual refresh utilizing darker tones for increased readability and, I hope, a more visually pleasing experience.
• Security: when the new version goes live, the entire Beer Cellar site will switch to the HTTPS protocol, meaning all traffic will be encrypted.

I'll provide more details on launch day. You can expect the site to be down during the upgrade period on the evening of Monday, March 28th as I move things live and ensure everything is working as expected. In the meantime, I'd suggest holding off on any major cellar updates or imports, as everything should be much easier come next week!

Lastly, I'd like to thank my core of beta test users one more time for volunteering their free time to help ensure the upcoming version is up to snuff. Without your help, I'd be much more nervous about releasing the new version into the wild. Cheers, and if you're ever in town, I'll buy you a beer.