“I’m Alan, and I’ve had over 2,500 different beers.” 

Philadelphia area native Alan Spoll has always had a passion for beer. Since his days as a DUS student in Happy Valley, he has enjoyed the intricacies of a quality brew. And even though life circumstances took him to Drexel University after his freshman year at Penn State, Spoll’s love for beer, and the Nittany Lions, has never been hindered. 

It was in December 2023 when Spoll’s daughter convinced her father to share his passion with the world, persuading him to make videos reviewing beer and post them to social media. Skeptical at first, Spoll didn’t see the instant gratification one might expect. 

The short clips, posted on the Instagram page BeerWithAlan started out as a way to recommend additional beverages to viewers, similar to those that they enjoy. Not seeing much immediate success, Spoll took a different approach and changed his wording. “I got a few views the first couple of days and then three days in all of a sudden it just started to fly. And I was getting notifications constantly. And at this point, that video has 16.2 million views.”

From that first viral video, one that guided Corona lovers towards a Mexican-style, California-based lager, Spoll’s account has taken off. Garnering over 200,000 followers to date, Spoll has built an online community of people who share his passion, and some of his followers have even recognized him while walking down the street.

“It’s a very strange thing,” Spoll said on his viral popularity.

He has even had breweries reach out to him regarding sponsorship deals, something Spoll is intrigued by. Both his daughter and son-in-law have large social media followings of their own, but Spoll’s recent online success has brought some friendly competition to the family.

“It’s cool, I like the feedback I get, most of the people seem to be fairly nice,” Spoll said.

Spoll uses the Untapped app to track all of the beer he tries. The platform gives users a chance to count, rate, and socialize with fellow beer drinkers. Spoll began keeping tabs on his beers in 2014 and has started each one of his videos with a rough estimate of the total number sampled.

“I didn’t expect anybody to care about the number, it was just something to say,” Spoll said. “But every day people started asking, well, when will you get to 2,500?”

The day that Spoll tried his beer number 2,500, he went live on Instagram and tasted a $75 Double Oaked Black Barleywine from Anchorage Brewing Company. With the live reaching over 150,000 views, Spoll has been able to foster a virtual community, creating an environment where people can socialize and bond over a shared joy of beer.

While the beers that Spoll has tried have come from all over the world, he has been able to acquire many of them locally, whether that be at a liquor store or a brewery. However, if he does find himself traveling, a brewery will definitely be on the itinerary for Spoll to check out. In fact, Spoll uses his platform as a way to connect with other travelers, asking followers for brewery suggestions abroad.

“I like having beer from all over the place,” Spoll said. “There are nine states that I haven’t had any beer from. I’ve been on the lookout for those.”

In the State College area, Otto’s, Happy Valley Brewing Company, and Voodoo remain some of his favorites.

While not enjoying a drink, Spoll can be found pursuing another passion of his – running. Not only has he tried over 2,500 unique beers, but he has also run 15 marathons, averaging around one per year since 2013. Spoll finds a healthy balance between his two hobbies, mentioning how “the beer and the running are interrelated.”​​ He couldn’t drink the beer that he drinks without running.

Traveling to different races also gives him the opportunity to explore new breweries and local beers to promote on his account. He hopes to one day achieve his goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

Spoll is a man of many titles. Beer guy, for one. But no matter how many followers he gains, beers he tries, or marathons he runs, there is one that will always be the most special to him: Penn Stater.

“It sounds funny coming from somebody who left, but I love Penn State and consider myself a Penn Stater. I will continue to go up every year,” Spoll said. “I will continue to watch every football game and every basketball game.”

It’s only fitting that when Spoll reviewed beer number 2,500, he wore his Nittany Lion cap for the occasion.