Two Beer Dudes has been around for seventeen years. To say it has been a pet project of mine would be a massive understatement. Over that time, I have updated the design of the site sporadically, mostly just whenever time provided. Because of this patchwork approach, the underlying technology had become old and outdated. The design? Let’s just say it was stale at best.
I’ve talked before about the Sips blog redesign, which finally made the site responsive back in 2020 when COVID lockdowns were boring me to death. To be completely honest, making the site mobile-friendly should have happened at least 10 years before that.
But with AI becoming such a massive tool in a developer’s toolkit, I decided in January 2026 that it was finally time to blow the dust off the entire system. It was time to update the underlying technology stack to tools that are actually relevant today.
Not only did I completely overhaul the engine under the hood, but I also changed the design to a modern, minimalist feel with less bulk, quicker load times, and an easier way to navigate. Here is a look at what changed, why it was done, and what it means for you the next time you’re looking for a great brew.
Changing the Recipe: A Faster, Sleeker Engine
- Why it was done: The old site was carrying a lot of unneeded “heavy malts”—bloated, legacy code that was slowing things down.
- The Benefit to You: Blazing fast load times. Whether you’re on shaky brewery Wi-Fi or checking a review on your phone down the bottle shop aisle, the pages now pop up instantly.
Rewriting the Taplist: Seamless Navigation & Search
- Why it was done: Ever walk into a taproom with a massive, disorganized chalkboard menu? That’s what the old site navigation was starting to feel like. I stripped away the clutter, simplified the menus, and streamlined how pages talk to each other.
- The Benefit to You: Finding specific beer styles, hop profiles, or your favorite local breweries now takes a single click. Less time getting lost in menus, more time reading about great beer.
Crisp and Clean: A Minimalist Pint
- Why it was done: Good beer doesn’t need fake coloring, and a good beer site doesn’t need visual clutter. I moved to a modern, minimalist design that filters out the sediment and embraces clean layouts.
- The Benefit to You: A much more pleasant, seamless reading experience. Text sizes are optimized for mobile, images load beautifully, and there’s zero distracting noise when you’re trying to dive into tasting notes.
Co-Brewed with AI: The Secret Ingredient
At the core of this entire overhaul was AI. As a side project that I only work on off-and-on as my schedule allows, taking on a massive technology migration by myself would normally take forever.
AI drastically helped bring my ideas to reality, assisted with functionality changes, and made it incredibly easy to switch to a modern technology base that I wasn’t entirely familiar with when I started. What should have taken a lone developer years was knocked out in a matter of six months—always for fun, and always powered by a few good beers.
The draft lines are clean, the new system is pouring beautifully, and I’d love to know what you think. Take a look around the new site and let me know your thoughts in the comments! Enjoy!