Guide

How to use Beer Check

Three ways to check a beer — choose whichever suits the situation.

Uploading a label photo

The label photo method uses AI-powered OCR (optical character recognition) to extract text from the image. Photo quality is the biggest factor in accuracy.

Choose a clear, well-lit photo

Natural daylight or bright indoor light gives the best results. Avoid flash glare directly on the label surface.

Keep the label flat and square-on

Photograph the label straight-on rather than at an angle. The entire text area should be visible — don't crop the edges.

Focus on the front label

The front label usually has the beer name and brewery. The back label may have ingredients and allergens — upload whichever is more complete.

Review the OCR text

After analysis, expand “Raw OCR text” to see what was extracted. If it looks garbled, try retaking the photo with better lighting or use name lookup instead.

On mobile, tap “Take photo” inside the upload area to open your camera directly.

Scanning a barcode

The barcode method is fast and doesn't require reading any text. It works best when you have the physical bottle or can in front of you.

Find the EAN or UPC barcode

Look on the back or bottom of the bottle or can for the barcode — it's the striped lines with a number below. EAN-13 (13 digits) and UPC-A (12 digits) are the most common.

Photograph just the barcode

Keep the barcode fully in frame. Good lighting and a steady hand make a big difference. On mobile, tap “Scan with camera” to open your camera directly.

Upload the image

Tap the barcode tab in the checker, then upload or drop your photo. The backend decodes the barcode and looks it up in the Open Food Facts database.

If the barcode is not found, the product may not be in Open Food Facts. Try the label photo or name search instead.

Searching by name

Name lookup is faster and more reliable when you know what the beer is called.

Enter the beer name

Use the exact product name as printed on the label — e.g. “Punk IPA” rather than just “IPA”.

Add the brewery (optional but helpful)

If multiple beers share a similar name, adding the brewery improves match accuracy.

Check the match confidence

A green confidence pill (80%+) means a strong match. Amber (60–79%) suggests the result may be a close but not exact match.

Reading results

Green ✓ — confirmed suitable (vegan / vegetarian / gluten-free as labelled)

Red ✗ — confirmed NOT suitable

Grey ? — unknown; no data available in the database for this beer

The allergen pills list specific allergens declared on the label or in the database entry. An empty allergens list means none were recorded — not necessarily that the beer is allergen-free.

Search history

Your last 20 searches are saved in your browser's local storage so you can refer back to them without re-searching. History never leaves your device — see Privacy for details.