Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club: Like a Monthly Visit from Santa Claus
Written: Sep 14 '05
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Do you like beer but have a hard time finding new and unique products to sample? If so, then joining one of the many different beer clubs might be just the beer- searching- blues cure you’re looking for. One club that I have belonged to on and off is Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club, an on- line store that specializes in shipping cases of beer right to your front door, helping to cure those beer- hunting blues.
What Does This Service Offer?:
The Microbrewed Beer of the Month offers the following products and services.
Beer-Obviously, people come here looking for beer. The site offers different membership packages and differing lengths of commitment to suit your tastes.
Beer Facts and Education- This part of the site allows you to lookup facts on different beer styles, find out more about a specific brewery that has been featured in past shipments, and find out what beer festivals are coming to a town near you.
Other services include a “Send a Virtual Brew” e-mail tool, print a gift card, and lookup info from past club membership newsletters. There is a question and answer section also, to help find answers to those puzzling, beer- related stumpers.
Customer Service:
To contact the club to activate a membership or to ask questions, the phone number is 800-625-8238. If you want to access the web site directly to look for answers to questions, the site is beermonthclub.com. There is no in- site area to send an e-mail message so if you wish to contact the club this way, you need to logon to your personal e-mail account and send a message to customerservice@beermonthclub.com.
Final Thoughts:
Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club is a CH affiliated club (CH also offers cigar, wine, cheese, chocolate, and flower of the month clubs) that offers members the chance to have a twelve- pack of assorted beer sent to them on a monthly basis. The club offers three different beer club memberships: Domestic beer, International Beer, and Domestic/International mix. With each membership, a twelve pack is shipped to your place of residence, with three bottles each of four different styles, packed in a box with a special styrofoam insert that has twelve individual, round openings to hold the bottles in place and protect against breakage.
I have been a member of this beer club on and off and it has generally succeeded in finding me some interesting beer products to sample. One drawback of being a beer critic is that it continues to get more and more difficult to find new products to try. On a typical trip to the local grocery store, I will be lucky to find even one new product. If I go to a beer/beverage store with a wide selection, there is a good chance I can find a few different beer products to try for the first time. But even then, there are only a handful of new brews to choose from. And to make matters worse, the new products I hear about and read about from around the nation are usually not sold in my area, due to limited distribution. Joining a beer club makes sense for me, because it gives me an opportunity to receive new products that I would likely never find without jumping in my car and driving for several hundred miles to another large city or another state.
This beer club is nice because it offers four different brands to sample each month. Two different breweries are selected, and there are two different beers offered from each. This is an improvement over certain other clubs that send a six pack each of two different styles. Instead of only two products to try, you now have four, improving the odds that you will have some brand- new malt beverages to sample each month.
Along with the beer (which is shipped in a box), you also receive the club newsletter each month, detailing the two breweries and the different beer products included in the shipment. The newsletter is titled “Malt of the Earth” and it provides background information on the breweries and the beers, including the important facts like the ingredients used, alcohol level, etc. This saves me a lot of research time because I don’t have to scan the internet to find this data when I write a review. And often, the data presented in this newsletter cannot be found anyplace else, and that includes the internet. Many brewers do not disclose this basic information about their products but this club is almost always able to get the facts from the brewer and include it in the newsletter.
I enjoy this club and its benefits, but there are a few things I would suggest to the management to make it even better. One thing is with the selection. Like I stated before, the main reason I enjoy clubs like this is because they provide a means to get my hands on brand new products to sample. But every now and then, I will get a shipment in the mail that already has one or two products I have already tried. One way to avoid this type of problem would be to let the customers choose among several different featured beers/breweries of the month. Of course, this would mean added cost for the Club, because the management would have to select more products, stock them, and find an efficient way to get a list of choices to each customer and then wait for replies. This would likely drive up the price of club membership even higher than it already is, so it may not be a wise move. Still, I would like it (or something similar) because it would better ensure that I get four new products every month.
Speaking of cost, the price of joining this club is somewhat expensive- much more than you would pay for an equal amount of beer in a store. The least expensive option- Domestic brews- carries a price tag of $17.95 per month. Add in the shipping, and the total monthly cost is $29.95. That works out to approximately $2.50 per bottle, which is about double what you would pay for craft beer purchased at your favorite beverage or grocery store. With the International/Domestic membership, the cost is $34.95 per month. And with the International only membership, the cost is $38.95 per month. Again, these prices are all much greater than one would pay in the store but you need to keep in mind that you are paying for much more than just beer. You are paying to have products sent to you that you would otherwise have a difficult time finding. And you are paying for the convenience of having them sent directly to your residence without having to search for the beer on your own.
Memberships can be purchased for any number of months from two to twelve; with an option of purchasing an open membership (beer is shipped automatically every month until the recipient calls and cancels the membership). The monthly fee is charged directly to your credit or debit card. You can select to receive a shipment every month, or every other month, or every third month. These latter two options are nice for people who want to join but don’t want to commit themselves to the $360 or more price tag for a one- year monthly membership.
Before you get excited about joining this club, you need to know that there are some states that do not allow shipments of beer in the mail. Those states are, at present, Alaska, Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, and Utah. If you reside in one of these places, you have my condolences. You will not be able to join a club like this one until your state overturns its idiotic laws against beer shipments. In the meantime, you will have to settle for the beer that’s available in your local beverage store.
The beer you receive each month is shipped via DHL and adult has to be present at your home to sign the form in order to receive the beer. They have this rule to make sure that minors are not signing up for this service. If there is no one old enough to sign (or no one home at all) the shipment will not be left at your doorstep. The delivery person will have to come back again the next day and try again.
Finding new beer to try is an adventure, but it continues to present greater and greater challenges. Gone are the days when I could walk into a beverage store and find several dozen new products to sample. Now, I am lucky if I can find enough to count them on one hand. This is why beer clubs have become so enjoyable to me. And the Microbrew Beer of the Month Club is one of the better clubs of its kind on the market today. I have never had a broken bottle or any other problem in the many months I have used this service. Having a way to control what I receive each month would be nice because I could protect myself against receiving beer products I have already sampled. A lower cost would be nice too. But this is still a very good way to find new beer. It offers convenience and the thrill of knowing that once a month, a box of goodies will arrive at your doorstep: 12 beautiful little packages just waiting to be popped open and enjoyed. It makes the perfect gift for anyone who enjoys sampling fine craft beer.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Member: Bryan Carey
Location: Houston, TX
Reviews written: 3611
Trusted by: 1570 members
About Me: Beer Drinker and Libertarian Political Activist. Great Combination, eh?
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